Gender equality is a strategic element in any company or organization, however, it should not be reduced only in the operational area, but at all levels of its composition. Despite not being a recent issue, its progress has been very slow due to social and cultural factors, because throughout history, the role of women has been seen as an inferior being whose opinion should be omitted. That is why, until now, the advancement of women to operational levels has been achieved, however, an inequality in rights still persists, as more labor is required and their remuneration is lower. Likewise, they have not been allowed to participate at high hierarchical levels within companies, since sometimes women exclude themselves,they are less interested in positions of responsibility or they prefer jobs that allow them to better reconcile the life-work pairing (Special Managers, 2017).
Key words: gender equality, gender gap, labor discrimination, business performance.
Effect of the gender gap on the economy
The World Economic Forum published the 2018 version of its Global Report on the Gender Gap, highlighting the following (World Economic Forum, 2018).
The document highlights the fact that gender equality is essential to know if economies and societies prosper and how they prosper, in such a way that fostering this equity adds to the work to guarantee the development and proper deployment of the set of talents of the human factor, strengthening competitiveness and sustainable preparation for the future of economies and companies around the world.
This document compares 149 countries in their progress towards gender equality in four dimensions: participation and economic opportunity; educational achievements; health and survival; and political empowerment. In this sense, the gender gap is diminished when the countries favor facilitating that women participate in economic activity, have full access to education, full access to health services, and full access to both business and participation at the political level.
In turn, in addressing the issue of the gender gap, the World Economic Forum published an analysis entitled "7 surprising and outrageous stats about gender inequality", these 7 surprising statistics on gender inequality being the following (Whiting, 2019):
- Women are 47% more likely to be seriously injured in car accidents because the safety features are designed for men. 33,000 girls become wives or are forced into marriage every day. Women in rural Africa spend 40 One billion hours a year, together, collecting water. It will take humanity at least 108 years to close the gender gap. Only 6 countries grant women the same legal labor rights as men: Belgium, Denmark, France, Latvia, Luxembourg and Sweden. Only 22% of professionals in the Artificial Intelligence industry are women, and it could be due to a lack of confidence. For every female character in cinema, there are 2.24 men.
The analysis explains that worldwide women's achievements are celebrated on International Women's Day every March 8, a commemoration that began in 1911, but that to date there is still much work to be done to achieve gender parity.. Consequently, the analysis explains that there are enormous differences in the types of inequality that women face in different parts of the world, from cultural representation to domestic burdens and child marriage, however, the analysis affirms that, for the future, through collective action, change to achieve complete gender parity is possible.
Continuing with this topic on gender equality, the World Economic Forum also published an analysis entitled 'These are the best countries for female workers', highlighting the following in this regard (Fleming, 2019). The analysis indicates that 9 of the 10 best countries of the OECD or Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for women workers are in Europe, and two of the first three are in the Nordic countries. Therefore, the best countries for working women according to the aforementioned study are: Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand, Slovenia, Norway, Luxembourg, Denmark, Poland, Finland and Belgium.
With respect to the 2 best countries, it is noted that Iceland's position as the best performer in the referred index on women at work, was strengthened by an increase in the participation of the female labor force and a drop in female unemployment rate. In turn, with regard to second place, Sweden, it is pointed out that one of the reasons for Sweden's high performance in the referred index is its progressive legislation on parental leave, which actively encourages men to have more free time legally. provided for the purpose of supporting women in their period of onset of maternity.
Gender equality at managerial levels
In an article published by the Special Managers titled "Gender and Power: Why are there no female managers?" The following situations are highlighted (Special Directors, 2017). The discrimination suffered by women in the world of work, with lower wages and difficulties in reconciling personal life and professional career, becomes even more evident when it comes to places of responsibility.
Several studies show that there are very few female managers, who earn less than their male colleagues, and who often feel discriminated against by the company and by society. In addition, it is noted that among the studies that draw this bleak picture, there is an investigation in this regard that concludes that women occupy only 10% of senior management positions in companies, and seven out of ten managers believe that companies give I treat men in the promotion to positions of high responsibility in favor, so the experts advocate radically changing this reality.
Viladot, (2017) assures that: “The more women there are in positions of power, the easier it will be for other women to arrive”, for which he points out that it is not enough that there are a few, but that there must be a sufficient number and with great visibility. Likewise, those researched on this topic recommend increasing the number of female managers, since societies and organizations are diverse and senior management must also be. The fact that there are men and women in senior management contributes to the capture of different points of view that can benefit workers and the company in general (Lamolla & González, 2018).
The directives assume their position not without difficulties and marginalization: to them, the experts point out, they are required more and they are valued worse; if they manage communally, they are perceived as soft and if their forms are assertive, they are seen as too masculine. “A man has to do less than a woman to demonstrate his ability, Viladot (2017) emphasizes, and he has more margin of error than a woman before he is accused of a lack of capacity. In addition, many men do not feel comfortable being led by a female figure, so female managers run into many men who feel questioned about their masculinity by being led by a woman.
Related to this topic, the International Labor Organization published a document entitled "Women in business management: Arguments for change", highlighting the following (International Labor Organization, 2019). In this report, the ILO shows the results of surveys carried out in almost 13,000 companies in 70 countries on this topic regarding the benefits of gender diversity in the business world. In this sense, in general, the study indicates that more than 57% of the participating companies stated that their initiatives in favor of gender diversity contribute to improving their business performance,while 75% of the companies participating in this study indicated that they promoted gender diversity in management positions and with this decision an increase in their profit was registered in a range between 5% to 20%. In turn, this report also shows that, at the national level, the increase in women's labor integration is directly related to the development of GDP, analyzing data from 186 countries for the period 1991-2017, this effect being most significant in the countries located in Africa and in Asia and the Pacific, followed by both regions of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition, the document argues in another of its conclusions that the specific economic results in relation to productivity and profitability in companies suggest the following 3 statements:
- Companies with an inclusive work environment are 3.2% more likely to have higher productivity and profitability, and companies whose overall management is in the hands of a woman are 2.8% more likely to achieve an increase in their productivity and benefits. Companies with an equal opportunities policy or a diversity and inclusion policy are 3.8% more likely to report an improvement in their performance in terms of both productivity and profit improvement net.
Participation of women in business
From January 23 to 26, 2018, the Annual Summit for the year 2018 of the World Economic Forum was held in Davos, Switzerland, the motto of this Summit being "Acting together in a fractured world". One of the highlighted interventions was that of the founder and executive president of the Alibaba company, Jack Ma, who spoke about some of the key challenges facing the world, highlighting in his speech the role of women in the business world (Flachman, 2018). On the participation of women in business, Jack Ma highlighted that if companies are to be successful and operate wisely and carefully, then women are the best to promote this success. In this sense, Jack Ma explained that 37% of senior managers in Alibaba are women,And part of the secret ingredient of her company is because she has the participation of women in key management positions.
On the other hand, addressing the issue of gender equality, the International Labor Organization published a document entitled “The contribution of social dialogue to gender equality”, highlighting the following (International Labor Organization, 2019b). This document affirms that strong labor relations and effective social dialogue contribute to good governance in the workplace, decent work, inclusive economic growth and democracy, and this also represents an important means of advancing gender equality. and promote fair labor markets, noting that in June 2018 the International Labor Conference urged the international community to “promote gender equality and non-discrimination,and to promote the consolidation and expansion of the participation and involvement of women and youth in social dialogue ”. In conclusion, this report shows data that reflects that there is still much to do to reduce the gap in various aspects of the labor context between men and women:
- The gender gap in the labor force participation rate globally is 26.5%, given that women participate in 48.5% and men 75%. The wage gap between men and women globally in terms hourly wages is 20%, that is, the percentage that men earn excessively over women for each hour of work. Regarding the representation of women in the structures of employers' organizations at the global level, their Participation is still poor given that 34% of women hold positions at senior management level, 38% hold executive management positions, 18% hold positions of chairmen on standing committees, and 26% hold positions of vice-chairs of standing committees in companies. (in all cases, males participate in more than 60%).The main recommendations for reducing the gender gap are, among others: increasing the wages of low-paid working women; expand the coverage of minimum wages and expand coverage through collective agreements promoting better conditions for women; promote the wage increase in feminized sectors; promote the use of gender neutral job evaluation and classification systems; and improve transparency in remuneration through the development of equal pay audits and action plans for gender equality.expand the coverage of minimum wages and expand coverage through collective agreements promoting better conditions for women; promote the wage increase in feminized sectors; promote the use of gender neutral job evaluation and classification systems; and improve transparency in remuneration through the development of equal pay audits and action plans for gender equality.expand the coverage of minimum wages and expand coverage through collective agreements promoting better conditions for women; promote the wage increase in feminized sectors; promote the use of gender neutral job evaluation and classification systems; and improve transparency in remuneration through the development of equal pay audits and action plans for gender equality.
References
- Special Directors. (2017, March 15). Gender and power: why are there no female managers? Executive Special, 1708, 5-6. Flachman, G. (2018, January 24). Jack Ma on the IQ of love - and other top quotes from his Davos interview. World Economic Forum. Recovered from: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/01/jack-ma-davos-top-quotes/ Fleming, S. (2019). These are the best countries for female workers. September 06, 2019, from World Economic Forum Website: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/03/best-countries-for-female-workers/ World Economic Forum (2018). The Global Gender Gap Report 2018. World Economic Forum Publishing. Available at: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2018.pdf Lamolla, L., & González Ramos, AM (2018).Tick-tock sounds different for women working in IT areas. Community, Work & Family, 1-16. International Labor Organization (2019). Women in business management: arguments for change. International Labor Office - Geneva: ILO. Recovered from: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/-dgreports/-dcomm/-publ/documents/publication/wcms_700977.pdf International Labor Organization (2019b). The contribution of social dialogue to gender equality. International Labor Office - Geneva: ILO. Recovered from: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/-dgreports/-dcomm/-publ/documents/publication/wcms_679961.pdf Viladot, M. À. (2017). Gender and power in organizations. UOC Publishing. Whiting, K. (2019).7 surprising and outrageous stats about gender inequality. World Economic Forum Press Releases, Gender Parity. Available at:
