The world has seen the patriarchal nature of the social structure over the centuries. This setup has affected not only the family structures but also, the business orientation that reinforced gender disparities. Equal opportunities are not given to male and female children from the beginning, leading to a different level of exposure to the outer world from childhood, challenging the females in the business environment. Alongside, discriminations extend unequivocally in multifaceted dimensions like unequal pay scale, hiring restrictions, motherhood penalties, indifferent attitudes toward wages, harassment, and victimization to name a few.
Different biases exist that lead to an invisible glass ceiling. False narratives about the low-efficiency level of women at workplaces especially those with children; lack of ambition and time devotion to work etc act as a barrier to career growth leading to lesser positions being awarded to females, especially at the higher managerial levels. Although a global awareness of false narratives has been generated and advocates of gender equality are taking their stance on this issue; the need for a more proactive approach towards harmonization of the male and female roles is more imminent than ever. To minimize the plight of women, a solution-oriented approach is highly desirable instead of discussions highlighting the problems only.
Gender equality at home:
The change begins at home. To rebuild lives, we have to reconstruct and revisit societal norms. There is a need for equal treatment of female and male children so that they gain an equal level of confidence and support from their homes. We must teach our sons that they are equal to our daughters instead of just focusing on telling our daughters that they are nothing less.
The distinction of the chores based on gender orientation may be abolished. Parents should share an equal burden of household chores and childcare among themselves. Equality of work at home among male and female children should also be ensured. Any sign of domestic violence whether physical or emotional needs to be checked carefully.
Gender equality in education and training:
Education for All (UNESCO) demands equal chances for education to be given to female and male children. Gender selection biases in education must be obliterated. The education system should provide support to young generations with respect to career advice, mentoring, coaching opportunities, network development, and future orientation irrespective of their gender to build a confident workforce in a country. Nonpartisan and unprejudiced training and education would scale up the labour force participation rate and reduce the dependency burden in the country.
This would lead to the emergence of more diverse skill sets and hence more productivity of the individuals; thereby enhancing the economic performance of a country.
Gender equality at workplaces:
We must reject the chauvinist approaches and stereotypes not only at home; along with racism; but also, at the workplace. Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDG goals 5 and 10) by United Nations (UN) also focus on gender equality and bold initiatives must be taken
as per the UN charter. The organizational policies should be aligned in a way to give equal opportunities to all. The higher authorities having decision-making power should develop a grievance-redressal mechanism to address the issues of both genders equally.
Women should also be represented fairly at the board of directors and executive levels. The organizations should encourage diversity and inclusivity during the hiring and the gender wage gap should be addressed. The question “would you be able to manage home and work at the same time” should not be asked of women during interviews just like they are not asked of men. A zero-tolerance policy toward workplace harassment should be enforced to promote a safe working environment for the female staff and the invisible glass ceiling should be removed.
It is imperative now to have an inclusive and overarching approach to growth and diversity. Only when equal opportunities are given to females at home, in educational institutions, and in organizations; then the world would turn into a level playing field. Equal rights lead to progression and bring about better prospects thus benefitting females in particular and society as a whole. In order to ensure that all genders are progressing at the same pace, there is a need to level the playing field for everyone. The change must be accepted, realized, and acted upon to bring about real-time.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Ankasha Arif Course Leader — BA (Hons) Business Studies Senior Lecturer — Department of Business & Management
