Gender Equality in Corporate World| Are We There Yet?

Founder of the Virgin Group and business billionaire, Richard Branson once said, “A company is only as good as it’s people”. The statement stands strong till date, and drives several enterprises.

Hiring top talent is of grave importance in today’s evolving business climate. However, one cannot deny the fact that even today, several classes of the society are still gatekept from various job opportunities. According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2021, it will take another 100 years to achieve gender equality based on the current rate of progress.

A disparity between the genders not only denies people of rightful opportunities to a thriving career, but also steals their talent from the world, to which they have much to offer.

So, the question arises - How can one work towards gender equality in their firm?

1. Make It A Business Imperative - 
   Gender equality should be regarded as a commercial requirement that boosts profits, rather than a campaign. Leading firms ensure that there is more than one employee resource group and talent programme to meet the different intersections of diversity and guarantee that no one is left behind.
    
2. Lead By Example -
   To begin to develop a culture of gender equality, project, company and unit leaders should take the lead and question the current quo. Employees should also be encouraged to look inward when discussing matters with their leader/manager.
    
3. Remove gendered parameters while considering candidates for leadership roles - 
   According to an article featured by American Progress in 2018, a large percentage of women work as supervisors or managers. However, when it comes to leadership roles in businesses, women are still grossly underrepresented. Some of the leading causes of the same are considering external gendered norms of childcare, gendered division of labour within domestic spheres and other societal norms, while dolling out promotions. For a fair representation at top roles, it is imperative to consider candidates purely on the basis of their skills, merit and other professional parameters. This will further incentivise the candidates to live up to the responsibilities and deliver regardless of societal prejudices.
    
4. Foster a culture of shared accountability - 
   To improve the chances of genuine gender equality becoming a reality, company leaders should foster a culture of shared accountability in which noncompliance is not tolerated by anyone, and well-defined policies and metrics of success are in place to help achieve the same aim. As a result, company owners will not be able to carry this goal alone, increasing the chance of equality in their firms.
    
5. Carefully evaluate salary slabs, maternity leaves and paternity leaves - 
   One of the key outcomes of gender bias in firms reflects in unequal pay for the same work performed by all the genders. In most cases, a man’s salary increases exponentially within a firm and not the woman’s because the management assumes that the male employee has a family to support. The same is not taken into consideration for their female counterparts. Female employees are also more susceptible to losing jobs in times of economic uncertainty, citing the same reason.

Another important conversation must happen around maternity leaves. The de-stigmatisation of maternity leaves can also include the encouraging of the flexibility provided with giving paternity leaves, more freely. This further gives out the greater message that both the parents are equally responsible in the nurturing of children, as opposed to burdening one of the genders for the same. This has been implemented in some companies and its greater effect in the scope of gender equality across the globe has been massive!

Commenting on the current gender norms within corporate structures, Alyson Fajardo, Manager – Intelligent Enterprise at Exalogic Consulting says, “I am very proud to see women taking the lead in a world that has long been dominated by men in suits. Women though, have the same capabilities as men and are even more charismatic in taking up space in the tech industry and making decisions.” However, she adds that the company just like the rest of the world, does have a long way to go.

In the future, Exalogic Consulting aims to have more women take up leadership and managerial roles while upholding its present efforts to ensure equal pay, despite of gender, race or nationality.

Chasing inclusivity with utmost determination, Exalogic Consulting is an SAP Silver Partner that strives to integrate top SAP Diversity, Equality and Inclusivity (DE & I) tools offered by SAP SuccessFactors, so you can monitor and implement gender equality and inclusivity principles tools within your firm. SAP is not just cognizant of but also celebrates the vast diaspora of people that form the workforce today.

Join us as we work towards contributing to make corporate structures more conducive for women, alternate genders, the people with determination and the side-lined, so top talent is not hidden under the baggage of their identity.

See our initiatives here: https://www.exalogic.co/about-us