1. Introduction
Are we still living in a patriarchal world, irrespective of the society or geography we belong? The majority of ‘positions of power’ are still held by men and the father is still considered as the head of the household. Dating back to Neolithic age, according to (Romie Frederick Littrell and Andy Bertsch, 2013) in their analysis suggest that the norms of the society, family and hierarchy were formed during this era and ever since women merely became a resource who were exchanged, traded and enslaved.
Not until late 1800’s that women realised this oppression and the need to form unions and groups, the International Council of Women (International Council of Women (ICW), no date) was founded in 1888 by group of women in New York, Washington for women’s rights and social justice which was followed by the ‘Women’s Suffrage Movement’ by the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (IWSA) in the 1900’s for the right to vote(Graham and Dolton, 2014) in United States, United Kingdom and in other parts of world. The 19th amendment was passed in the year 1920 granting the rights for women to vote in the United States. After nearly 100 years since then (Jones and Alter, 2015) women are still underrepresented in politics with only 22% of women’s presence in governments worldwide.
The gender inequality exists till date in all aspects, which is why the progress in rise of representation of women in corporate level roles has been very modest, although there is an existence of age-old legislations to address women’s equal rights, institutions formulating policies around diversity and inclusion to promote initiatives for women in workplace and international observances such as:
– Women’s Equality Day: 29th August
– International Women’s Day: 8th March
– Equal Pay Day: 4th April (United States), 10th November (United Kingdom & Ireland)
– International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women: 25th November
Background
Figure 1: Distribution of the world’s population by age and sex, 2015
Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs
According to the report ‘World population prospects’ by the United Nations (Key Findings WPP 2015_Final, 2015) the total population is 7.3 billion as of July 2015, accounting to 50.4% of male and 49.6% of female, which measures to equal portions of the human race.
Labour Force Participation
As per ‘The World’s Women 2015’ report by United Nations (Work, 2015) as seen in the above figure, 75% of all male and 50% of all female participate in the labour force hinting at a gap of 25% in the labour participation across the globe.
Global representation of senior roles held by women:
Figure 2: Proportion of senior management roles held by women
Source: Grant Thornton IBR Women in Business Report 2016
In the report ‘Women in Business: 2016’ by Grant Thornton throws light on the projections of senior positions held by women globally and the following trends became apparent:
Eastern Europe is leading by 35% representation, with only 13% of the businesses that have no women in senior management positions. Russia tops the chart with a whooping 45% representation which is the highest globally, while Japan is the least with 7% representation
European Union has 24% of women occupying the top tables while there are still 37% of the businesses with no women representation in the leadership levels. Only 19% of women are currently holding senior positions in Ireland, making it one of the bottom ten countries globally in terms representation of women in senior roles
Regions such as ‘Developed APAC’ and ‘Latin America’ are substantially low with 13% and 18% respectively, which is not only very shocking but also indicate the lags in terms of equality in workplaces
European Union: Snapshot of the labour market
Figure 3: Women’s labour participation in European Union, 2012
Source: EIGE (European Institute for Gender Equality) website
The average participation of women in the labour force is 72.3% in EU as on 2012 as seen in the above statistics by the EIGE, out the total labour participation in full time employment which is largely occupied by men with 55.7% whereas only 38.8% by women even though the average years spent by both men and women working is almost equal with an average of 34.5 years.
Out of the 28 countries in the EU, the Nordic-Baltic region that includes Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden have a very good labour participation of over 80% by women and very low representation around 50% in countries such as Malta, Italy and Greece.
Figure 4: Labour market segregation in European Union, 2012
Source: EIGE (European Institute for Gender Equality) website
There is evident segregation in the labour market in the EU as 29.8% of women participate in jobs that have sectorial segregation as compared to men who are at just 8.1% which implies that women occupying roles that are gender specific in spite of the fact that both women and men have equal flexibility around personal or family arrangements.
Ireland: Country profile concerning women
A report by World Bank (Women, Business and the Law – Creating Economic Opportunity for Women, 2015) summarises some important aspects of business and law for women as below:
Female population
2,320,825
Female labour force participation
63%
Region classified
OECD: High Income
Income Level
High Income
Entitlement of flexible/part-time schedules for parents
No
Prohibition on discrimination (basis of Gender / Marital Status)
Yes
Quotas
30% for candidate lists in Parliament only but none in Corporate boards / Parliament / Government
Domestic violence legislation
Yes, but does not cover sexual and economical abuse
Clear criminal penalties for domestic violence
No
Ireland: Snapshot of the labour market
Another report by World Economic Forum (‘Global Gender Gap Report’, 2015) highlights the statistics and country’s scorecard, Ireland ranks 5 out of the 145 countries in gender gap index and has seen a growth of 0.807% and improved its ranking from 10 in the year 2006.
Women dominate the part-time labour force with a participation of 35.3% compared to men who are at 13.9%
Average time spent on unpaid work by women is 4.93 hours whereas men spend about 2.15 hours
The pay gap is at 0.7% in a female to male ratio, which means that there is a gap of 30% in the annual incomes earned by men and women respectively
The equal literacy rate across levels has been recorded but suggesting low turnover from education to employment. Even though there are equal attainment percentages in terms of educational qualification but there are only 34% women at decision-making roles such as manager, legislators and senior officials.
Scope:
Figure 4: Female board members, The European Picture, 2014
Source: Irish Independent
As per the targets set by EU commission (Women on Boards: Commission proposes 40% objective – European Commission, no date) the objectives are set to increase the women in decision-making positions to 40% by 2020, but Ireland is lagging behind in terms of this strategy as the current numbers are far too lower than the estimate with a gap of 21% which needs to progress in the given time bracket of 4 years (i.e. 2017 – 2020).
Not just to follow the targets set by the EU commission, but gender diversity is also a business case according to the studies that have est
imated interesting financial outcomes that are crucial for the success of any business:
– The article “The Best Reason Yet To Increase Women In Business Leadership” on Forbes by (Lipman, no date) summarises the survey conducted by Peterson Institute for International Economics conducted in 21,980 firms, 91 countries stipulate the correlation between business performance and women leadership as profitable, firms moving from no female leaders to a 30% representation can result in 15% increase in the net revenue margin
– According to (Hayward, 2013) in his article refers to the research by UBC’s Sauder School of Business that it is cost-effective to have woman directors on board because it reduces the acquisition costs by 15.4% and a reduction of 7.6% in the number of takeover bids in presence of an additional woman director on board
– The findings from report by McKinsey (Woetzel et al, no date) forecasted the rise of 26% in annual GDP (Gross Domestic Product) by 2025 in labour markets, only if women played an identical role to that of men in their full potential
Major contribution of this study
The importance of this research can be looked upon as a comprehensive guide to the recent-most trends, statistics and findings that are specific to representation of women in corporate leadership roles in Ireland
The research findings would provide deeper insights on the dynamics of the C-suite scenario in Ireland not only to women who learn how to overcome barriers, but also leverage men to advocate women at workplace
Basis on the literature review, best practises in other countries and exceptional progress in some of businesses in Ireland as on date, practical recommendations could be made for
Institutions who can nurture a culture of empowerment that could lead to positive impact on economy
Influence the government to amend women-friendly laws in turn to create a harmonious society that could have practical consequences in minimising gender disparity on the boards
However, this study limits to the women in business leadership sector only and not on any other sectors in detail, also does not highlight the overlay of barriers for women of colour.
Research Aims and Objectives
The aim of this research is to provide essential recommendations not only to women but also to Society, Government and Institutions to drive the culture of empowerment in Ireland by
– Identifying the obstacles that keep women from sitting at the top table based on parameters such as
I. stereotypes, culture, family responsibilities
II. gender bias or disparity, gender pay gap
III. Lack of opportunities, sponsorships, women role-models, women-friendly policies and legislations
IV. difference in operating, decision-making and leadership styles
– Investigation of history and trends in Irish context in comparison with the current scenario and demographics
– By learning from existing women leaders on their journey and how they have overcome barriers
– Examining the potential outcomes of women leadership which is more often linked to applicability of emotional intelligence and their well-balanced nature
– Measures and psychological drivers to encourage and empower women in business to climb up the ladder
Research questions
It is quite evident that there is a scarcity of women in C-Suite, does the ‘glass ceiling’ (Pichler 2008) still exist and why haven’t we seen a quantum leap in statistics since 30 years?
Why are the leadership roles or career advancement for women still seen as a ‘labyrinth’ (Alice et al, 2007) that keep women from progressing in their upward trajectory?
Are men and women at workplace evaluated differently or based on male traits and characteristics which is leading to unconscious bias, undervaluing women’s performance and denial of the issue?
By emphasising on cognitive issues such as gender pay gap, short-fall in the effectiveness of diversity and inclusion policies, lack of support pre and post maternity, can the disparity at workplace be addressed?
How can organisations embody best practices that could avoid categorising women in a cultural ‘straight jacket’ and strategize endorsement of equal opportunities that would endeavour to attract, engage and retain women in workforce?
Can feminist theories and gender quota systems drive gender neutralisation and bridge the gender gap?
Institutional changes such as childcare provisions, labour market de-segregation, employment protection laws, taxation polices aid in the growth of women in leadership roles and who should be lobbing the government?
How can diversity in leadership nurture positive cultural impact, resulting in growth of global economy and profits?