RESEARCH REPORT COMMITTEE: ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL ISSUE: OVERCOMING BARRIERS CONCERNING WOMEN’S PRO-FESSIONAL ADVANCEMENT AND REPRESENTATION IN MEDCs CHAIRS: LEA WEILL, LINA BENNAR

30.11 – 02.12

 

INTRODUCTION

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BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Economic and Social Council was created by the United Nations charter in 1946. The aim of ECOSOC is to find solutions to international economic, social and environmental issues. One of the major issues the Economic and Social Council has to face is gender inequality in the workplace. This situation concerns the whole world, and not only, as some might think, devel-oping countries. It is very difficult to find solutions to gender inequality as it brings together a range of problems such as the gender pay gap, the differences between men and women's working career, the impossibility for women to obtain promotion to jobs with responsibilities.

This discrimination is an even more difficult challenge for ECOSOC to confront as firstly, it has been present and accepted as 'normal' for such a long time in all societies; secondly, reforms giving theoretical equality mask the perpetuation of discriminatory practices and thirdly, the fact that sexism is no longer politically or socially acceptable in most MEDC countries means new subtler ways have been found to keep women from positions of authority or give them token positions to satisfy aspirations.

GLASS CEILING The glass ceiling is a metaphor used to describe one of the many barriers women have to face in the professional world. This expression refers to the fact that only a few women have a job involving responsibilities. And even fewer women have a place in a decisional or a ma-nagerial sphere. The “glass ceiling” expression is very accurate. Indeed, the term “glass” symbolizes the invisibility of the barrier women have to face as, obviously, industries do not officially declare that they prevent women from the rungs of the hierarchy or from having important promotions. And “ceiling” refers of course to the barrier stopping them getting to the top of the hierarchy. For example, women represent less than a third of managerial po-sitions in OECD countries. This discrimination towards women is everywhere, even in the United Nations. None of the eight general secretaries the UN has had since its creation were women. The glass ceiling can also be referred to as “vertical segregation”. Sex segregation occurs as occupations are classified according to power, authority and income they provide to the worker. women are often excluded from holding such jobs at the top of the hierarchy. This barrier exists despite the qualifications and achievements of the women employed. Indeed, women are more and more qualified, yet the barrier remains a reality even when women have the right job experience, education and skills for the position they apply for.

 

Women are therefore very often reduced to lower level jobs during their life, despite their efforts to climb the rungs. This ''glass ceiling''involves an important gender pay gap as the higher the jobs in the hie-rarchy the better the pay. PAY GAP

Historically, wage discrimination has favoured men over similarly qualified women. Today, income inequalities between men and women are still quite significant in the world. There are two main reasons for this pay gap, the first one is women being paid less for equal work. And the second one is men being given higher-level jobs more easily than women, thus ear-ning higher wages. In the OECD countries, the average pay of women is inferior by 4 to 36 per cent to men’s. As we can see the gaps vary a lot depending on the country. In 2008 in the 27 European Union member states, women’s hourly earnings were 17.5 per cent lower than men’s. And the higher the salary gets, the bigger the pay gap is. The gendered wage gap va-ries in its width among different races. Whites comparatively have the greatest wage gap between the genders, this is because white males occupy most leadership positions and command and require high salaries.

SEPARATION BETWEEN “FEMININE” AND “MASCULINE” JOBS

Several types of jobs and studies are considered to be specific to a gender. For example, there are very few women in scientific and technical studies and jobs whereas there are many of them in the health or the teaching fields. They often chose these fields because they seem to match with the supposed "maternal" qualities of women, who are better at caring, teaching, nurturing etc. They also often perceive these jobs as more compatible with their family responsibilities. This gender separation continues to exist even if girls often have better results at the end of the secondary school as it happens in the OECD countries notably. The horizontal segrega-tion is, as the vertical one, an example of sex segregation. Men and women are perceived as possessing different emotional and physical capabilities. These differences are one of the reasons for the gendered division between manual and non-manual work. Some occupa-tions have become more equal in terms of gender division but the many jobs remain asso-ciated with one gender. Professions such as teaching, nursing or secretarial duties are fe-male dominated while occupations such as electrical engineers, airplane pilots, or jobs in the army are predominately male. These jobs are supposed to symbolize manly qualities such as strength. However if this gender distinction is still very present nowadays, it has been narrowing since the 1960s.

 

WORKING TIME

Among women who do not have a full-time job, some are unemployed and the others have a part-time job. Women’s primary occupations are often part-time jobs. Even given equality in terms of qualifications and diplomas, women are still more likely to have a part-time job for their first job than men. We cannot really determine how many women have actually made the choice to have a part-time job and how many accepted it as it was the only option for them. However, most young women would rather have a full-time job as their first job since only this will enable them to become independent. If there are fewer women than men gain-fully employed, they still on the whole spend more time in paid or unpaid work than men in almost all of the OEDC countries.

CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES : Human capital theory

Although there are natural physical differences, such as strength, between men and women, these differences cannot explain the huge gender inequalities in the professional world. One of the major causes of these inequalities is of course discrimination against women. This type of discrimination is also called sexism. When an employer has to hire or promote so-meone, he will often choose, consciously or unconsciously, someone with similar characte-ristics as him. Men are therefore more likely to hire or promote other men. But men are much more often in positions of power than women. These choices are therefore responsible for a part of the discrimination from which women are suffering. Moreover, it can, sometime be very difficult to determine what portion of the differences in careers choice is due to the woman’s own decision and what portion is caused by discrimination. There are various causes to sexism. To be hired and therefore earn an in-come, the candidate needs different qualities such as education, knowledge, training, expe-rience, skills… The better these qualities are, the more likely the concerned person will be able to increase his or her earnings. Even if it tends to reduce, the discrimination towards women linked with this theory is still present nowadays. Indeed until recently, girls did not have the same level of education as boys and were therefore put at a disadvantage when they wanted to work. Another problem that has now almost disappeared was the uncertainty of pregnancy. Before the invention of contraceptive pills, women could not control their reproductive cycle. Pregnancy and maternity were, and are still today, major causes of discrimination against women in the professional world. Many women have often stated that pregnancy, maternity and their work were difficult to conciliate. Losing your job due to pregnancy, even if it is not openly invoked as the reason employers, appears to be very frequent. Moreover, many women, unlike male candidates, testify that they have been questioned on their family projects during a job interview. This element is clearly taken as a criteria to hire someone which is discriminatory. What is more, the problem of maternity leave is very complicated even in places with poli-

 

cies "favourable" to women, because if women, as in countries such as Denmark, have long maternity leave, their return to the professional life may be very difficult. What’s more, during all the time women stop working to take care of children, men increase their experience and continue to rise up the rungs of the hierarchy. This increases inequali-ty, particularly the gender pay gap as women are therefore less qualified and have less well paid jobs than men. In a couple, women are very frequently the ones who stop working to take care of children. This may be through choice but very often, it is because it is the less expensive solution for the family. As women are less likely to earn more than men, if the man stops working, the family will find it harder to be able to live decently. And because of the lack of childcare facilities, the parents do not always have the choice of continuing to work. Women also very often have to take care of the housework in addition to their professional work. This distribution of roles is caused by society and education which create gender norms. Women, who are seen as much more caring and nurturing, are therefore more ex-pected to take care of children while men have to work hard to and are seen as the "bread-winner". The reproduction of these cultural patterns is a terrible barrier for women’s profes-sional advancement. It is indeed very difficult to manage to go beyond this barrier, and even more if women have problems being hired or promoted to a well paid job. Another cause of inequality come from the criticism of some people who consider that an employer is the owner of the job he is hiring for, and that he must be allowed to choose whoever he wants. These people are therefore against any kind of laws or actions made to favour women’s employment. Another problem is caused by the fact that in many countries, the advancement of women’s situation relies on their willingness to assert their rights. But many women are unaware of their rights regarding discrimination in the workplace, and even when they are aware of it, only a few of them lodge a complaint when they have been victims of discrimination because a legal action in a court is expensive and the benefits are uncertain and may well lead to loss of job and income or a glass ceiling being imposed on advancement. As a consequence, women are more likely to face poverty and unemployment – even if the rate seems to be about the same for women and men – but women have on average higher qualifications and therefore should be less affected. Finally, it would be an advantageous to countries to promote gender equality in the professional world as researchers have esti-mated that it would increase the GDP per capita of all countries.

 

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KEY TERMS

GLASS CEILING: The expression "glass ceiling" was coined in 1979 at a conference of the Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press. This expression was later defined as “those artificial barriers based on attitudinal or organizational bias that prevents qualified indivi-duals from advancing upward in their organization into management level positions.” The glass ceiling can be defined as the invisible barrier that prevents women from rising up the carrer ladder to higher jobs and from obtaining any kind of important promotions. Be-cause of this barrier, only a few women have a job with responsibilities.

VERTICAL SEGREGATION: The term vertical segregation refers to a situation where people do not get jobs above a particular rank because of their race, age or sex. This vertical se-gregation can lead to sex segregation against women.

SEX SEGREGATION: Sex segregation is the physical, legal, and cultural separation of people according to their biological sex. Is different from gender discrimination which is a separa-tion of people according to social constructions of gender.

DISCRIMINATION: Discrimination is an unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially based on race, age or sex.

SEXISM: Sexism is discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex.

GENDER PAY GAP (OR GENDER WAGE GAP, OR GENDER INCOME DIFFERENCE): It is the difference between male and female earnings expressed as a percentage of the male earnings.

GENDER INEQUALITY: This expression refers to the unequal treatment of individuals based on their gender.

HORIZONTAL SEGREGATION: Horizontal segregation refers to the fact that there are more men than women doing one type of job and more women than men doing another type of job.

FREE MARKET SYSTEM: A free market is a market economy system in which the prices for goods and services are set freely by consent between and vendors and consumers in which the laws and forces of supply an demand are free from any intervention by a government, price setting monopoly, or other authority.

OECD: The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is an organization, created in 1960 that acts as a meeting ground for 34 countries that believe strongly in the free market system, The OECD provides a forum for discussing issues and reaching agree-ments. Almost all OECD countries have established laws to combat discrimination on grounds of gender.

MEDC: The More Economically Developed Countries are countries with more resources,

 

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TIMELINE

higher salaries and better housing. A MEDC will have a lower birth rate and also a low death rate due to advanced medical technology.

HUMAN CAPITAL THEORY: This theory refers to the abilities and skills of any individual, es-pecially those acquired through investment in education and training, that improve poten-tial income earning.

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS: The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the eight international development goals that were established following the Millennium Sum-mit of the United Nations in 2000, after the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Decla-ration. The third target is “promote gender equality”.

ILO: The International Labour Party was founded in 1919, just after the First World War as part of the League of Nations. It is based on the premise that universal, lasting peace can be established only if it is based on social justice. The ILO became the first specialized agency of the UN in 1946. The main aims of the ILO are to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue on work related issues.

GLOBAL GENDER GAP INDEX: The Global Gender Gap Report was first published in 2006 by the World Economic Forum. The 2014 report covers 144 major and emerging econo-mies. The Global Gender Gap Index is an index designed to measure gender equality.

1919: Foundation of the ILO 1946: France: Constitution 1949: Germany: Constitution 1951: Equal Remuneration Convention by the International Labour Organisation 1963: USA: Equal Pay Act 1964: USA: Civil Right Act (Discrimination based on a person’s race, origin, colour or sex

becomes illegal) 1970: United Kingdom: Equal Pay Act 1973: France Labour Code 1974: Ireland: Anti Discrimination Pay Act 1974: Luxembourg: Grand-Ducal Regulation of relating to equal pay for men and women 1975: United Kingdom: Sex Discrimination Act 1976: Denmark: Act on Equal Pay for Men and Women 1977: Ireland: Employment Equality Act 1978: Norway: Act on Gender Equality

 

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COUNTRIES INVOLVED

1979: Austria: Act on Equal Treatment on Men and Women 1979: India: Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women 1980: Sweden: Act on Equality between Men and Women 1981: Luxembourg: Law related to equal treatment between men and women 1994: Netherlands: Law on Equal Treatment 1995: Finland: Act on Equality between Men and Women 1996: Israel: Law for Equal Pay for Female Worker and Male Worker 1998: Ireland: Employment Equality Act 1998: Israel: Law for Option Equality at Work 1999: Belgium: Law on Equal Treatment for Men and Women 2000: Millennium Development Goals 2006: Germany: General Equal Treatment Act 2010: United Kingdom: Equality Act 2013: India: Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act

France is 16th in the rankings based on the Global Gender Gap Index, in average : - 10 percent of women are unemployed - women spend around 233 minutes on unpaid work (143 for men) - women have their first child at around 29 years old. Some of France’s main legal texts to fight against gender discrimination at work are the 1946 Constitution and some of the articles of the Labour Code. The United Kingdom is 26th in the rankings based on the Global Gender Gap Index, in average :

- 7.3 percent of women are unemployed - women spend around 258 minutes on unpaid work (141 for men) - women have their first child at around 30 years old.

Some of UK’s main legal acts to fight against gender discrimination at work are The Equal Pay Act of 1970, amended by Equal Value Regulations of 1983, and the Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 and 1986, replaced by the Equality Act of 2010.

Denmark: Denmark is the 5th in the rankings bases on the Global Gender Gap Index :

- 7.5 percent of women are unemployed

- women spend around 243 minutes on unpaid work (186 for men)

- women have their first child at around 28 years old.

One of the major legal act to fight against gender discrimination at work in Denmark is the

 

PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS TO SOLVE THE ISSUE

Act on Equal Pay for Men and Women of 1976. Moreover, Denmark is one of the country with the longest maternity leaves (126 days).

USA: The United States of America are the 20th in the rankings based on the Global Gender Gap index :

- 7.9 percent of women are unemployed

- women spend around 248 minutes on unpaid work (161 for men)

- women have their first child at around 25 years old.

Some of USA's legal acts to fight against gender discrimination at work are the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Right Act of 1964.

Germany: Germany is the 12th in the rankings based on the Global Gender Gap index :

- 5.2 percent of women are unemployed

- women spend around 269 minutes on unpaid work (154 for men)

- women have their first child at around 30 years old

Some of Germany's legal acts to fight against gender discrimination at work are Consti-tution of 1949 and the General Equal Treatment Act of 2006.

India: India is the 114th in the rankings based on the Global Gender Gap index.

- 4 percent of women are unemployed

- women spend around 352 minutes on unpaid work (52 for men)

- women have their first child at around 20 years old. In India, the discrimination against women is very important. Some of India's legal acts to fight against gender discrimination at work are The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act of 2013 and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women of 1979.

Many countries have tried to find a solution to overcome barriers that women are facing in the professional field. One of the main issue they tried to solve was the income inequality bet-ween men and women. Indeed, a lot of countries were for « Equal Pay for Equal Work ». The benchmark statement on equal pay in International Human Rights Law is the 1951 Equal Re-muneration Convention by the International Labour Organisation. It stated that all workers, men and women, should have equal remuneration for work of equal value.

 

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

The European Union also wanted to face the issue of gender discrimination in employment and work advancement. Recently, the European Parliament approved a project from the Euro-pean Commission whose goal is to impose the presence of at least 40 per cent of women on Boards of publicly listed companies, on pain of sanctions. The Secretary-General of the United Nations created the Millennium Project to develop con-crete actions for the world to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. One of these goals was to promote Gender Equality and empower women. They wanted to eliminate gender dis-parity in primary and secondary education no later than 2015. On top of laws, some countries try to enforce quotas to extend maternity leave. However, it is not really successful, since while women are on maternity leave, men are getting more pro-fessional experience. Men are also starting to take a stand on gender equality. In September 2014, the HeForShe campaign, organised by the US National Committee for UN women, was launched in order to unite men in a commitment to end gender discrimination. Also, in France, in June 2015, the Happy Men Forum took place in the Ministry of Social Affairs, Health and Women’s Rights, whose goal was also to mobilize men against gender inequalities in the professional world.

A series of actions are possible to overcome barriers women are facing at work :

- promoting equality through community initiatives and advocacy

- putting in place more childcare services

- implementing enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women

- educating children at school against gender stereotypes.

 

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