BREAKING THE BIAS AND SHATTERING THE GLASS CEILING – GENDER DIVERSITY AND BALANCE IN THE WORKPLACE

BREAKING THE BIAS AND SHATTERING THE GLASS CEILING – GENDER DIVERSITY AND BALANCE IN THE WORKPLACE

✦ “The freedom to work – by choice, in conditions of dignity, safety and fairness – is integral to human welfare. Guaranteeing that women have access to this right is an important end in itself.” - International Labour Organisation

International Women’s Day was celebrated on March 8th this year with the message #breakthebias. Whereas there have been significant strides in recent years in efforts to attain gender equality, there is still a significant way to go before we are anywhere near the levels that can be considered fair and appropriate. Whether deliberate or unconscious, bias makes it difficult for women to move ahead, whatever the scenario.

The plight of women in the corporate world differs significantly all around the world and the pursuit for parity is ongoing; breaking the ‘glass ceiling’ as it is often referred to is a serious challenge.

Women still lag behind men in terms of promotion and representation at boardroom level with McKinsey stating in their 2021 Women in the Workplace study that in corporate America only 86 women are being promoted for every 100 men, a dynamic that they label the “broken rung” on the career ladder.

Female representation on corporate boards across the world contrasts significantly, as detailed in S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook review from 2021; France has the highest ratio of female board members at 45%. However, the USA only had 27% of its corporate board members listed as female, with its northern neighbour Canada only slightly higher at 30%. Australia leads the way in the Asia Pacific region with 30% although the figures for Japan (11%), China (10%) and South Korea (4%) are still worryingly low.

➸ Diversified workplace at Vermilion Pinstripes

The irony is that gender equality and balance are actually positives for business and global economies: “Gender diversity in management is necessary for competitive business performance,” a report by the International Labour Organisation notes. “Most businesses will go to great lengths to achieve a 2 or 3% improvement in their profit margins. Among companies surveyed by the ILO that track the impact of gender diversity in management, over two thirds of companies report 5 to 20% profit increases.”

S&P refers to a trickle-down effect on the rest of the workforce that can contribute to breaking down stereotypes on women in leadership and encourage women to pursue their careers further. It can create role models and standard bearers and encourage others to seek roles which they would have not otherwise considered and to ask for more raises and promotions.

The same study states that an increased representation of women at board level can minimise excessive risktaking which can ultimately enhance profitability and corporate reputation. “These outcomes are not negligible for companies and their shareholders, especially in times of a global pandemic which will require companies to differentiate themselves from their industry peers,” the report notes.

Ultimately, the conversation needs to shift to “recognise women for their abilities, experience and skills rather than branding them as diversity trophies,” comments S&P. “Companies and investors can help the world to wake up to the possibility that women deserve a say in the decision making process as legitimate leaders and fully-entitled human beings.”

Investing in female talent early on is essential and can ultimately diminish any biases and negative stereotypes around women’s ability to lead, which can hopefully address issues around unequal pay and gender pay gaps.

➸ Female Talents: JohJu, communications strategist with Vermilion Pinstripes; Veronica Lind, marketing strategist and creator of the Modern Marketing Framework TM and Chiara from HubSpot

“Shareholders have their role to play in this shift, as they can push companies to adopt better practices and improve their performance in terms of gender equality,” comments S&P. “They can act faster than governments by imposing their own quotas.”