Women in the Corporate world

In the pre-21st century era, women were expected to only be in the kitchen and take care of all the household responsibilities. This was the scenario in almost every corner of the globe.

But now that we are more than two decades into the 21st century, has this perception changed?

To an extent, yes, but we have a long way to go.

The reports suggest that it will take another century to achieve gender equality at the current rate of progress. And with the pandemic, if we want to avoid adding an extra ten years to achieve gender equality, we need to double our efforts. Past experiences have shown that economic slowdowns not only affect women disproportionately but are also a reason behind gender equality topics to slip down the government and corporate agendas. The coronavirus pandemic has had a negative impact on the workforce as a whole but majorly on women. Women represent only 39% of the global workforce but accounted for 54% of job losses as of May 2020.

The pandemic has only worsened the problem which was already there in the corporate world. Even though some may not want to accept this reality and would say that there is no gender bias in today's time, the unfortunate truth is that the gender gap still very much exists. Women, especially those of colour, are underrepresented at all levels. Women are less likely to be hired even for entry roles. And if they are fortunate enough to get their dream jobs, climbing up the corporate ladder is even more difficult. According to the reports, compared to every 100 men, only 79 women are promoted to the position of manager. This is a vicious cycle until all companies, whether big or small, take dedicated action towards gender equality.? Although many companies have pronounced their commitments to build a diverse and inclusive workforce, it is important to remember that only immediate and effective actions on the part of the employees will help in closing the gender gap.

Women start experiencing gender inequality more often as and when they move up the corporate ladder, especially when it comes to getting a seat on the board. Data suggests that women constitute only 5% of the members in the boardrooms. And we can count them on our fingertips. It is unnerving to see that even though businesses are well aware of the benefits of a diverse and inclusive workforce - innovation, employee retention, increased financial returns, etc., to name some - there is still a lack of progress in closing the gender.

While increasing the proportion of women on the board is important, further steps need to be taken to bridge the gender gap in the workforce at all levels in an organisation. Companies need to proactively hire and promote women into senior management positions whenever they are deserving. This provides an opportunity to access new talent pools and increase efficiency and innovation. The corporate sector is at a crossroads. The choices that we make today will have consequences on an organisation's overall performance and gender equality for decades to come.