March 8 and Women’s Day came and went as it does every year, with labour and trade organizations, NGOs and public services declaring their support for women’s causes, calling for greater reform in the workplace, abolition of discrimination and providing greater opportunities for career women to attain greater success in their fields of work or activity.
It’s nice to pull out a standard declaration and adapt it to mark any special day during the year, but what is really done to achieve equality in the workplace?
Changes in legislation are always welcome, as they lay the foundation for future directions, be they in government or the private sector. They also set the rules by which employers should abide when it comes to financial regard or promotions. Jobs can no longer be regarded as most suitable to gender, neither should they be perceived as “sissy†or “machoâ€.
But when a new ‘popular’ administration appoints just one female Minister, that is hardly the best lesson in the “lead by example†classroom.
Good corporate governance on its own will not help women get promotion on merit alone as most labour or HR committees in the business sector are dominated by men.
But this also raises another question, whereby some men feel threatened by the protectionist approach in some sectors, while equality is widely perceived to be in place in civil service, with many women nowadays commanding managerial posts than a decade ago.
Nowadays, there are more women in
Women in power, or those with ambitions to reach such levels, now have to work hard to persuade half the general public to support them. And this support must be based on merit and not simply by a quota or proportional system.
A recent EU-sponsored workshop undertaken by the Business and Professional Women went a long way to persuade more female candidates to come forward in the 2006 municipal elections, either for mayor or for a seat on the town council. Unfortunately, the response from the voting public was mediocre. This suggests that for women to gain every woman’s (and man’s) support, they must first give out the right message of leadership, competence, managerial skills and fairness.
It’s up to women themselves to take up every opportunity and challenge the system wherever it is unfair. They cannot expect others to do it for them.
