Men have a “vital” role to play in pushing workplaces towards gender equality, according to a leading campaign group.
It comes as a major new report warns that no country in the world affords women the same opportunities as men in the workforce.
The World Bank report finds that the global gender gap is far wider than previously thought – and suggests that closing that gap could raise the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by more than 20%.
The report investigates the impact of childcare and safety policies on women’s participation in the global workforce – and found that women enjoy just 64% of the legal protection men do – down from the previous estimate of 77%.
Gender equality
On Newstalk Breakfast, Work Equal founder Sonya Lennon said that while the findings are not good, they are “not huge news either”.
She said the report highlights the value of unpaid care – the majority of which is done by women.
“We see this every day at Work Equal,” she said.
“We support clients for free; a lot of them trying to return to work, having raised families and the challenges that they face are real not just as individuals, but also the systemic challenges that are being faced in the workforce.”
International Women's Day
She said the report is “really timely ahead of International Women's Day and Friday’s referendum vote.
“I think we really need to look at the fundamental principles of our society,” she said.
“I'm advocating for a ‘Yes, Yes’ vote for that very reason, because I think what's important is that our Constitution reflects where we want to go rather than where we are.
“It is an acknowledgment of what women are doing at the moment and that they are shouldering the burden of care.
“Even in Iceland, my beloved Iceland, 10 years most equal country in the world, they know they haven't got it right yet. They're still on this journey to create real equity in their country and at the core of that is childcare.”
Workplace Equality
Ms Lennon said men have a vital role to play in achieving workplace equality.
“That's absolutely the case and a lot of the conversations that I'm having with organisations around International Women's Day and beyond - and I mean this just can't be a one day affair, it kind of has to live in our cultures and our behaviours every single day - there's some really interesting conversations coming up around men's role in the move towards gender equality.
“I believe it's vital.
“There's a fantastic Boston Consulting Group study which showed that organisations in which men are actively involved in the move towards gender equality, 98% of them are showing positive results, compared to 30% who don't have men as part of that drive in agenda.”
You can read the 10th edition of the women, business and the law report from the World Bank here.
