Together, we can end gender inequality at workplace
As the world marked International Women’s Day on Tuesday, which by extension is a month-long celebration, patterns of gender inequality and bias are still deeply ingrained in society. This year’s theme, #BreakTheBias, calls for action to address how bias has the potential to hold women back.
There is no question that our society has made strides toward levelling the playing field for women. And yet, even as we recognise women’s achievements, it is impossible to ignore the fact that women continue to face discrimination in the workplace—whether this is deliberately or subliminally propagated.
Gender bias is prevalent in today’s workplace. It is something we need to be aware of as a society if we ever are going to break its hold on our progress. To truly break bias, there needs to be a shift in mindset and a culture change throughout all levels of society.
That change must start with business and other opinion leaders who can help break down long-held beliefs about what it means to be a leader. To do this and with a lasting impact on the industry, we must learn more about the differences between men and women that influence how we perceive their abilities to lead.
By highlighting bias at work and providing education on gender equality throughout all levels of society, we can begin to create a lasting shift toward gender parity in leadership. Only then can we achieve true gender equality where men and women are given equal chances.
It is easy to think implicit bias is no longer an issue when we see so many women succeeding in careers and taking on leadership positions previously held by men. But the numbers tell a different story. For instance, just eight per cent of Fortune 500 CEOs are women. And while women have made significant gains in educational attainment at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, they still lag behind men on almost all indicators of social and professional success.
This goes to show gender equity has stalled, and that we must do more to address how bias holds women back from achieving full potential as decision makers.
A fact, despite the gains made in educating women, progress has slowed or even reversed course when it comes to leadership roles in government or corporate boardrooms or senior management positions across industries and sectors. That is why addressing unconscious bias is so important.
While we must proudly extol the progress we have made towards increasing gender equity at the workplace and at home, it is important to also acknowledge that we are still far from achieving true equality. I am proud to lead a team of brilliant women and men at KenGen PLC where we have been leading in building an inclusive workplace where all employees have an equal opportunity to reach full potential. We strive to be at the forefront of gender equality and have been working diligently to increase diverse representation and gender balance across the organisation.
At KenGen, we realise breaking the bias is about more than just achieving gender balance. It is about changing the rules of the game to ensure women have an equal opportunity to succeed. To this end, KenGen has made deliberate efforts to meet the one-third gender requirement by increasing the share of women to 25 per cent from as low as 12 per cent only a few years ago and in top leadership, it stands at 27 per cent. Even so, there is more that can be done, but we are committed to sustaining the momentum, so that the next generation of KenGen employees can all aspire to be their best selves, regardless of gender.
Likewise, KenGen also has a platform aimed at empowering female employees dubbed Pink Energy. Established in 2016, the programme created a conducive work environment for women, raised gender awareness and helped institute gender mainstreaming.
By providing equal opportunities for advancement and working every day to build a more inclusive and diverse workforce, we at KenGen demonstrate that breaking gender bias is not just the right thing to do; it is also good for business.
Nonetheless, the fight for gender equity has only begun to bear fruit. As the world becomes more diverse, we must ensure that women have a place at the table and are given an opportunity to succeed. By so doing, we can break down biases and create a more diverse and dynamic workforce.
— The writer is the Managing Director and CEO of KenGen PLC and Founding Patron of Pink Energy — md&[email protected]
