How do we seize the opportunity to expand equality?

EY’s purpose is to Build a Better Working World. While this can mean more confidence in public company financial reporting, it also means making sure that business is good to its workers and the broader world in general. In a recent article, we highlighted three key challenges the world has faced for a long time which are being amplified by the pandemic and economic disruption. Income inequality, education inequality and health inequality are complex and integrated problems.

The World Economic Forum predicted it will take over 270 years to achieve gender equality across all aspects of daily life – political, economic, health and wellness, and education. In each aspect, there continues to be significant barriers and challenges (traditional culture, legal statutes, lack of infrastructure) for nation states to achieve gender equality. We see some of these challenges daily in our local news and headlines:

• Unemployment is rising higher among women and other minorities faster than for men, particularly in part-time and informal economic roles.
• Industries disproportionately affected by the pandemic and economic disruption are the primary employers of women (retail, hospitality, front line health, janitorial, education, child/elder care).
• Increased unpaid care and domestic work are falling to women to shoulder more than men at significant levels.
• Violence against women is increasing – from sexual harassment and cyber-bullying to intimate partner violence.
• Burnout, anxiety and depression are rising exponentially among women around the world.

The private sector has a significant role in helping to close these gaps and address these issues. We started our focus on inequality years ago, and formally launched our gender focused efforts in 2015. Women. Fast forward is dedicated to developing long term value through advancing gender equality in our communities, clients and team members. Gender equality will not address all aspects of inequality in the world, but it will start the process.

It’s critical that companies and enterprises, large and small, recognize that the actions taken now will resonate for years to come. We cannot wait for the economy to stabilize or treatments to be approved. The economic and social fluctuations will continue through 2022. We need the leadership qualities most commonly attributed to women. Empathy, collaboration, development of solutions that are inclusive in nature are critical skills in normal times and are more in demand than ever. The abilities to build consensus and develop strategies that effectively mitigate risk are not unique to women but will be increasingly needed to reframe our futures.

The new economy is anticipated to be focused on quality of life and different types of measures of success. How can we build an economy not just for growth but for opportunity?

How can we all help make the change?

• Review remittances and rewards programs for the bottom of the organizational pyramid including those who support the organization and yet are not on your payroll to ensure cost of living or other increases are proportional.
• Review promotion, remuneration and reward programs to ensure wage gaps are eliminated at all levels and stages of the employee life cycle.
• Review retirement and pension programs’ actuarial structures to ensure women and under-represented groups are equitably covered.
• Provide reskilling and upskilling opportunities for all workers including basic literacy, numeracy and digital skills as part of regular duties.
• Review educational requirements in role descriptions and job postings, assessing if degrees are truly required versus certificates or experiential based knowledge.
• Consider alternative approaches to training potential hires, particularly in roles requiring technical knowledge including apprenticeships or work-study combinations (internships, externships, etc.)

Discover more: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/covid-19/how-do-we-seize-the-opportunity-to-expand-equality #SheBelongs #WomenFastForward #BetterWorkingWorld