LABOUR: Discrimination against Women Unacceptable, says ILO

By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print |

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Dec 11 1997 (IPS) - Discrimination against women in the work place is still a serious problem, affecting most working women throughout the world, says a new report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

The inequality persists despite positive signs like the increase in female education rates and the incorporation of women into the work force, the report says. Women have managed to reach higher levels of academic preparation than ever and at present represent 40 percent of the world’s workers, it reveals.

The participation of women at management level, however, is so low “that it is unacceptable,” according to the ILO report. The proportion of posts of director occupied by women is seldom above 20 percent and the higher the function, the more obvious the absence of women.

Various surveys have verified in the bigger and more important organisations, women’s participation in high level posts stands at only around two or three percent, the report says. This phenomenon is the same throughout the world, despite the notable progress seen in middle management.

The author of the report Linda Wirth, an ILO labour expert, concluded that “almost universally, women have failed to reach leading positions in major corporations and private sector organisations, irrespective of their abilities.”

Wirth found there are barely discernible changes in the behaviour of companies dependent on their origin: state or private, national or transnational.

In the case of Brazil, data collected indicates that women hold only 3.47 percent of the highest posts in the 300 biggest private companies in the country. The 40 biggest state-owned firms have women in only 0.94 percent of the higher management functions. In the transnational companies operating in Brazil, this figure was a mere 0.48 percent.

When they reach directorship level, women tend to get stuck in the lowest levels, and the least important areas, the report says. Women “are doing much better” in the professional and financial services and the civil service than in the other sectors.

The poor access of women to high-level management posts to a large extent reflects the gender inequalities which exist in the labour market, the report adds A major source of discrimination stems from strongly-held attitudes toward the social roles and behaviour of men and women. As a consequence of gender inequalities, women are pushed into a narrow range of occupations with less responsibility and lower pay, the ILO says.

Most part-time jobs with fewer opportunities for advancement are performed by women, they often have less responsibility and are worse paid. In the structural labour pyramid drawn up by ILO, the base, of support staff is mostly made up of women.

The report states women’s professional careers are often blocked by the so-called “glass ceilings.”

This expression was coined in the United States in the 1970’s to describe the invisible artificial barriers created by attitudes and organisational prejudices, keeping women from rising to top executive positions.

The term “glass ceiling” illustrates the point that when there is no objective reason preventing women from rising to the very top as men do, there is inherent discrimination in the organisational structures and processes of enterprises, as well as in society, the report noted.

The ILO stated one of the biggest remaining challenges is still how to make the structures and dynamics within an organisation more conducive and sensitive to gender equality concepts and practices.

Without such a change in direction, women will continue to come up against the “glass walls and ceilings” in years to come, blocking them from ascending to executive posts, the study predicts. But it finishes on a more optimistic note, explaining the demographic and social tendencies will profoundly modify social and organisational structure in the long term.

With a fertility index on the decline and an increasing female contribution, the composition of the labour market will continue to change, swelling the demand for trained workers, the report concludes.