The month of March is widely recognized as International Women’s Day, which is celebrated on the 8th.
This date aims to remember women’s struggle for rights and gender equality throughout history, as well as highlighting the importance of female participation in all aspects of social, economic, political and cultural life.
It is an opportunity to celebrate women’s achievements, reflect on the challenges that still need to be overcome and promote actions that contribute to building a fairer and more equal society for all people, regardless of gender.
Gender diversity and female participation in the corporate world are increasingly relevant and urgent issues.
Although there has been some progress in recent years, equal opportunities and treatment for men and women in the workplace is still a challenge to be faced.
The presence of women in leadership positions is still very low, even in companies that claim to be committed to diversity and inclusion.
According to a survey by the Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance (IBGC), only 10% of the boards of directors of publicly traded companies in Brazil are made up of women.
In addition, women still face obstacles to advancing in their careers, such as unequal pay, a lack of specific training and development programmes and an organizational culture that doesn’t value women’s skills and abilities.
For this reason, the UN created the Global Compact 2030, which plays an important role in promoting equal opportunities and treatment between men and women in the business environment.
In this sense, companies that join the Global Compact 2030 have the opportunity to commit to concrete measures to reduce gender inequality in their operations and throughout the value chain.
This includes promoting equal pay policies, developing training and leadership programmes for women, creating a safe and respectful working environment for all employees, and collaborating with other companies and organizations to promote gender equality.
However, gender diversity is not only a matter of social justice, but also a matter of competitive advantage and long-term business sustainability.
Companies that value and promote gender diversity tend to have better financial performance, greater innovation and employee engagement.
This is because diversity of perspectives, skills and experiences enriches the working environment and allows companies to better adapt to changes in the market and society.
Some initiatives that companies can adopt to promote gender diversity and female participation include:
- Set clear targets for the presence of women in leadership positions and implement concrete actions to achieve them, such as mentoring, coaching and leadership development programs for women.
- Implementing recruitment practices that avoid gender discrimination, such as reviewing the requirements for positions, publicizing vacancies on different channels and conducting interviews with a multidisciplinary and diverse team.
- Promote equal pay for men and women who perform the same jobs, in order to value women’s skills and abilities and ensure fairness and equity in the workplace.
- Create an inclusive and respectful work environment that values diversity of opinions, perspectives and experiences, and has a zero-tolerance policy for harassment and discrimination.
- Encouraging female participation in traditionally male areas such as technology, engineering and exact sciences, through specific training and mentoring programs.
In addition, it is important that companies recognize the importance of gender diversity as a strategic and cross-cutting issue, which must be addressed in all areas and levels of the organization.
This requires the commitment and leadership of senior management, as well as raising awareness and training all employees in the importance of diversity and inclusion.
In short, companies that adopt inclusion and diversity policies, such as promoting gender equity, tend to have higher performance and more positive financial results.
In addition, an inclusive work environment can improve employee satisfaction and engagement, contributing to a healthier and more productive corporate culture.
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