The workplace remains unequal despite decades of progressive efforts. Gender inequality or imbalance is a complex phenomenon evident in organizational structures, processes, and practices. It takes up many forms like unequal pay, disparity in promotions, incidents of sexual harassment, and racism. Often, it manifests itself in more nuanced ways, such as fewer opportunities for women and an increased incidence of burnout for women.
Gender inequality or imbalance in the workplace might include hiring or training only one gender for a particular role (because it is seen as a 'man's work' or 'woman's work'). The facts surrounding gender inequality at work are clear:
- For every 100 men, hardly 85 women are promoted to senior posts.
- Women being offered financial incentives dropped from 47% to 44% since the beginning of the outbreak, while the rate has only dropped 1% for men, down to 56%.
- At the start of 2021, women held 38% of managerial-level positions, whereas men held 62%.
- The 2021 Fortune 500 list revealed a record of 37 female CEOs, compared to 463 male CEO positions.
- In 2021, women earned 12.9% less than men in median earnings.
- Wage losses caused by Covid-19 disproportionately affect women. They are losing about 8.1 %of their total wage bill, compared to only 5.4 % for men.
These imbalances do not just affect women, but they affect organizations too; when women start working in an organization where their voices are heard, it makes them optimistic while increasing the company's productivity and healthy work environment. Women's empowerment occurs when the strengths that women bring to the workplace are recognized and utilized.
Today, there is no doubt about women's power in the workplace. Yet, some people feel offended when a woman is empowered and cannot see a woman taking the lead, whether they're at home or work. The typical picture of how to change gender bias and empower women and give them equal opportunities isn't that difficult to discern.
An organization can focus on five ways to Empower Women in the workplace, which is:
1. Promote women taking on leadership roles - Take chances and seize opportunities. Break the stereotypical image by encouraging women in your organization to take on more risks, step it up, and make a difference in their chosen line of work.
2. Embrace equality-Bringing our attention to the role each woman plays every day in challenging stereotypes, combating bias, and collectively creating a world with more civility and broader opportunities.
3. Establish a maternity leave policy that is fair-An acceptable maternity policy at the workplace can help protect expecting women from discrimination. With procedures set up to support them financially, those who have become pregnant will be able to relax when they need it the most.
4. Protect women from sexual harassment-One more way to empower women is to create a safe working environment with strong sexual harassment policies that encourage reporting unwanted behaviour and will correct violations accordingly.
5. Ensure a better work-life balance-A woman juggles many roles in her lifetime. To empower her at the workplace, you can introduce policies that address gender equality and diversity. Work from home and flexible working hours are a few examples of such policies.
The gender-biased way established over a period in the workplace has contributed significantly to creating the glass ceiling. Several contributory factors, such as the biases mentioned above, result in women not reaching higher levels in management within organizations.
People from diverse backgrounds are intelligent and talented; they're also an asset to the organization. With more support for women across all sectors, more organizations are empowering women to take on leadership roles and other careers in business!
We at Zyoin are proud to be a Gender-Neutral, Woman-Friendly organization:
- 74% of our Workforce are females.
- Women take 70% of the Management seats in Zyoin.
- Zyoin offers a diverse working environment facilitating the overall growth
- A positive and uplifting environment where Zyoin Women feel secure to share ideas while feeling comfortable with themselves.
- As a gender-neutral company and women-friendly organization, we do not have wage disparities; we offer Flexi-work hours and remote work options.
We adhere to an open culture from the upper to lower levels, so every employee feels comfortable speaking up about what they need or are experiencing.