According to World Bank Data (1), female participation rate in Labor Force has dropped from 52% to 49.5% in the last 20 years. Furthermore, based on Deloitte Board Diversity Census (2), Women in C-Suite Roles of Fortune 500 Companies are a mere 20% in 2016, of which only 3.8% are minorities.
It’s the twenty-first century and female representation in workforce is this weak.
Several reasons contribute to this problem on larger scale:
Cultural Norms
The ideology that women are the ‘house maker’ in conservative cultures and developing nations, often leave women less accomplished then their male counterparts. In some cases, women aren’t even educated enough to do even the least skilled job, and that is “if” they are allowed to even work in the first place.
Industry Stereotypes
Some industries have become highly male-dominant, such as Accounting and Finance, or Technology. In these industries, a career path for a female worker is often riddled with roadblocks and managers’ bias. Even if women do enter such field, they are likely to be harassed into quitting their job sooner or later.
Laws and Regulations
Issues like Wage Gap and Paid Maternity Leave are still an existing issue in many countries. Businesses aren’t doing enough to address this.
World Economic Forum (3) stated in their Global Gender Gap Report 2016, that it could take 170 years to close the gender gap.
So here’s hoping to a future of workforce equality.
Here’s to the girls of tomorrow that will break that glass ceiling.
Here’s to the girls of today that challenge stereotypes.
The world is waiting…
🙂 FTK
Credits:
(1) The World Bank, “Labor Force Participation Rate, Female (% of Female Population Ages 15+) (Modeled ILO Estimate),” The World Bank Databank (2016).
(2) Deloitte and Alliance for Board Diversity, Missing Pieces Report: The 2016 Board Diversity Census of Women and Minorities on Fortune 500 Boards (2017).
(3) The World Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Report 2016 (2016).
Photo via Visual Hunt
