Female Participation in the Board Room

Findings and Conclusion: This research shows that women are still unrepresented in top management globally. The difference in performance of the companies in the same country and same industry implies that diversity serves a competitive differentiator. Certain companies focus on gender diversity and others focus on ethnic and racial diversity but no company in the top quartile focus on both. Companies which have greater diversity are able to attract top talent, improve internal and external customer satisfaction, improve decision making and hence improve

I had a firsthand experience with the intricacies surrounding the issue of gender inequality in the workplace in Asia. I had a placement in one corporation in Hong Kong, and there was no female employee in the senior management. Although there exist legal apparatus to accord female employees equal opportunities at the workplace, many corporate risk legal suits for denying female employees their fair share of the job opportunities in the fear of losing their market. Social constructs and religious doctrines are so entrenched in Asian societies to the extent that accompany with many female senior employees can lose their market. Therefore, tackling the issue of gender inequality in the workplace should entail the analysis of all oppressive institutions in that society rather than tackling the problem of the inequality in isolation (Crenshaw et al., 2013).

It is easy to make a case to pass legislation for a quota for women on corporate boards. There is statistical data showing a difference in pay between men and women. Women often hit a ‘glass-ceiling’ when it comes to promotions in the workplace; and even when they are able to progress, it is often more difficult than men. Women lack a female mentor in the workplace to sponsor them because women who are in a position of power are afraid of losing that position. According to the text, “women who have achieved positions of power in male-dominated environments may fear competition from other women and actively work to undermine them” (Allard & Harvey, 2015). Lastly, on a global scale, four prominent countries (Norway, Finland, France, and Italy) have already passed legislation involving quotas for women in corporate positions (Allard & Harvey, 2015).

Women are burdened with many obstacles to achieve equality in the work place. In the corporate and

This article brings the topic of discrimination to light especially for women. The unfair treatment that women face every day in the workplace is one of the crippling factors to our society. In the workplace

Sexism against women in the workplace is still common, particularly in managerial positions, which creates glass ceilings for women who can do as good or better job as their male counterparts. It is a sad fact that sexism still exists in the twenty-first century. What is the glass ceiling you may ask? The glass ceiling is (Bell, Mclaughlin, & Sequeira, 2002) as “the invisible or artificial barriers that prevent women (and people of colour) from advancing past a certain level” (Federal Glass Ceiling Commission-FGCC, 1997; Morison and von Glinow, 1990). As a civilization where we want equality for all – we should strive to eliminate inequality caused by the glass ceiling. I believe that if we do not seek to eliminate sexism, it will have a negative impact on us and future generations.

Companies have never been fair to women while offering jobs as they offer based on the sex which dramatically affected the female’s earnings across the years, however signing the Equla Act has partially resolved this problem but kept fluctuating after that because the equation was not very accurate.

This myth has been perpetuated throughout history and in result; we have barriers such as the glass ceiling in existence. If we were to pull up a list of the Board of Directors for any given company, the probability of it being a predominately male group is high. This notion alone shows how companies have continued to dwell in olds days where men are considered more capable than women. The Glass ceiling effect has continued to place barriers against women endeavor in achieving success in their careers and participation in their work place. Women have not been able to realize their potential in their work places since they are not offered equal chances as compared to their men counterparts who enjoy great opportunities in organizations. The fact that an organization is ran by men, may cause an adverse effect on the performance of men. Obviously, a man thinks differently than a woman. It is likely that a decision made by men only is likely to ignore the interests of women in the organization. This creates a domino effect because it affects the woman’s performance in business since they only get limited chances to learn, and limited job assignments that will enhance their skills. Hence, low or limited skills and experience will lower their overall

The movement of promoting gender equality is exponentially growing every year; however, gender inequality is still a persistent problem in today’s workforce. Each year, gender inequality, especially employment equity, the distinct barrier between genders in the workforce, has become a topic of contention as its affecting working individuals worldwide, especially women. Before examining this problem, we must further understand what gender inequality is in the workplace. Gender inequality is an ascriptive factor, in which limits individuals to reach their full potential in their area of expertise by discriminating based on gender (module …). Both genders can have the same qualifications for an occupation, but a specific gender, mainly men, are seen to be more qualified than their female counterparts are. This can result in the refusal to allow the individual to take on leadership roles due to socially constructed views on gender. In addition, they may receive unequal wages compared to the opposing gender due to statistical discrimination which is the idea hiring or promoting individuals based on the average characteristics of their gender group rather than solely focusing on the individual( Textbook, 169). As we strive towards the goal of gender inequality, we must understand it in order to construct a proper solution.

A recent survey by Catalyst says Indian women hold only 9.5% of all board seats in BSE 200 companies. Indian companies who want to promote women have very little talent left to choose from. The incongruity of fewer women continues with "the higher, the fewer" phenomenon or the leaky pipeline metaphor.

In this section, there are two different case studies which is Lloyds Bank Group and the Deloitte. These two cases indicated that how the companies have been confronting the gender issues, while carrying the employee selection function and to what extent the female has been successful in ensuring the desired objectivity.

In August 2012 a team of researchers at the Credit Suisse Research Institute issued a report in which they examined 2,360 companies globally from 2005 to 2011, looking for a relationship between gender diversity on corporate management boards and financial performance. Sure enough, the researchers found that companies with one or more women on the board delivered higher average returns on equity, lower gearing (that is, net debt to equity) and better average growth.

Women have experienced a historic situation of inequality in the social as well as professional aspects. Women were normally the ones that would take care of children, do the chores in the house, and in rural areas; they would work in the field with the rest of the family. However, today’s women have become more self-sufficient and independent from the predominant male figure within every historical family. Gender inequality in the workplace is becoming less common; yet, gender is a factor that affects men and women. Especially women have been subjected to a historical discrimination that has influenced society to decide which job is more suitable for women than men. However women have confronted and tried to break down the barriers that

The increase of the number of women entering the workplace, especially those issued from higher education has resulted in a movement of change within businesses,

In the light of this change in the nature of contemporary workforce, the concepts of diversity and equality will be discussed vis-à-vis the reality of women in the workplace. As such, this research will address the following questions: what are diversity and equality policies? Do they work? Finally, do they open possibilities and opportunities for women?