Addressing the Gender Gap in Employment

Mrs. Hart is a lovely mother of two. She used to have a thriving career in a huge company, but ever since she had her twins, she decided that it would be better for her to focus on caring for her children and their household. She would have loved to still keep her job, but unfortunately, she found that most businesses in her area don’t offer flexible work hours and don’t provide parental benefits or leaves. As a mother, this set-up simply isn’t sustainable.

Jin Seok works in an office in Manhattan. She’s originally from South Korea and moved to work in the states a little more than a year ago, and so far, she’s doing excellently at her job. Her colleagues note that she’s soft-spoken and never aggressive, but she’s very meticulous, driven, and gets results.

One day, she finds out that she’s up for promotion against her outspoken and competitive male co-worker. Long story short, in a tale as old as time, the promotion lands on the man.

According to International Labor Organization, only 49% of women are participating in the global workforce while men make up the other 75%. The 26-percent difference should be enough for us to pay attention and make necessary changes.

Women generally find it more difficult to land a job. Societal prejudices usually have a lot to do with this, with gender stereotypes still heavily permeating households, schools, which then manifests in the workplace. For instance, research from Coventry Business School UK found that most men and women agree that successful people possess attitudes typically associated with a man such as competitiveness, confidence, leadership, objectivity, and ambition. In contrast, people associate qualities such as being friendly, affectionate, helpful, and sympathetic with women. This stereotype led to women being overrepresented in highly vulnerable industries, which then led to a collective consciousness that whispers women are only good up to a certain level.

The race to equality is riddled with roadblocks. It is a race, because for every day society spends in perpetuating discriminative ideals, a woman rethinks her dreams, ambitions, and goals. A woman’s future occupation is always predetermined depending on who her counselors, teachers, mentors, and parents were.

For this reason, Athena Wisdom Institute has been mentoring women and making them realize their full potential. The Fearless Free Feminine program teaches women to connect with their womanhood and the universe, and it encourages them to unlearn inhibiting mindsets that hold them back from their own power. This program teaches women that their emotions, intuitions, and other “womanly” characteristics are strengths that they can use to inspire change and build a future that is sustainable, accessible, and inclusive.

The Gender Gap in employment cannot be solved overnight. It requires the cooperation of leaders around the world, and it is dependent most of all in educational institutions. It will be difficult to change the minds of the older generation who established these stereotypes, but we can empower the minds of future generations.

Athena Wisdom Institute is one of the pioneers who work passionately to send the message of female empowerment throughout the world. A comprehensive leadership program named ‘Fearless, Free, Feminine’ is currently being launched to make women realize their full potential and be unapologetically powerful. Athena sees future businesswomen as being fully connected to herself, the universe, and to society.

Let Athena be part of your journey today.

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Sources:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2277975220975513

https://www.ilo.org/infostories/en-GB/Stories/Employment/barriers-women#unemployed-vulnerable