Call out gender bias and inequality for what it is

The Women’s Equality Day was designated by the US Congress in 1971 to commemorate the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment to the American Constitution, granting women the right to vote. Half-a-century on, the day is calling attention to continuing efforts towards gender equality.

Achieving gender equality by 2030 is goal number five of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The reality, though, is that gender parity remains far off the mark. According to the United Nations, representation of women in national parliaments sits at 25.6 per cent, 36.3 per cent in local governments and 28.2 per cent in managerial positions.

The picture is no different on the corporate front. In 2019, a survey was conducted by the global organisation Equileap, on the 61 companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). It ranked the companies based on their performance on gender equality, with the highest score being 63 per cent and three per cent at the lowest.

Different sectors

The average score stood at 26 per cent, just a percentage point lower to the Canadian companies’ average score of 27 per cent. It was, however, encouraging to see the mix of companies across different sectors making it to the top 20 positions, including Standard Chartered Bank Kenya who were top, Safaricom, EABL, Kenya Airways, KenGen, Total Kenya, BAT Kenya and the NSE.

The survey indicated that women account for 23 per cent of board members, having nearly doubled since 2012, according to a similar survey that was conducted by the Kenya Institute of Management. This clearly shows that there is lots of headroom for improvement in the inclusion of women in corporate leadership. 

Diverse teams that are representative of the world we live in are key to building high performing teams. The question that begs, though, is what practical steps companies can take to bridge the gender gap. The first step is to take deliberate policy actions that facilitate gender balance in the recruitment and retention of talent.

Pay gaps

The work environment also needs to be strategically designed in such a way that is addresses the unique needs of women. This calls for investment in facilities such as nursing rooms for new mothers and initiatives such as flexi-hours.

It is also crucial for companies to continuously monitor pay gaps to ensure that there are no discrepancies or any type of bias within any group of employees – including gender. 

Mentorship and training should also be considered for young career women who are looking to grow into leadership. To be clear, driving gender parity is not about setting quotas. Organisations need to initiate opportunities for open and honest dialogue to challenge established views and promote alternative ideas and new perspectives.

One such action is to provide training on contemporary issues such as unconscious bias. Such training can address how bias can impact recruitment, right through to salary conversations and progression opportunities.

Gender parity

As the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day aptly puts it, it’s time to choose to challenge. Call out gender bias and inequality for what it is and take action to address it.

Let’s challenge ourselves and be inspired by various milestones achieved towards gender parity, both individually and collectively. In so doing, we can build an inclusive world and build a better tomorrow for generations to come.

Ms Anyika is the director of External Affairs at BAT Kenya and East Africa.