When Do We Want It...Now!

The Global Gender Gap Report released annually by the World Economic Forum is pessimistic. Not only are we not seeing enough progress, but in recent years we have observed regression in some areas. The compounding crises of the 2020s have lengthened the estimated number of years needed to achieve gender parity by over 30 years. Why does it feel like we are taking a step forward only to take a few steps back?

According to the report, gender parity in labour-force participation has been slowly declining since 2009. The trend was exacerbated in 2020, when gender parity scores plummeted. In 2022, gender parity in the labour force stood at 62.9%, the lowest level registered since the index was first compiled.

The share of women in leadership roles on the other hand is seeing a slow but steady increase – from 33.3% in 2016 to 36.9% in 2022. It is also uplifting to see that over the past year the new board appointments in European financial services firms’ have been more evenly split by gender (58% male and 42% female compared to 63% and 37% in 2021).

But while women breaking the glass ceiling is a win, one largely unaddressed problem is a leaky pipeline. There is only so much we can achieve by implementing diversity quotas in hiring and promotions to managerial positions if we keep losing talented women before they reach leadership roles. A large percentage of talented female candidates leave their organizations or workforce before getting anywhere close to the ceiling.

Research shows that in developed countries men and women are hired at the entry level at an equal rate. However, women leave organizations at a far higher rate than men with attrition levels increasing towards the top end of the career ladder. Women voluntarily quit at a rate two to three times faster once they reach the middle of the career ladder, around manager/senior manager level.

The fragility of the gender balance was particularly exposed during the coronavirus pandemic. In OECD countries, mothers were nearly three times as likely as fathers to report that they took on the majority or all additional unpaid care work related to school or childcare facility closures.

What I find interesting is that in many developed economies where parental leave can be equally shared between both parents, it is observed that many fathers still do not use it. This is on the one hand driven by expectations of society towards both women and men, and on the other hand financial reasons and the pay gap, which results in women being the ones to put their careers on hold.

This is a choice Jiggy and I have faced with our family. When Jiggy returned to work after having Ella and Eesha, childcare costs consumed the equivalent of her post tax salary. Work expectations and a lack of flexibility at the time added further pressure. Whilst things have improved, it remains the case that the lack of affordable childcare is a major block for too many women and families.

Businesses should advocate for more family-oriented policies that contribute to gender equality. In Nordic countries, non-transferable “use it or lose it” periods of leave are reserved for each parent. Previously, parents were able to decide how to divide a part of the parental leave – in reality, it was almost exclusively taken by the mother. Earmarking the leave for fathers changed that and, based on the Global Gender Gap Report, countries that provide this kind of solution are among the most equal in the world. Measures like this are necessary to secure the progress and, with time, shift the societal expectations of men and women.

At the same time, gender equality requires action from all. In workplaces, flexibility can be a key driver for equality as it can allow both women and men to combine work and other duties. In many cases, introducing simple measures such as remote working or flexible working times can make a large difference. However, I think we should also take a hard look at the career paths we propose to our people and rethink our expectations at different stages of their lives to enable better work opportunities for women and men alike.