Many are the statistics and sociological studies that reflect the real situation of women today, all of which show the state of them in education, the best preparation and performance in the most diverse jobs in the world, which they never reached before. However, most women continue to suffer occupational segregation at work and especially in companies and rarely manage to overcome the so-called “ invisible barriers ”.»That separate them from professional senior management positions in companies and organizations. A new ILO report affirms that, although substantial progress has been made in correcting the imbalance between the proportion of people of both sexes occupying these positions, in the managerial sphere, few are elected.
The term "invisible barriers" was coined in the 1970s in the United States to designate the artificial and implicit obstacles that, derived from psychological and organizational biases, prevent women from occupying senior management positions. According to a new report from the International Labor Organization (ILO), “Women's access to management positions is an adequate definition for a current problem. Despite recent advances, these barriers remain relatively intact.
The wide changes in the composition of the labor market, with the increase in the economic activity of women in an increasingly wide range of occupations together with their increasing levels of training, have led to increasing pressure to dedicate more attention to the issue of women in management positions. Despite inequalities, women around the world have made remarkable progress in gaining increasing participation in professional and managerial positions.
The claim that there are insufficient numbers of women to occupy positions of greater responsibility is increasingly unfounded. Although there are still differences between the two sexes in the choice of professional studies, women around the world are demonstrating their intellectual capacity and are approaching the levels of educational qualification of men. In some countries, women hold more than 40% of all administrative and managerial positions. And not only are they already running 30% or more of small and medium-sized enterprises in many countries, but in doing so they are creating jobs for others.
Taking into account the improvement in the level of qualifications and work performance of women, it was foreseeable that their rise in professional structures in recent years would have been faster. This has not been the case, and for many, the pace of change is too slow. Participation in the decision-making process continues to be one of the areas in which there is the greatest reluctance to apply equality between the sexes.
In some developed countries the statistics of women in managerial positions reach almost 50% of the active population, something that is shown as a symptom of the evolution and progress of the productive system of those countries and that after the incorporation of women into the market It is also an example of the proper functioning of the economy.
Governments, companies and organizations have become increasingly committed to formulating policies and programs for the advancement of women and although the success of these initiatives has been diverse, there is no doubt that they have had a positive effect, especially in the younger generations of men and women. Cuba is an example to the world of the design and consequent implementation of public policies, whose strategic purpose has been to erase the cultural, ideological, psychological, economic and social barriers that have always kept women in conditions of subordination, marginalization and secular backwardness. The social policy and economic development strategy of the Cuban revolutionary government, since 1959,Their fundamental objectives are the elimination of all forms of discrimination and exploitation based on class, race and gender.
Cuba was the first country to sign the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the second to ratify it. In 1996, when she submitted her report to the CEDAW Committee of Experts, the work carried out in the country in favor of women's human rights was recognized: “despite the economic and political circumstances in which the country has been since 1989 As a result of the escalation of the economic blockade of the United States of North America, which has had serious repercussions on the situation of women and children and has led to the deterioration of the quality of life of the people, Cuba had not stopped advancing towards the achievement of full equality between the sexes ”.
The current debate on flexible management styles and approaches, coupled with the interest of companies in attracting and retaining qualified and capable women in a competitive environment, may offer a more favorable prospect for increasing the proportion of women in positions executives in the future, for that reason the objective of this reflection allows to deepen the role played by the Executive Woman overcoming the "invisible barriers" in our country and specifically in the Cuban Telecommunications Company - ETECSA SA
Development
The incorporation of women to management positions implies, in addition to the fulfillment of the so-called gender equality, a universal right, also the demonstration of a healthy and evolved economy.
Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship of the European Union, states that studies have shown that companies with a good representation of women perform better financially and says: I invite companies and governments to work towards guarantee gender balance.
I also encourage talented women to apply for higher positions. ”Other studies indicate that there is a positive correlation between the share of women in higher positions and the performance of a company.
According to a study carried out by the consulting firm specializing in aptitude tests, personality questionnaires and in the evaluation of work personality and analysis of professional competencies Saville Consulting, women are more prepared and are more skilled and flexible for all those jobs that are related to interpersonal relationships and people management in organizations. The study was carried out after all the people were evaluated with the Wave personality questionnaire, which measures 36 factors of work personality and 16 competencies.
The first conclusion reached is that in few of the 36 job personality scales that the Wave Questionnaire measures, there are few differences to be able to objectively and reasonably discriminate between women and men when applying for the same job positions. job.
According to the Saville Consulting study, women are much more analytical, realistic and rational than men. This helps in finding solutions to problems, analyzing information more objectively, and it is unlikely that they will base their decisions on facts alone. All these characteristics analyzed show that when it comes to working with people, women are more prepared and are more skilled and flexible for all those jobs that are related to interpersonal relationships.
Among the characteristics that women contribute in a more relevant way to the world of work is the fact that they contribute to increasing the so-called “emotional intelligence” with a greater sensitivity to put themselves in the place of others, (empathy) to understand and listen to them, collaborating or engaging more with the problems and in the personal and real situations of others. They are more collaborative and helpful, they do not behave aggressively in day-to-day discussions since they think more in the medium or long term. They have greater patience to face the problems and challenges that the daily work offers in the company.
If a woman, as has been proven, can carry out the same tasks as a man in the company, it will also mean an equal growth in family income. In fact, women are increasingly better prepared personally and professionally to occupy these managerial positions.
The nature of women's usual career paths continues to be the factor blocking their access to higher positions. At lower management levels, women tend to be located in non-strategic sectors and in personnel management and administrative positions, rather than in professional and managerial positions that lead directly to the top of organizations.
According to internationally conducted studies, the overall percentage of women in management positions rarely exceeds 20 percent. The higher the rank, the more evident the imbalance between the two sexes. In the largest and most powerful organizations, the percentage of senior positions held by women typically ranges from 2 to 3 percent. Research results show how difficult it is to break through invisible barriers - the higher the job, the sharper the gender gap. Studies show that, even though women are often better educated and qualified than men in the same job, they still have to work and perform more than they are in order to progress in the company.
A very real obstacle in practice for women to reach high-level positions is the responsibility they carry on their shoulders to take care of their children and to carry out household chores. Professional work - and especially managerial work - is often characterized by the long hours that must be put into it to achieve recognition and eventual promotions. Promotion policies and structures in companies are often designed to highlight the period between 30 and 40 years of age as the most important for career development.
But these years are precisely the ones that require a more intensive dedication to childcare. Thus, women who want to have both a family and a career have to juggle with heavy responsibilities in both spheres. The thing is more subtle still because, even women who do not have family responsibilities are seen as potential mothers, with the result that often less attention is paid to the investments required to offer them training and opportunities to advance in their careers than is the case. It is given to men who do the same job, reducing their chances of later promotion to higher positions.
One of the main obstacles to the promotion of women in the company is the sexual stereotype regarding the ability and willingness of women to accept positions of responsibility, especially if this involves long work hours, travel and transfers. This means, for many women, being placed in less strategic areas of activity, not being entrusted with varied and committed tasks, and not being able to familiarize themselves with the full range of operations and activities of the company: all these factors that are crucial for move up to senior management positions. Hence, consequently,their bosses think that few women have adequate business experience and that most of them have not spent enough time in different leadership positions to be able to carry out the top management positions - a situation that is a perfect vicious cycle.
In Cuba, where the goals and dreams of many women in the world have been realities for a long time, policies to guarantee the advancement of women are part of the Social Development Program, and they have been given equal rights and opportunities in practice..
The development achieved by Cuban women has been and is supported by the policies and strategies drawn up by the State and by the permanent work of the Federation of Cuban Women that throughout all these years has represented the interests of women, has contributed to his citizenship education and has worked together with all state, political, social and mass organizations to make the exercise of full equality of women and men in our country a reality.
After the revolutionary triumph, there was a historic leap in the participation of women in leadership and decision-making positions, since we practically start from exceptional cases of women leaders. In 1975, women in management positions were 15.2%, in 1981 they were 21.1% and in 1999 they already occupied almost a third of the total of the country's leaders, even in branches where traditionally only men existed.
Their participation in the economy, culture, politics, access to science and the development of society in general has influenced favorable changes in their condition and eliminated discriminatory gaps in their relationship with men. The woman has raised her self-esteem, has the possibility to decide on multiple issues and to participate as a subject of development.
Fortunately, many companies are proving that the talents and capacities of women are useful for the smooth running of their businesses. So they are concerned with attracting and retaining women as professionals and managers. An important step in this regard is the adoption, by many companies, of an equal opportunities policy. Positive or affirmative action approaches are already part of a joint equality policy with the aim of leveling the playing field to give everyone an equal opportunity to move up the corporate ladder.
Measures such as flexible work arrangements, education and training, assignment of varied tasks that involve new challenges, planning in career development, as well as everything that is done to promote family-friendly policies from the company and prevent sexual harassment at work are positive steps in this direction. Training in managerial skills and decision-making, and training in different areas of the company itself so that women gain a broader experience and knowledge of the structure and operation of the organization are the key instruments to give them self-confidence themselves, the skills, knowledge and contacts they will need to build their own future.
Cuban women have been and are really the object and subject of the entire process of economic and social development. They have promoted and at the same time have benefited from all the transformations carried out in health, education, legislation, among others, taking advantage of the possibilities offered to study, qualify and access the world of work and in this sense the sector of the Communications is not excluded from this group.
The Western Territorial Directorate subordinate to the Vice-Presidency for the City of Havana within the Cuban Telecommunications Company ETECSA SA is an example of the active participation of Women Directors in current times. In our DT, 53% of all workers are women and approximately 10% of this figure are managers, of the total Manager between women and men, the female sex occupies approximately 60% distributed within the different business activities, with an average age of 43 years, a level of education more than 40% above the upper average level and an active integration to the different mass organizations.There are 4 female colleagues in senior management positions, which is why they are grouped within the classification of Cuban State Tables and one of them was selected Outstanding Table at the Company level in 2009 due to the results obtained in that period, and within the group of Leaders there are also other colleagues selected as outstanding for their demonstrated work. To this can be added the participation of our women managers in the different tasks called by both the company and the country, examples of which are: the Installation of Comprehensive Cabinets, Recovery Stages produced by natural disasters, Concentrations and Political Mobilizations, Anti-vector Campaign, Volunteer Work, among others.and within the group of leaders there are also other colleagues selected as outstanding for their demonstrated work. To this can be added the participation of our women managers in the different tasks called by both the company and the country, examples of which are: the Installation of Comprehensive Cabinets, Recovery Stages produced by natural disasters, Concentrations and Political Mobilizations, Anti-vector Campaign, Volunteer Work, among others.and within the group of leaders there are also other colleagues selected as outstanding for the work demonstrated. To this can be added the participation of our women managers in the different tasks called by both the company and the country, examples of which are: the Installation of Comprehensive Cabinets, Recovery Stages produced by natural disasters, Concentrations and Political Mobilizations, Anti-vector Campaign, Volunteer Work, among others.Recovery Stages produced by natural disasters, Concentrations and Political Mobilizations, Anti-Vector Campaign, Volunteer Work, among others.Recovery Stages produced by natural disasters, Concentrations and Political Mobilizations, Anti-Vector Campaign, Volunteer Work, among others.
The ETECSA company, like others, under the guidelines and policies issued by the country, express how much can be done to increase female representation at all levels of decision-making of national, regional and international institutions and mechanisms for prevention, management and conflict resolution in all aspects. However, it is necessary to advance in terms of training on the protection, rights and special needs of women and the importance of their participation in the management field. José Martí referred to women that capacity to move the world and wrote: «The campaigns of the peoples are only weak, when the heart of women is not enlisted in it; But when he shudders and helps, when the woman, shy and still of her nature, encourages and applauds,When the cultured and virtuous woman anoints the work with the honey of her affection, the work is invincible ».
Conclusions
This year has been a moment of strong momentum in the fight against discrimination against women and in expanding opportunities for women and girls around the world, an example of which is the constitution of the executive bureau of the new UN-Women agency. where among the objectives of UN-Women is technical and financial support to countries for plans related to the development of women. Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has just become the second Latin American woman to occupy one of the high-ranking positions within the United Nations system in recent months. In Latin America there are countries with a minimal majority of women for every 100 men, however, despite the proportion on a global scale, in 2009 there were only 14 women in the position of heads of State or Government,while in 23 of the 192 member states of the UN, this population segment occupied a low 30 percent of parliamentary seats.
In the III Congress of the Federation of Cuban Women in 1980, it was expressed… ¨ one of the most difficult tasks of the Revolution, the longest, the longest in time to achieve it, is related to the issue of discrimination against women … ¨
and today the advances that have been made in the country with respect to women who have had the possibility of accessing the public sphere on equal terms with men are an expression of pride, their inclusion in development processes as a protagonist and at the same time as a beneficiary, all of which makes it possible to evaluate this social phenomenon as one of the most successful in the last five decades of Cuban history.
ETECSA, as a leading telecommunications company in Cuba, is a reflection of the change and development of the female manager as overcoming the so-called “invisible barriers”, at the same time that it contributes to the successful performance of the achievement of business objectives and the improvement of society current Cuban.
Bibliography
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• Source: Statistical Yearbook, MINSAP
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• Executive Woman: A challenge, a real proposal in these times
• About women
• III Congress of the Federation of Cuban Women 1980
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• Health over time, Ministry of Public Health 1998. Statistical Yearbook MINSAP, 1999.
