Across the world, including the European Union, women have faced discrimination and abuse. From domestic violence to gender pay gaps, sexual harassment, being denied the basic human right to education or access to reproductive health services, patriarchy has ignored the pleas of women and the movement for gender equality for women and girls.

The World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report 2024 shows that the overall gender parity score went up from 67.9% in 2021 to 68.1% in 2022. Only 30 out of 145 countries moved up by one percentage point. According to UN Women, COVID-19 has worsened gender equality and has set back progress on all SDGs, not just SDG 3.

What is Gender Equality?

Gender equality is when everyone has the same access to everything. This means:

• Economic: same pay for same work, promotion opportunities, education, and training.
• Social: being able to participate in all of society without gender discrimination. This could be politics, sports, or the arts.
• Personal: being able to make choices about your life, who you marry, whether you have children or not, and what career you choose.

Everyone gets a chance to win, and society will have a more diverse and productive workforce.

Breaking Gender Stereotypes

Traditional gender stereotypes or norms impact not just at the individual level but also at the global level. According to World Bank, lack of workplace gender diversity and gender perspective is costing many countries big time. Gender bias is destroying the social fabric, devaluing human potential, and resulting in huge economic losses. Gender inequality in earnings is costing $23,620 per person globally.

Equal opportunities in leadership, decision-making and participation in political, economic and public life is key to achieving gender equality and addressing economic inequalities.

Why Gender Equality in the Workplace?

This moral imperative goes beyond any ‘social’ notions within ‘ESG’. So how do you promote gender equality in the workplace, a more diverse workforce, and, by extension, board gender diversity? How do you support women entrepreneurs and female employees? What are the benefits to your business? Let’s see

1. Economic Growth

Women in the workforce will lead to better economic decision making which will lead to sustainable economies and benefit society at large. Working women will boost productivity and economic diversification, along with income equality and access to economic resources. Remember equal pay for equal work is key as it will close the gender pay gap and can impact economic growth. According to UN Women, if female employment rates in OECD countries matched Sweden’s, it could add over 6 trillion US dollars to GDP.

Women’s equality is good for business, as per UN Women, as it increases not just employment and leadership opportunities for women but also organizational effectiveness and company growth. Along with keeping company profitability in mind, empowering women in the economy helps in achieving some of the UN SDGs, namely Goal 5 - gender equality; Goal 8 - to promote full and productive employment and decent work for all; Goal 1 - end poverty; Goal 3 - ensure health; Goal 10 - reduce inequalities; and Goal 2 - food security.

2. Inclusivity and Diversity

Gender equality sets a good foundation for a healthy society, economic growth and social dynamics. To encourage diversity we need to address gender gaps in the labour market, such as representation in STEM fields and decision making positions.

While getting more women into the workforce, companies are attracting diverse talent, skills and strengths which will help them collaborate and work better. It will also create a more creative space for colleagues which will help them solve problems. With gender diversity companies will develop new innovations and ways of solving problems. Good diversity management and advancing gender equality is key to a company’s success.

3. Company Reputation

In our previous article on UN SDGs for your business, we talked about the younger workforce and investors, their interest in the environment and whether companies are meeting environmental sustainability goals. The same applies here. By promoting gender equality in both public and private spheres companies can build a positive image and attract bigger talent pool. Focusing on women’s empowerment can also enhance company reputation by showing commitment to gender equality and equal opportunities. A Glassdoor survey found that 76% of job seekers said a diverse workforce is important when evaluating companies and job offers. For any company or business to succeed it must consider the mindset of the youth and marginalized groups especially women.

So the company is achieving some of the sustainable development goals such as reducing poverty and hunger, quality education and gender equality, reduced inequalities and decent work which makes for a great brand reputation in the job market for employers and stakeholders.

Article: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion In The Workplace

4. Employee Retention

To keep your business running you need to retain the best talent in the company. Companies that are not gender equal will lose the best talent for specific roles regardless of their brand or reputation in the world. If prospective employees don’t feel the company is committed to women’s empowerment they will not see themselves in a leadership role and will not apply to the company. Companies should have gender equality policies and practices including gender mainstreaming to engage more women in the long run. Giving women flexibility and same choice of managerial roles in the company is helping in more diverse leadership and retention for

5. Customer Segmentation Better

Most products in the market have different customer segments. But in traditional workplaces most marketing and product managers are male. To advance gender equality we need to involve women in top level decisions without restricting them to a particular demographic. Sexual violence and exploitation is hindering progress towards gender equality and has been exacerbated by COVID-19. So with women’s involvement companies can target customer segments better which will make the company more profitable in the future.

What are the components of gender equality in the workplace?

In the workplace gender equality means a level playing field for all genders. Here are the key bits:

Equal Pay and Opportunities:

• Fair Pay: Same work, same pay, regardless of gender.
• Promotion: Advancing opportunities are based on merit and qualifications, not gender. Women and men should have equal access to leadership roles.
• Gender Pay Gaps: WGEA Report
• Closing gender pay gaps is key to achieving workplace gender equality. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) in Australia releases reports on gender pay gaps. Their latest report, out February 2024, shows the gaps across industries and why transparency and action are needed to close them. Read the full WGEA report here.

Inclusive Culture:

• No Discrimination: A workplace free from harassment, bias and gender stereotypes.
• Work-Life Balance: Flexible work arrangements and policies that support both men and women in managing their work and personal lives. This could be parental leave, childcare options and flexible working hours.
• Respectful Space: A space where everyone feels valued and respected, regardless of gender identity or expression.

Empowerment and Development:

• Training and Development: Equal access to training and development programs to help all genders progress in their careers.
• Mentoring: Mentoring programs that connect women and men with mentors who can offer guidance and support.
• Representation: A diverse workforce with fair representation of women and men (and potentially other genders) across the organisation.

Accountability and Transparency:

• Clear Policies: Clear policies against discrimination and harassment with fair and transparent process for reporting and addressing issues.
• Monitoring Progress: Regularly tracking the gender pay gap and women in leadership roles to identify improvement areas.
• Leadership Commitment: Leadership commitment to promote gender equality and hold themselves accountable for progress.

By focusing on these components, companies can create a more level playing field for everyone to succeed.

Conclusion

Gender equality is not just a human right or a sustainable development goal but it’s the foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. The pandemic has exposed the inequalities that have been existing for women for centuries and promoting equality in business is an urgent necessity.

For women to break the ‘glass ceiling,’ countries and organisations must achieve gender equality in all workplaces and unlock women’s endless potential through their unique skill set, different perspectives, and long-term vision for the company and the environment as a whole.

Women equal rights, including access to economic resources and property ownership, are paramount for a thriving society.

Update: For further information on gender equality and women in STEM in particular, as well as some excellent links for more in-depth reading, please refer to this excellent article at Website Planet, by Jennifer Gregory.