Gender inequality in the workplace is one of the main problems facing women.
257 years… That’s about how long it takes according to the World Economic Forum (Global Gender Gap Report 2021) to achieve economic equality between the two sexes. The global pay gap in March 2020 stood at 23% in favor of men. Greece is in 98th place out of a total of 156 countries, while in the annual Gender Equality Index of the European Institute for Gender Equality, it ranks last among all the EU member states.
Gender equality is the most common issue in the workplace where women are often at a disadvantage compared to their male colleagues. While the gender gap in education and health has almost disappeared, more work is needed in terms of equal economic participation and labor market opportunities. More generally, the trend of wage inequality prevails, with women being paid less than men, with the latter simultaneously “dominating” the workplace, taking the majority of managerial positions.
Even today, even in Western countries, women do not have the opportunity to be heard and prove their worth and be as effective as men, while many times they are exploited in the workplace to “move up” in the company where they work. The truth is that gender discrimination in the workplace is not limited to the walls of the office, but is a set of false assumptions and stereotypes that have been nurtured even in recent generations. It should be noted that the above conclusions are based on research in which the participants were university students!
Based on these stereotypes many men, but also women, tend to have the perception that a woman cannot be in a leadership position. However, it is clear that this mindset is wrong as more and more women demonstrate the necessary skills, experience and knowledge necessary for leadership roles.
Data on gender inequality
The research, published in the World Economic Forum, followed 33 teams of 4 to 10 university students who worked together in a simulation game with a military or business theme.
Specifically, the participants were given 10 minutes to plan their plan and one hour to execute it. Each of the students had to nominate one to five people who they thought could emerge as project leaders (once during the planning phase and once after the game). So based on the results, it was estimated that only 58% of the gender gap at work has been closed so far, adding that it expects it will take another… 267.6 years to reach true equality at work.
Additionally, women represent just 27% of managers and overall income inequality remains high. Finally, there is a regression in which there is a persistent decline in the percentage of women employed in senior management positions, despite efforts to mitigate inequalities. Of course, this regression may also be due to the pandemic, but this hypothesis is an analysis in itself.
The Greek paradox
Based on the data of Grant Thornton’s 2021 survey, entitled “Women in Business” demonstrates an interesting paradox for Greece has emerged regarding the obstacles faced by women in their advancement. Specifically, the women who took part in the research, in their vast majority (92%), consider that the companies they work for have not taken any measures to prevent the imbalance between the two sexes. However, 63% of women state that no obstacle will prevent their advancement. In contrast, only 25%, both globally and at European level, consider that no obstacle can stop their advancement in a company. This demonstrates that a fairly large percentage of Greek professionals remains optimistic about the stereotypes concerning the roles of the two sexes, which continue to hold a strong position in our country.
Finally, an important development for women’s entrepreneurship is connected to the statement of the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, responsible for demographic policy and the family, Maria Syregela, that strengthening the position of women in all areas of social life is a key goal. As she has stated in a conference: “we implement projects and actions aimed at real gender equality with tangible initiatives for women’s everyday life”, stressing that the National Action Plan for Gender Equality will be based on the target pillars of the Council of Europe and the E.U.
However, for Greece, the need to develop actions to reduce the gender gap at work is imperative because, as the data so far shows, it is not yet particularly encouraging compared to the Western world. This reality is illustrated by the UN data regarding the 5-goal of gender equality of the United Nations.
The role of Rise Club
Rise Club embraces UN Goal 5 and the values of equal treatment of women at work, closing a year of presence in Greek society, and tries with the development of various actions to bring unemployed mothers back to work. The main objective of the organization, beyond developing and updating the skills of mothers, is to contact and connect them with companies that promote the reconciliation of family and work life and above all recognize the skills and abilities of mothers. Therefore, the issue for us is not simply to find mothers work, but to ensure their equal return to the market.
Watch the WEF video on the survey here
