Women in leadership
All enterprises win when women participate fully
Statement of ILO India Director Dagmar Walter at the launch of a study ‘Women in leadership and management in public sector enterprises within the membership of SCOPE’
A very good morning to you all!
I am thrilled to be here today to participate in this much-awaited launch of the study on ‘Women in Leadership and Management in Public Sector Enterprises’. This study, as you may know, was initiated by the Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE) in India in collaboration with the Bureau for Employers’ Activities (ACT/EMP) of the International Labour Organization. The study compiles responses from mainly women but also men engaged in different occupations at varied levels and from different enterprises. It highlights the factors that affect women employees when it comes to reaching top leadership positions.
Let us discuss the existing challenges and barriers that women face in their career and also come up with recommendations that will help more women get into leadership and senior management positions within India’s public sector enterprises.
In the book “Gender Equality and Inequality in Rural India” by C. Vlassoff it is written that women elected to local governments in India ensured better provision of services for both women and men.
Women’s participation in the labour market tends to be lower than men globally. In India, women’s labour force participation rate has been historically low and the gender gap is wide. According to the estimates for 2015-16, the female labour force participation rate was 31%, compared to men, which was close to 76% . What more, in the labour market women tend to be concentrated in occupations and sectors that are characterized by low pay sometimes even no pay.
In India, the share of informal employment in the total employment is 90% for women and 88% for men, which both are high. This means that the majority of workers work without any social protection. A further analysis reveals that women among the contributing family members in informal employment contribute three times more. This is about 31%. While men contribute around 10%. What does this say? Quite simply put, a lot more women are also working for no pay .
We are all aware that the gender gap in top positions is very wide. As per the Global Gender Gap report of 2017 by the World Economic Forum, India ranks at the bottom, 139th country out of 144 studied when it comes to economic participation and opportunity of women. It also says that women make up only 13% of legislators, senior officials and managers, whereas men make up 87%.
Then comes the issue of the gender pay gap.
Women continue to be paid at a lower rate than men even when they do the same work or different jobs of equal value. Globally, women are paid approximately 20 per cent less than men . In India, the gender wage gap varies between 22 and 39 per cent across different categories by location and type of employment, with this rate being the lowest among regular urban employees which is 22 per cent.
And if these statistics don’t worry you then let me also tell you how violence and harassment deter women to participate in the labour market. While the incidences of violence and harassment are not just a women’s issue, we do note that women and girls bear the brunt of this disproportionally. This is so because women, in some societies, have a low position. Further, pregnancy and child birth are perceived as hindering factors when it comes to women progressing in the world of work. Work life balance gets trickier. And there is little or no support. The care burden tends to fall on the woman herself.
According to the 2016 ILO-Gallup survey, work/family balance was cited as the top challenge faced by women who have paid jobs outside their home in India, The second challenge was lack of flexible working hours.
We truly undervalue our women in the workforce when we fail to address these barriers. A huge economic potential remains untapped. This is not just unfair, it is also poor business strategy. Promoting fairness, equality and justice in the world of work is key to achieving decent work for all.
In this context, the ILO-SCOPE study is an important contribution. SCOPE has been promoting gender equality by supporting a number of initiatives, such as the creation of a forum in 1990 for women in the public sector. This study is valuable to further the discourse.
I thank SCOPE for taking the lead in supporting this study and helping with timely collection of data. I also want to thank Malika, our consultant who worked hard to complete it, and Ravi, our Employers’ activities specialist who provided guidance on this project.
I am as curious as you are to learn about its findings and recommendations for us to take forward.
I wish you a productive day ahead.
Thank you very much for your attention.
I am thrilled to be here today to participate in this much-awaited launch of the study on ‘Women in Leadership and Management in Public Sector Enterprises’. This study, as you may know, was initiated by the Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE) in India in collaboration with the Bureau for Employers’ Activities (ACT/EMP) of the International Labour Organization. The study compiles responses from mainly women but also men engaged in different occupations at varied levels and from different enterprises. It highlights the factors that affect women employees when it comes to reaching top leadership positions.
Let us discuss the existing challenges and barriers that women face in their career and also come up with recommendations that will help more women get into leadership and senior management positions within India’s public sector enterprises.
‘Gender equality is indeed critical to sustainable development’
Since its creation in 1919, ILO has championed equality in the world of work. Which also means striving for gender equality. We cannot achieve sustainable development unless we bridge the gap between men and women in the world of work. Inclusive workforces are the future. Among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, goal number 5 is specifically dedicated to gender equality. And target 5.5 says that we must “ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.” Various studies show that having gender diversity in senior leadership positions in enterprises contributes to improved productivity and performance of firms . A recent report done by the McKinsey Global Institute says that an estimate of 2.9 trillion USD can be added to India’s annual GDP by 2025 if the gender gap in the workforce is fully bridged.In the book “Gender Equality and Inequality in Rural India” by C. Vlassoff it is written that women elected to local governments in India ensured better provision of services for both women and men.
What are the barriers women face?
Despite international and national commitments on gender equality, and improved legal and policy frameworks around the world, women continue to face challenges when it comes to having access to equal rights in the world of work.Women’s participation in the labour market tends to be lower than men globally. In India, women’s labour force participation rate has been historically low and the gender gap is wide. According to the estimates for 2015-16, the female labour force participation rate was 31%, compared to men, which was close to 76% . What more, in the labour market women tend to be concentrated in occupations and sectors that are characterized by low pay sometimes even no pay.
In India, the share of informal employment in the total employment is 90% for women and 88% for men, which both are high. This means that the majority of workers work without any social protection. A further analysis reveals that women among the contributing family members in informal employment contribute three times more. This is about 31%. While men contribute around 10%. What does this say? Quite simply put, a lot more women are also working for no pay .
We are all aware that the gender gap in top positions is very wide. As per the Global Gender Gap report of 2017 by the World Economic Forum, India ranks at the bottom, 139th country out of 144 studied when it comes to economic participation and opportunity of women. It also says that women make up only 13% of legislators, senior officials and managers, whereas men make up 87%.
Then comes the issue of the gender pay gap.
Women continue to be paid at a lower rate than men even when they do the same work or different jobs of equal value. Globally, women are paid approximately 20 per cent less than men . In India, the gender wage gap varies between 22 and 39 per cent across different categories by location and type of employment, with this rate being the lowest among regular urban employees which is 22 per cent.
And if these statistics don’t worry you then let me also tell you how violence and harassment deter women to participate in the labour market. While the incidences of violence and harassment are not just a women’s issue, we do note that women and girls bear the brunt of this disproportionally. This is so because women, in some societies, have a low position. Further, pregnancy and child birth are perceived as hindering factors when it comes to women progressing in the world of work. Work life balance gets trickier. And there is little or no support. The care burden tends to fall on the woman herself.
According to the 2016 ILO-Gallup survey, work/family balance was cited as the top challenge faced by women who have paid jobs outside their home in India, The second challenge was lack of flexible working hours.
We truly undervalue our women in the workforce when we fail to address these barriers. A huge economic potential remains untapped. This is not just unfair, it is also poor business strategy. Promoting fairness, equality and justice in the world of work is key to achieving decent work for all.
What can you and I do?
The ILO Constituents want more women participation in the world of work. As it turns 100 next year, the ILO as part of its centenary initiatives has been analyzing trends for women in the world of work. We are pushing for debates on gender equality for heightened awareness, spurring into action.In this context, the ILO-SCOPE study is an important contribution. SCOPE has been promoting gender equality by supporting a number of initiatives, such as the creation of a forum in 1990 for women in the public sector. This study is valuable to further the discourse.
I thank SCOPE for taking the lead in supporting this study and helping with timely collection of data. I also want to thank Malika, our consultant who worked hard to complete it, and Ravi, our Employers’ activities specialist who provided guidance on this project.
I am as curious as you are to learn about its findings and recommendations for us to take forward.
I wish you a productive day ahead.
Thank you very much for your attention.