Do you really believe in gender equality?

We often think that we are unprejudiced and unbiased but sometimes deeply held beliefs can influence your thinking without you really being aware of it. Check out the tests on the link  https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/ireland/

I looked at this initially in the context of gendered leadership but its also very illuminating in terms of other biases that can inform our thinking.

Today in Ireland, as in Europe, women continue to be under-represented in senior positions in corporate and political life, despite the fact that they represent half the workforce and more than half of new university graduates.The gender gap in leadership is common in business and politics alike and represents a significant missed opportunity for success. While women and men enter in equal proportions the trends as they move up the ladder results in a far from proportionate representation in both business and political life.

It has been 200 years since the Industrial Revolution brought women in significant numbers into the workplace.

It’s been more than 150 years since women in the West got access to higher education.

It’s been more than 40 years since women in civil or public service jobs had to resign on marrying while a married woman’s property much like her, belonged to her husband.

And yet, women make up just 1 in 10 of the directors of publically limited companies.

According to EU statistics women in Ireland are paid 14pc less than men. 

Just 1 in 8 or 16% of our TDs in Dáil Eireann are women – a mere 27 out of 166 seats.

If we just think of all the costs that result from not tapping into half our human capital, and the costs associated with keeping women absent when decisions about our country and our organisations are being made!- Why does this continue?

 We know there are real and quantifiable benefits of having more women in decision-making positions- and this applies equally to the business and political environments.

Internationally research tells us that:

• Boards with a higher than average percentage of women outperform those with fewer than average by 36%.
• Companies with greater numbers of women in leadership have a greater focus on corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, market awareness, and corporate strategy.
• Adding more women to the leadership team increases the overall effectiveness of the team
• We also know that women make the majority of the purchasing decisions - 80% of consumer purchases in the developed world - yet the majority of women feel misunderstood by marketers.
• Institutional investor interest in gender diverse organisations is also increasing. Although many focus solely on financial performance increasingly consideration is being given to factors such as ethics and a commitment to diversity in weighing up return on investment.

 So why does this imbalance remain?- Despite the progress made to address the balance of gender and leadership a number of barriers remain today preventing women from succeeding in business and politics. 

Culture, stereotypes and attitudes play a large role in slowing the route to the top for women.

Speaking about women in the film industry twenty years ago actress Barbra Streisand summed it better than I can, "A man is commanding, a woman is demanding. A man is forceful; a woman is pushy. A man is uncompromising; a woman is a ball-breaker. A man is a perfectionist; a woman's a pain in the ass".

Female leadership is not a women’s issue – it’s very clearly a strategic business issue affecting individuals, organisations and society.

What can you do to lead the change? perhaps one of the first things to do is to understand any unconscious biases you may hold- check out the tests on the link above and encourage you organisation to provide Unconscious Bias training to help you unlock all the talent available to your organisation.

Everyone can make a difference- starting with themselves.