Woman, training and work

Gender! A Partnership of Equals
Geneve: International Labour Office, 2000. 115 p.

 

Human resources management
Improving the bottom line

Women continue to occupy the lower and middle ranks of organizations, have unequal access to training and promotion, encounter difficulty entering male-dominated professions, and are paid less than men for equal work. This despite the rapid rise in women's labour force participation over the past two decades, constituting approximately half of the workforce in many countries. Furthermore, organizations frequently do not recognize women's specific needs nor value the special assets they bring to the workplace (teamwork, intuitive skills, ability to deal with ambiguity, social and interpersonal skills, participatory management and flexibility).

Why worry about these issues?

Gender equity is good for business. Faced with increasing competition in the global marketplace, an organization's human resources are increasingly recognized as its most precious asset. Competitive advantage, therefore, lies with organizations which maximize the potential of their entire workforce, and address the needs and aspirations of all of their workers, both male and female. Gender equity also affects the bottom line. The different perspectives, attitudes and work styles men and women bring to the workplace foster innovation and creativity.

Obstacles at the workplace

Barriers to gender equity include negative stereotypes about women's abilities and career commitment, poor understanding of the challenges women face at the workplace, lack of advisors for women ("mentoring"), exclusion of women from informal career and communication networks, inflexible work arrangements, and limited opportunities for training and career development.

To address these obstacles, it is vital to recognize that organizational practices are usually not gender neutral, but have largely been designed by men, for men, with organizational cultures which value masculine over feminine work styles and impose a choice of career over family life. To achieve gender equity requires a cultural shift to eliminate the bias and prejudice inherent in the system.

Gender bias in human resources management

Recruitment and selection. Affirmative action programmes have been launched by a number of companies to attract more women. Nevertheless, many companies still conduct traditional recruitment and selection practices which often favour men.

Training and development. Often relegated to the non-core areas of the business, women are not given the same exposure as men to the training and the varied work assignments which will qualify them for promotion and higher levels of pay. Women's greater involvement in part-time work due to family responsibilities is often used as a pretext to deny them access to training.

Performance appraisals.Traditionally, the criteria used to determine effective performance has been largely based on the male, task-oriented approach which is known to place women at a disadvantage. But even in the recently introduced skills- and competency-based systems, which are assumed to benefit women since they take account of a broader range of skills, gender bias may creep in when these skills and competencies are broken down into individual performance criteria.

Incentive systems.Current incentive systems, in particular performance-related pay, skills-and competency-based pay, may tackle the gender inequalities inherent in traditional systems. However, the performance measures and the skills and competencies used to determine remuneration are subject to gender bias.

Work/family balance.Due to the increasing number of working women and dual-career families, many organizations have introduced a number of family-friendly policies. Very often both women and men are reluctant to take advantage of these schemes for fear of jeopardizing their career development. After maternity leave, many women are forced to accept positions which are inferior to their qualifications and often have to leave the career track altogether.

Successful steps have been taken by a number of organizations worldwide to achieve gender impartiality.

How to achieve gender equity At the enterprise level Ensure top-level commitment to gender equity Create a unit to initiate culture change and monitor gender issues in the workplace Set measurable goals and specific time-frames for achieving gender equity Integrate these goals into the business plan Hold all managers accountable for gender equity, linking their performance appraisal and rewards to its achievement Implement gender awareness training programmes Carry out employee surveys to obtain regular feedback from employees on policies to achieve gender equity Conduct equal opportunity audits to ensure gender balance at all levels of the organization Make it an organizational policy to appoint competent women to visible, senior positions in strategic areas of the firm Recruitment and selection Prepare gender-sensitive job descriptions and specifications Broaden range of channels to prospect for female candidates Ensure that all staff responsible for recruitment is committed to gender equity Make sure that women are present on selection panels Training and development Identify obstacles to women's career development and make structural changes where appropriate Select high-achieving women and provide them with training and career development opportunities Rotate women in job assignments so that they can acquire career-building skills Encourage the provision of advisors ("mentoring") and networking systems in which women can learn not only from other women, but also from men Performance appraisals Outline explicit performance objectives and criteria Involve women in determining the appraisal procedures (establishing the criteria, content and structure of the appraisal interview, etc.) Make line managers aware that gender equity is a bottom-line issue Remuneration Adjust pay rates so that jobs of equal value to the organization are paid equally Address gender bias in remuneration schemes Introduce a cafeteria style benefit plan throughout the organization Work/family balance Introduce flexible working arrangements and ensure that employees who opt for them are not penalized for doing so Provide enhanced maternity benefits beyond the minimum statutory requirements Ensure that workers who return after maternity/paternity leave, or after extended absence due to family obligations, are able to return to their former positions or to posts of equal rank


Back to index

The Inter-American Centre for Knowledge Development in Vocational Training (ILO/Cinterfor)
Avda. Uruguay 1238 - Montevideo - Uruguay - Tel: (5982) 908 6023 - 902 0557 - 908 0545 - Fax: (5982) 902 1305
webmaster@cinterfor.org.uy

Copyright © 1996-2008 International Labour Organisation (ILO) - Disclaimer