Imagine there was a medicine that would help your organization
to enhance performance
attract the best employees
reduce the cost of staff turnover
enhance your organization's reputation
improve your insights into target markets
minimize legal risks
and satisfy investor requirements.
If there was such a magic pill
would you prescribe it to your organization?
It seems there is such a medicine.
The business case
for gender equality in the workplace
is now stronger than ever.
In 2019, ILO research based on 30,000 surveyed enterprises
across the globe
found that enterprises
with equal employment policies and gender inclusive cultures
are over 60% more likely to have improved profits and productivity
and to experience enhanced reputation
greater ease in attracting and retaining talents
and greater creativity and innovation.
Of the companies that track the impact of gender diversity in management,
ILO is not the only organization
having come to these conclusions.
Research by the international management consulting firm - McKinsey
found that
more diverse firms are 25% more likely to out-perform less diverse firms.
The investment firm - Wardhaven Capital
reviewed the performance of companies in its portfolio
and found that
companies with a higher percentage of women in management
had better stock and market performance.
And the list goes on.
Companies around the world
are acting on these findings
and are taking the gender equality medicine.
In 2021, the Norwegian bank DNB
was named the best performing company
in relation to 19 Gender Equality Criteria by Equileap.
Better known firms like L'Oréal, General Motors and Diageo
are also among the top ten.
These firms have reduced gender gaps
in different levels of management and the workforce in the boardroom
and put in place policies
to reduce pay gaps and protect employees from sexual harassment.
The medicine also works for smaller firms.
Marina - a small producer of women's wear in Peru
is among the companies
that have joined ILO SCORE Training
and is championing gender equality
inside and outside the company.
If the benefits of gender equality are so obvious
how come it is still so scarce in many workplaces?
To advance equal opportunities in the workplace
we need to understand the root causes of gender inequalities
and why they persist.
One key factor is gender norms in society.
Gender norms were also used for centuries
to justify limiting or bearing women's access
to the labour market and certain jobs
and in many societies still are.
They also assign domestic and care responsibilities
primarily to women
which limits how much time they can dedicate to their careers.
Gender norms also apply to men.
In many societies, they are expected to be the main breadwinner
and suffer from stress and stigma if they cannot live up to that role.
Research published in the Harvard Business Review
finds that
men are penalized for straying from masculine stereotypes.
For example, when they request leave to take care of family.
Centuries of practiced gender norms
and the legacy of women's exclusion
and discrimination in labour markets
are still visible in today's workplaces.
For example
in the European Union
women occupy less than 20% of telecommunication jobs
while in India
only 10% of construction jobs are taken by women.
In the US, less than 10% of nurses
and less than 20% of elementary school teachers or social workers are men.
Despite progress in most regions
women remain particularly underrepresented in management and leadership.
In North America and Asia Pacific
their share in management positions has reached almost 40%
but they only hold around 20% of managerial positions in Latin America and Africa
and around 10% in the Middle East.
If we look at what kind of management positions women occupy
we realize we find them more often in middle management
and management support functions such as HR.
At the CEO level
close to 80% of managers are men.
The composition of the workforce and in particularly under-representation of women
in decision-making roles
shapes the working environment in industries and enterprises
It starts by supposedly trivial things
like the fact that recommended average office temperatures
are too low for women
and it goes all the way to decisions about
how much a person takes home
and who is deemed to possess leadership qualities
and who is not.
To improve the situation
women have been told to
lean in
to be more assertive
get an additional degree
get more industry experience
find a mentor
join an empowerment group etc.
This might all be well-meaning advice
but all these ideas imply that
women are not good enough yet
and that they have to do more
or change.
We developed this course based on the belief that
there's nothing wrong with women.
We believe it is workplaces that need to change and adapt
And in this course, we will show you how.
We also believe that men have a lot to gain from gender equality.
For example, more time for family
or opportunities to pursue careers
that are perhaps less aligned with gender norms.
Equality in the workplace has many aspects to it
and we are going to look at it in a holistic manner.
We have 8 sessions.
And in session 1 you're just watching
we have presented to you
the business case
talked about social norms
and how they impact the workplace.
Over the next sessions,
we will explore 6 spheres of action.
In session 2, we discuss what you can do
to ensure voices of women and men are equally heard
whether it is in leadership, teams or meetings.
In session 3, we introduce inclusive hiring
and in session 4, the gender pay gap.
In session 5, we help you to assess your work climate
and what you can do to particularly address sexual harassment in the workplace.
In session 6, we look at occupational safety and health through a gender lens
while in session 7, flexible work, employer-supported child
care and parental leave are the topics.
In session 8, we tell you how you can take effective action
and make gender equality an organizational priority.
In all these sessions
we will hear from topic experts and business leaders
on what concrete actions organizations can take.
And I would like to thank them all for their contributions to this course.
At this point, we would also like to acknowledge that
gender equality extends beyond binary identification as women or men
and we try to consider that.
Equally, diversity includes other dimensions beyond gender identity
such as race, physical abilities, age, sexual orientation and religion.
Though in this course, we focus primarily on gender.
Encouragingly, we see considerable efforts by enterprises
to reap the benefits of more equal opportunities for women and men
across countries in all regions.
If you are watching this video
you might be one of them.
Given the changing nature of work
as well as current and future skills shortages
it is imperative for your organization
to make a strategic choice
to develop your organizations into workplaces
where talented women and men want to be
and create the enabling conditions
that lead to success.
So, let's get started!