On Women's Day, Oxean wants to recognize all women and reflect on how we in the private sector can contribute to narrowing the gender gap.
The gap is still vast
According to the “Global Gender Gap Report 2022” published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in July last year, the global gender gap reached 68.1%, so researchers estimate that – at the current rate of progress – it will take about 132 years to reach full parity.
Although this represents a slight improvement compared to the 2021 estimate (136 years to parity), it does not compensate for the generational loss between 2020 and 2021: based on trends up to 2020, the gender gap would have closed in 100 years.
The role of companies
Organizations have a leading role in reducing the imbalance, providing equal opportunities for women and equal pay for equal roles.
But these actions are just some of the initiatives that companies can implement.
To rethink together, we leave some trigger questions that allow us to evaluate where we are, how much progress has been made on this path, and how much is still missing.
- Does your company promote gender equity and equality? In what way?
- Does the people area promote diversity in the selection, recruitment, and people management processes?
- Are communications screened to evaluate whether any stereotype or bias is being reproduced?
- Does your company implement policies and protocols to deal with behaviors that may include violence or discrimination?
Actions to close the gender gap
Did you know that organizations with greater gender diversity in their workforce are 25% more likely to outperform their industry average financially? So reveals the Diversity Wins report published by McKinsey & Company.
Among the most publicized actions to increase diversity are:
- Equality policies: organizations need to implement explicit gender equality policies that ensure that women and men have equal opportunities in terms of pay, promotions, training, benefits, and other working conditions.
- Flexible work options: this can include telecommuting, flexible schedules, and maternity leave, among others.
- Diversity and inclusion: encourage diversity in teams and promote a culture of inclusion so that all people feel valued and respected, through mentoring programs and anti-harassment policies, among many other possibilities.
- Gender equality training: it is essential to promote gender equality by providing training to identify one’s prejudices and start on the path to overcoming them.
- Transparency: be transparent about gender equality policies and practices and provide regular reports on your progress in closing the gender gap.
- Actions against discrimination: always take strong action against any form of gender discrimination in the workplace, including discrimination based on pregnancy, sexual orientation, and all discriminatory behavior in this regard.
In summary, to close the gender gap, companies should adopt equality policies, offer flexible work options, encourage diversity and inclusion, provide gender equality training, promote women, be transparent in their policies and practices, and take action against gender discrimination.
