Gender equity is the journey, gender equality is the destination.

Gender equity is the journey, gender equality is the destination.

Covid-19 has in a profound way underscored this sense that democracy and participation in public life at all levels and areas of society needs to change and, the last 12 months has further paralysed the road to gender equality. We are at a crucial crossroads where our governments, organisations and leaders must come together to find those interventions. 

With this in mind, Equality Leaders held the Gender Agenda Online Summit* on 10th March 2021, bringing together corporate enterprises, civil society and leading minds in Diversity & Inclusion to discuss all things gender equality, whilst simultaneously marking the annual International Women’s Day event. 

The conference defined how gender equality will unveil in the workplace and steps businesses - small and big - can take to achieve this. Great emphasis was placed on ally ship, belonging, flexible working arrangements and the benefits of gender diversity. Inspiration bubbled throughout the conference with many sharing their personal anecdotes and motivations for pledging their commitment to this goal. 

Women represent 39% of the global workforce but accounted for 54% of job losses as of May 2020. Furthermore, women are over-represented in sectors which are most heavily hit by the pandemic, such as hospitality or the food services industries, further exacerbating inequalities. These inequalities also disproportionately affect certain groups of women, depending on the intersections of gender with race, ethnicity, religion, class, ability, sexuality and other identity markers. 

As Jay Muthu of Virgin Media highlighted, providing women platforms, safe spaces, and a sense of belonging are crucial to tackling inequalities in gender. This isn’t limited to providing maternity leave and childcare services, but going above and beyond, by engaging in conversations about often unspoken topics, such as menopause and postnatal depression. In doing so, we create environments where women feel a sense of belonging and retain their space in the workplace.

Women and men see the state of gender-diversity efforts with striking differences. According to the Women in the Workplace survey conducted by McKinsey, only 8% of men believe their gender has played a role in missing out on a raise, promotion, or chance to get ahead, whereas 37% of women believe this to be true. 

Akira Mitsumasu from Japan Airlines, explained how women in Japan leave college after two years to take up clerical roles and are then, by default, given fewer opportunities to climb up the corporate ladder. Furthermore, the burden to maintain stability in their family is placed and felt by most women, with 64% of female workers giving up their opportunity to work overseas. “To close this large gap, we need more than a simple workshop. We need a cultural mind shift. We need participation from everyone, not just women. We need engagement from senior executives and front line managers. We need to convince employees to change their behaviours and show them how to incorporate these new actions into their daily routine. We need male allies. Developing a deeper understanding of the experiences of the women around them and sharpening their situational awareness will inevitably and irrevocably transform their perspective”.

Oncoming research shows that a growing number of women, both in senior roles and among the rank and file, are finding their voices and inspiring others to achieve progress. One panellist’s story in particular caught our attention. Natasha Harrison, Managing Partner at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, became the first female partner in the firm who had a child. Whilst most women’s entrance into motherhood is met with joy and congratulations, Natasha’s was met with confusion at best, and discrimination at worst. It was, therefore, crucial for her to navigate these circles and set the path for other women to follow in her footsteps. Nevertheless, the hurdles women face are beyond the confines of work.

Over the last year, we’ve seen an unprecedented shift in our lives. And while it hasn’t been perfect, there is a real opportunity after this crisis to shift the focus about what ED&I should look like in the future. Reshma Ramachandran, of The Adecco Group, echoed the importance of measuring temporal trends, as well as enrolment quotas. Why? Well one explains how many women enter work, and the other tells us how many stay. Women leave the workforce, whether it be for caring duties, unconscious bias, or gender discrimination. They leave feeling unheard and unmotivated to remain in an environment that does not serve their purpose. As Ramachandran amplified, we must do our utmost to sustain enrolment figures and fix the system to offer upskilling and platforms where women feel they are lacking. 

Yes, this article is charged with calls for action. But now is the time to invest in our women and girls. At the turn of the decade, the world saw women use their voice to defend democracy (e.g. Sudan, India, Chile), yet the walls seem to be increasingly closing in on them. If the events that unravelled last weekend in the UK have taught us anything, it is that women’s place in a supposed first world nation is still threatened. Corporates, civil society and the public sector have a huge role to play in smashing the -all too familiar- glass ceiling. 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.

*Equality Leaders’ Gender Agenda Online Summit was powered by Virgin Media and supported by Japan Airlines, the HumanCapitalNetwork, JobSeer and Media Hive.

Contributors: Minaxi Mistry, Founder and Maiyoraa Jeyabraba, Content Manager, Equality Leaders.

For further information about our work, visit www.equalityleaders.com or email [email protected]

Kat Thorne

Positive Habits = Productive People | Tedx International Speaker | Life explosion ? High Performing | Former CEO | #1 Positive Habits Podcast

3 年

Great article.

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