Tackling gender equality is an extremely important aspect in British business as organisations have to ensure everyone is treated fairly. There have been many incidents in the pe past when even though they are doing the same job, men have been paid more than women. This is a form of discrimination and can lead to that organisation being taken to court and sued.
In 2023, the gender pay gap in the UK was 14.3% for all workers and 7.7% for full-time workers. The gap is higher for older workers and in certain sectors, such as financial and insurance, where it was 27.9%.
It has been reported that a woman’s promotion is seen as less fair if the organisation they work for has gender equality legislation in place. A study, conducted by ISS researcher Paula Protsch together with Lena Hipp and Kristin Kelley, has made some very surprising findings about the way different people view women’s advancement with in a work place setting. The research indicated that people view male and female success differently depending on whether the organisation involved commits to any sort of gender equality initiative to ensure that they are on a level footing with people who are of the opposite sex.
It also looked at whether corporate values such as equal opportunities changed the way people looed at men’s and women’s success with in the same business and role.
The findings illustrated that when different organisations valued women’s advancement or equal opportunities, their success is likely to be judged as unfair compared to if the organisation had uniform assessment standards in place.
If we have a look at the other side of the argument, there have been findings which suggest that intelligence plays a more decisive role when looking at the promotion and advancement of men in business. Many people may look at this as an unfair way of judging how different employees perform at different tasks but something has to be done to help change the main way of thinking.
In all organizational types, however, women’s promotions are seen as fairer, and their professional success is attributed to a greater or at least equal extent to their intelligence and effort as is the case for men. Presumably, respondents thought that women had to be smarter and harder-working than men to be promoted.
“Our finding is that the public believes that intelligence and effort play less of a role in women’s promotions in organizations that commit to women’s advancement,” says Paula Protsch.
The survey consisted of those who had agreed to take part reading short passages about a recently promoted employee with in a large company. The survey then randomly varied whether the subject was a man or a woman and whether the company was committed to performance principles, women’s advancements or equal opportunities. All other aspects of the study were identical. By looking at the data collected, the researchers were able to come to their final outcome.
While recent years have seen women’s employment in the UK reach record highs, women’s ability to prosper is undermined by persistent levels of unequal pay and power or discrimination and harassment at work.
Some groups face bigger hurdles – black women, for example, experience a larger pay gap than white women – and while the impact of COVID 19 is still being understood, emerging data suggests women have borne the brunt of many of the economic measures.
Failing to fully embrace the talents women, over half the population, have to offer is detrimental to individuals and impacts businesses’ ability to thrive. Research has shown that organisations with more diverse leadership are more profitable. The world bank has estimated that the global economy could grow by $160 trillion if we pay men and women equally and create a more gender-balanced workforce
The study was published in the Journal Scientific Reports by Nature Portfolio.
