As indicated by data collected by ManpowerGroup, women hold less than a third of managerial and leadership positions worldwide, even though they make up half of the global active labor force. Combined with the fact that last year, for every 100 men promoted from a basic position to a manager, only 87 women were promoted, nearly two-thirds of female specialists are considering changing jobs in the coming months. What actions are businesses taking to change this situation and support initiatives for professional equality?
Although millions of female specialists resigned from work after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, within just three years the global employment level of women bounced back to a steady level. Moreover, they are leading the post-pandemic job market recovery. Globally, the employment activity rate of women currently stands at just over 50%. Specialists aged 25-54 are the most active- they have developed entirely new career paths, advocated for better pay and benefits, and have taken advantage of the hybrid work model. Their proportion in the global job market has reached a record level. – The degree of women’s professional activation is growing. It’s excellent news, but it’s also worthwhile to ensure that an increasing number of specialists are included in the applicant pool for leadership positions and roles related to market development. For example, despite the global shortage of technological talents, women still make up less than one-third of workers in innovation-related industries – says Agnieszka Adamiec, Senior Business Development Manager at Manpower.
The latest ManpowerGroup report “Work Prospects for Women for 2024” indicates that currently less than half (41%) of employers worldwide declare achieving full gender equality in the workplace. However, some industries are making significant progress in this area, especially the consumer goods and services sectors (69%), finance and real estate (68%), communication services (67%), health care and natural sciences (67%), and information technology (66%). – Knowledge of what women expect and need for their professional development is the foundation for building equality. Active upskilling, ensuring autonomous work model choices, and leveraging new technologies to increase flexibility can help us unlock the potential of workers – adds the expert.
This year’s ManpowerGroup data showed that globally company initiatives for gender equality are being implemented in less than half of all positions. One third of respondents believe that while their companies undertook diversity, equality, social inclusion and belonging (DEIB) initiatives, progress in achieving these goals is slow or minor. Among positive recommendations for companies wanting to accelerate this process include:
– Increasing flexibility – over one third of global respondents (37%) confirm that flexible work rules are the most effective in retaining and attracting diverse talents. Other key initiatives include: leadership development (30%), inclusive culture in the company (29%), coaching/mentoring (28%) and academic partnerships (24%).
– Opportunity for leadership development – 3 out of 10 organizations (30%) assert that leadership development programs effectively close gaps that have historically prevented promotions to management positions.
– Introduction of technological innovations – 65% of employers claim that new technologies help them increase flexibility, promoting greater gender equality, 62% believe that technology diversifies their IT talent sources, and 52% think AI-based tools aid in recruiting the best candidates regardless of gender.
– Reskilling, upskilling, flexible benefits – developing digital skills and conducting employee surveys to maintain a proper work-life balance and a work model which aids in retaining the most talented specialists in the company.
