IWD – Why is Gender Equality So Slow?

So here we are – another International Women’s Day – and the BIG question for me, every 8th March is: So what’s changed??

What actual, real, tangible progress has been made for women’s equality?

We are all aware that Covid has been disproportionately damaging towards women with 1.8x more women losing jobs than men – the last 12 months have unravelled decades of exhausting work undertaken in the main by women and will set women back years.

But what are governments, Boards and organisations DOING about it?

> How are they educating (themselves) and creating policy change?

> How are they tracking and managing the pay gap?

> How are they changing parental and leave policies to be more flexible (for all genders)?

> How are they bringing diversity to their Boards and C-suite?

> How are they stamping out gender bias, affinity bias, stereotypes and sexism?

> How are they ensuring job-promotion opportunities are shared simultaneously between all genders, rather than giving ‘favourites’ a heads up?

> How are they championing and sponsoring women’s career progression?

> How are they encouraging both senior men and WOMEN to sponsor upcoming female talent?

> How are they utilising MEN to lead Women in Leadership initiatives?

> How are they building and nurturing their talent pipelines?

> How are they supporting their female graduates and giving them the vital support they need from Day 1?

> How are we collectively challenging societal prejudices?

 

 

As a Career Coach for women I am obviously wholly in favour of supporting women and helping them to develop professionally so that they realise their potential and get paid their worth.

But for too long now, the onus has been on these women to fix the problem and we all know it is not their problem to fix.

The rate of technological change is breathtaking. Trillions of dollars are invested into tech advancement, into social media, mobile communications, electric cars, even space travel. The original iphone was only launched in 2007; we are now already on iphone12.

Why the breakneck speed? Why the progress?

Because in technological advancement, there is a massive WANT to do it.

And this… is the crux of the gender equality debate.

Why, in the 21st century, are we still fighting for gender equality?

Why is progress so feeble and slow?

The actual reason: there isn’t the want to do it. If there was, it would have happened by now.

For change to happen there needs to be a massive want to do it. From governments, from Boards, from investors…

I am all for celebrating women, their intelligence and their achievements. None of that has ever been in doubt.

But all International Women’s Day #IWD2021 does for me is to remind me how pathetically slow progress still is.

It’s time 8th March became focused on individual CEOs and them publicly demonstrating the positive impact their gender equality policies have had over the last 12 months.

We want data. We want progress. And we want it now.

What do you think?

Why is progress so slow?

And what needs to change (like yesterday)?

Rebecca

 

BIO: Rebecca Allen is a Career Success Coach and has coached hundreds of female managers and early leaders over the last decade to help them own their value, get promoted and get paid their worth. 

© Rebecca Allen, Illuminate Personal Growth. All rights reserved. To replicate part or all of this article please seek written permission first.