Abstract
This article is a discussion of problems that working women face in their careers, working in a male dominated corporate system and the evidence of existence of such practices. This article also debates upon the remedies that can be made and how some organizations have already begun considering methods to accommodate female talent in their work structure.
Introduction
“I always feel if all women in the world speak in one voice, what a great voice it will be to bring peace, prosperity and happiness in the world. That voice is needed for empowerment.” (Bheemarasetty, 2012)
Women empowerment is an issue that has drawn attention through the past 50 years with sceptics and supporters have debated through the ages about the significance of female workers in businesses and corporations around the world (Roesch, 2004). It is not surprising to find female individuals to be a part and parcel of every sector from service industry to high-level management in the present highly competitive scenario.
Discussion
Looking over the past century, the development of empowerment of women in the workforce has marked a dramatic social change. 35 years ago, women’s liberation activism campaign raised the hopes and expectations of many women (Roesch, 2004). This campaign challenged the prevailing picture of women that expected them to spend their whole lives involved only in household and raising children. It demanded equal pay for women in the workplace, publicly funded childcare, and the legalization of abortion (Roesch, 2004).
The campaign challenged chauvinist typecasts of women and the basic picture of a traditional nuclear family that exposed women to offensive or repressive relationships. The myth of a nuclear family of a soul male breadwinner and a home-remaining female did not really exist for many working-class; the women’s liberation campaign changed many people’s views about the role that women play in society.
Remarkably, the campaign took place without cataclysm. Men and women alike accept women empowerment. Women constitute up to nearly 49.9 per cent of American workers. The economy requires that women should be able to take part in productive activities that would allow them some amount of self-dependence, irrespective of the magnitude and difficulty of obtaining it at the beginning. Women are no longer attached to household chores alone but are known to have made impact in varying fields of work. However, this new development has generated newer social pressures, and debatably the requirement for changes in corporate philosophy to absorb and engage this type of workforce. This is clear from the fact that although their economic standards are increasing but women continue to earn less than men.
Even though a lot has been established ever since, women face problems related to corporate and social activities every-day. In the present day, the conceptual and the quantifiable achievements of the women’s liberation movement have become a target of constant attack. This repercussion has its roots in the assault on working-class over the last three decades. The aim of this attack is two-fold: to roll back the social impacts that this movement achieved in the late 1960s to 70s and to transfer capital to the upper classes (Campbell, 1988; Roesch, 2004). This has directly led to the stripping of living standards of working-class and the shredding of the social safety net systematically (Roesch, 2004).
The criticism against the achievements of women’s liberation has reflected such trends. In ideology, a rightist agenda of "family values" has inverted the most basic assumptions of this movement about nuclear families and women’s role in it. Economically, working-class women and their children have been exposed to a disturbing series of situations, as the obligation for children’s welfare has been placed more and more on individual families (Campbell, 1988). Social scenarios have not been in pace with economic variations. Many children have paid a price of a neglected childhood with the rise of a two- fold income household. Many men and women feel that they are caught in the midst of an ever increasing and continuous pressure of commitments. If women empowerment was a great change of the past 50 years, adjusting with its social consequences will be a great challenge for the next 50 years.
In a report titled “Female Power,” the Economist documents the rise of economic empowerment of women, and explains social implications and problems created from it. The first problem has been that women's rising aspirations have not been fully answered. Women have been encouraged to ascent onto occupational development only to find that the middle sections are dominated by men making the upper levels out of reach. Merely a 2% of bosses in the Fortune 500 companies and only five in the FTSE 100 Stock market directory are women. Women constitute less than 13% of board members in America. Higher levels of banks and management consultancies are also controlled by men in majority. American and British typical full-time female worker earns only an approximate 80% of the salary the typical full-time male worker earns (Siu, 2010).
One of the main reasons of frustrations of women remains in the profound fact that many women are forced between two choices, motherhood or careers. Women in corporate America, who have no children, earn nearly as much as men do, while mothers that have partners earn less and single mothers even lesser (Siu, 2010).
Women know individuals in lesser numbers in their occupations compared with men and their networking is affected negatively if they have children that are aged below 6 years, and response of job shifting by job changes of their spouses; while men's networks remain unaffected by such constraints (Campbell, 1988). Comparing the U.S. to the much more compliant European states, the U.S. has no provisions for statutory paid leaves for mothers, and there are only 12 unpaid weeks. In comparison to OECD standards, American public spending on family support very low, they spend a mere 0.5% of GDP on child care public support (The Economist, 2010).
Solutions to these problems are needed for a better growth of both women and the economy they belong to, as women form almost nearly half the working population. This means that empowering women is very important to allow for an all-round sustained growth both at individual and societal level. Some of the efforts that must be made involve an essential mobilization of knowledge and awareness for women enabling next generation to be genuinely literate to empower socially, in the least (Bheemarasetty, 2012). Legally empowering women is a provision that must be taken to provide special rights to women that allows them to function side by side with men, levelling the differences between genders and promoting equality (Matlin, 2012). The focus should be shifted upon the talent of a person and what efforts need to be taken to maintain the high level of performance of the individual, rather than formulating laws that by default discriminate between men and women (The Economist, 2010).
The drift of numbers of women increasing in the workforce will continue according to Bureau of Labour Statistics. Women constitute up to two-thirds of the number of employees in ten of 15 job categories, and these numbers are expected to grow faster in the coming next few years (The Economist, 2010). As women make up an important percentage of the labour force, strategies that maintain flexibility in the job and that involve the talent of women are increasingly relevant for businesses. Some corporates in world have already understood this and are doing a lot of effort to address the needs that must be taken into consideration to keep the female talent intact in their organizational folds by helping women to juggle dual responsibilities of work and family. The ability to respect and efficiently harness and achieve the support of this nature of workforce may have significant implications for the effectiveness of any economy in present day competition. Taking the need for flexibility in the workplace into consideration is an issue that may be a significant business imperative. Studies have shown that flexible policies offer substantial benefits in expressions of financial performance, and in outcomes of operations and businesses.
“Goldman Sachs calculates that, leaving all other things equal, increasing women’s participation in the labour market to male levels will boost GDP by 9 percent in America” (Siu, 2010)
The ability to telecommunicate or work through flexible hours has been proved to escalate job satisfaction, engagement and commitment amongst workers, and also boosts innovative initiative, quality of products and services, customer retention, and shareholder value. Addleshaw Goddard, a law firm for example, created the part of legal director as an alternate to partnerships for women who wish to amalgamate work and parenthood. Ernst & Young, another law firm has increased efforts to maintain contacts with female employees who take time off due to pregnancy and parenting and then ease them back into work. In another example from the IT industry, nearly half of Sun Microsystem’s employees work at home or from nearby satellite offices (Siu, 2010).
Conclusion
People have come to terms and understand the fact that policies of workplace flexibility not merely benefit to workers, they are a new methodology of business and the business community can get tap into such policies to increase efficiency in an increasingly shifting labour market. Female workers should be considered at par with working men, and provisions must be given to female workers in terms of maternal care and job flexibility ethically.
References
Bheemarasetty, Praveena Devi (February, 2012) Women Empowerment: A Challenge; DOI:10.2139/ssrn.1997087
Campbell, Karen E. (1988) Gender differences in job-related networks; Work and Occupations, 15(2), 179. Retrieved from doi: 10.1177/0730888488015002003 http://search.proquest.com/docview/228359125?accountid=12387
Matlin, M.W (2012), The Psychology of Women (7th Edition). Wadsworth, ISBN 978-0-8400-3289-8
Roesch, Jen (November—December 2004); Turning Back the Clock? Women, Work and Family Today; International Socialist Review Issue 38, http://isreview.org/issues/38/women_family.shtml; retrieved 1 August, 2013
Siu, Yvonne (January, 2010) Women’s Empowerment in the Workforce and the Need for Workplace Flexibility; Corporate Voices – Word Press http://corporatevoices.wordpress.com/2010/01/20/womens-empowerment-in-the-workforce-and-the-need-for-workplace-flexibility/; retrieved 1 August, 2013
The Economist (January, 2010) Female Power; The Economist Newspaper Limited; http://www.economist.com/node/15174418; retrieved 31 July, 2013
