Today is the International Women's Day and, taking advantage of this vindicating date, we would like to reflect on the role of women in the world of work. Gender discrimination has been invisibilized throughout history, but today it is already of public importance.
At Zemsania, as HR experts, we believe that labor equality is a fundamental requirement in any modern society.
According to the report Women in Business: to comply or to lead? of Grant Thornton, only 27% of women in Spain hold senior management positions. In this regard, the Community of Madrid is the region with the highest number of women in management positions, with 331 PTP3T. It is followed by Catalonia and Valencia, with 261 PTP3T in both cases. As we can see, the numbers are very low in relation to the male group. Furthermore, according to the INE, there is an annual salary difference of more than 5,000 euros between men and women in favor of the former.
Facts about women in the workplace
Despite the fact that in Spain women make up 51% of the population, There is significant inequality in the labor market. According to data from the Instituto de la Mujer, the CSIC and the INE (National Statistics Institute), only 28% of senior managers in public administration are women. The following are the areas of work that stand out the most:
- Education. The majority of rectors are men, leaving women at 13%. In the world of professors there are only 22% of women and, in the teams of the Royal Academies, 11%.
- Politics and economics. Female ambassadors in foreign governments make up 13%. At the level of governance, in Spain there are only 191Tw3T of women mayors. Another worrying fact is that 371,000,000 of the executive positions in the main parties are held by women.
- Judicial area. In the judicial world, women are more relevant, since there are 52% of female judges and magistrates. In addition, 43% of the members of the General Council of the Judiciary are women.
- Domestic employment. Women account for 98% of jobs in this sector. In this regard, it should not be forgotten that household chores usually fall to women, who are also in charge of caring for children or dependents. To do this, they sometimes have to take time off work, which further reduces their purchasing power.
Values to be enhanced to ensure inclusion
Secure the inclusion of women in the workplace generates cohesion in the company. To achieve this, Jennifer Thorpe Moscon, PhD in leadership behaviors and inclusive organizational practices, explains that there are four leadership behaviors that foster inclusion:
- Empowerment. It is based on allowing the team to exploit their talents and successfully exceed expectations.
- Accountability. Delegation of responsibilities in the areas that each professional controls. This demonstrates confidence in the staff.
- Courage. It consists of encouraging workers to speak directly and clearly. In this way, the professional learns to take the necessary risks.
- Humility. Exploiting mistakes as opportunities to learn. It is about the ability to admit that we are not perfect and that sometimes we will need to consult other professionals to combine ideas.
These four initiatives, applied to women, can boost equality and the role of women in the workplace. Providing freedom and responsibility is the best way to balance the scales.
How to promote gender equality
Although it is more difficult for women to reach high positions, their role in the world of work is as important as that of men. In fact, boosting women's leadership is good for business.
Achieving gender equality in employment is a challenge due to the way society is structured. However, it is possible to minimize these differences by following a series of tips:
- Acceptance of diversity gender. The more different types of people there are in the company, the more enriching the work environment will be. This applies to gender, but also to ethnicity, origin or social class.
- Destruction of the wage gap. If they perform the same work activity, women should be paid the same as men. There is no reason that can justify the contrary.
- Valuation of women. We must go beyond economic factors and value the successes of women in the same way as those of men.
- Avoidance of symbolic measures. Companies should forget about policies that are only designed to look good in the public sphere.
- Promoting women's leadership. It is important to analyze and value the capabilities of women in the team, which are usually undervalued.
- Review of communications. Companies should ensure that their internal and external communications are gender-neutral.
- Analysis of equality policies. Once the equality policies have been implemented, it is vital to publicize the benefits they have generated. In this way, other organizations will imitate the procedure.
What Spanish managers think
Spanish executives also discussed measures to enhance the role of women in the workplace. In this regard, more than half of employers reject pay gap audits. The 60% does consider these measures effective, but with concessions. They consider that an agreement between the government, employers and unions is necessary.
Entrepreneurs also reject the quota law. Specifically, 79% of managers do not support this law, which penalizes companies with less than 40% of women in the governing body. Grant Thornton also asked about the barriers that impede equality policies and 66% of the entrepreneurs responded that they do not exist..
Despite the above data, 90% of Spanish companies apply equal pay policies for men and women that perform the same activity. In addition, 83% is already applying non-discriminatory hiring policies. Although it seems that some companies are moving to remedy this situation, we should consider whether they are succeeding in doing so. If not, the actions needed to promote equal opportunities should be reconsidered.
Women are one of the groups that have suffered the most from job insecurity. Getting a good job and reaching leadership positions is difficult, but for this sector it can be an odyssey. That is why raising awareness about discrimination in the workplace is more important than ever. There are currently many movements in favor of equal opportunities, which is why now is the time to promote them.