Are employers doing enough to address gender equality in the workplace?
In 2018 Gender Equality Survey by JobsDB and JobStreet highlights interesting insights into the current gender imparity in Southeast Asia. The survey covers 7 countries, including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Across the region, most of the industries hire employees according to traditional gender roles. Generally, man is always perceived as the “best fit” for construction industry, whereas healthcare related job is thought as the woman’s work.
Gender inequality in the workplace is still common in the region, with more females (28%) expressing higher degree of discrimination compared to males (19%). The severity of these complaints falls mainly under the “slight” category, yet more than a quarter of both genders do complain of severe discrimination (35% male, 34% female).
As a result, we can see gender diversity among all industries remain a challenging issue as 64% of female employees are dominating the medical, healthcare and hospital industry while 66% of construction, building and engineering industry are majority males. Across the region there is a definite leaning toward male centric leadership with 53% of employees reporting that their company leadership roles are mostly male. Not surprisingly, women are vastly underrepresented in these industries and in particular the leadership roles. However, companies in the banking (51%), real estate and retails (40%) industries stand out as having the most gender balanced management team of all.
The importance of gender diversity to the success of an organization
Achieving gender equality is important for workplaces and employers are eventually beginning to recognise the importance of it. A study from McKinsey & Company early this year 2018, Delivering through Diversity showed that gender diversity is correlated with both profitability and value creation. Companies with the most ethnically/culturally diverse boards worldwide are 43% more likely to experience higher profits.
As a whole, it is significant for companies to invest in improving the internal conditions by offering total gender diverse policies and practises in order to enhance the organization ability to attract talents. Below are the 3 key actionable insights for employers:
1. Offer equal opportunities to men and women
When workplace is equally appealing to men and women, the company is naturally drawn to a larger talent pool. Employees value good work climate (the environment and work itself) and positive cultures; they tend to be more engaged, efficient, creative and collaborative at their work. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that financial incentives are not enough to make for highly productive employees.
2. Build gender balanced team
There are many benefits of fostering workplace diversity, and one of the most important points here is that the diverse workforce can drive business performance and boost organization’s capacity to innovate. Gender balanced teams with diverse backgrounds are better in promoting an environment where it can generate greater ideas, foster stronger team commitment and solving problems more effectively compared to teams of one particular gender.
3. Align to corporate strategies
High performing employees of all career levels and generations are attracted to companies who have a positive reputation for promoting gender equality. From the look of it, there are certainly rooms for employers to promote diverse and inclusive environment, taking strategic approach to establish gender balanced policies. This can be a critical factor in attracting top talents in the industry.
For gender equality, it is now coming into spotlight and viewed as a baseline feature for leading organizations. Employers, start recognising the power and the importance of gender parity in your company now!
For more insights into the gender equality and fair treatment in the workplace, view the detailed Gender Equality Report 2018 here.
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