Do women have the same opportunities in the company as men? What about equal pay, discrimination and sexism? Many executives see no problem, some are even annoyed, a study shows.
For some people, the questions were obviously already an impertinence. No, you don’t go along with this “gender madness”. It’s all “gender gaga” and “nudges”. He “can’t hear the topic anymore,” said another, and that’s all “no real problems”.
The Bertelsmann Foundation and the University of Witten/Herdecke only wanted to use their survey to find out how things are in companies when it comes to gender equality issues. In the event of discrimination, opportunities for advancement or payment. What was asked for was the perspective of 1026 executives, half male and half female. And it almost goes without saying that extremely annoyed statements like the ones mentioned above came mainly from men.
There was only one question about gender language, the bone of contention: Are there “binding rules for the use of gender-appropriate language” in the company? 40 percent of the executives surveyed said yes, 42 percent said no. The rest answered “partly/partly”.
Bosses surprisingly agree
Overall, what is surprising about the results is that, apart from a few verbal failures, managers of both sexes agree: the majority do not see any major problems in terms of gender justice. Contrary to expectations, female executives did not experience the conditions in their respective company any more negatively than male executives, write the authors of the study. There are “no significant differences between the answers given by male and female executives”.
So are there no gender problems at work? Or do male and female bosses simply lack awareness of the problem?
The numbers leave room for interpretation. 74 percent of those surveyed say that it makes no difference in their company whether a manager is male or female. 82 percent experience “no gender conflicts in my own area”. And 70 percent say that “discrimination is effectively prevented” when new hires or promotions are made.
Equality “not a sure-fire success”
All whopping majorities, but is that good enough? Conversely, 30 percent say that discrimination in recruitment and promotions does happen, at least in part. And if 82.5 percent state that sexual harassment is consistently tackled in the company – should one accept that this is not the case in the rest? “A colleague always looks at my chest and management tolerates that,” writes one respondent. And a managing director notes that “deliberate sexism is often the order of the day”.
The conclusion of study leader Guido Möllering, professor at the University of Witten/Herdecke, is quite critical: Even if the majority of male and female managers have the impression that there are hardly any problems in their own company, equality is “not a sure-fire success”. “The awareness of the problem is low and it is important to avoid both patronizing and indifference,” says Möllering.
Martin Spilker from the Bertelsmann Foundation also sees a critical discrepancy between the answers given by executives and the public debate about grievances. “If managers, contrary to widespread public perception, see the situation in their organizations positively, a reality check is needed to create transparency,” says Spilker. The conditions in companies should be questioned.
Salary and quotas for women
The topic of salary has become a long-running issue in the justice debate. Of the executives surveyed, 77 percent state that the principle of “equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender,” prevails in their company. 14 percent see this as partially fulfilled and 9 percent rather or not at all. The Federal Statistical Office says: Even with the same job and qualifications, women earn an average of six percent less (so-called ).
There is still room for improvement on another point. Although numerous studies emphasize the advantages of diverse teams, this realization appears to manifest only hesitantly in the business world. Not even every second manager states that the company “deliberately ensures that teams are made up of mixed genders”.
The respondents are also divided on the public discussion about quotas for women. While almost 40 percent consider this to be beneficial with regard to the topic of equality in their own company, 35 percent do not consider the discussion to be beneficial. Managers at all levels in small, medium and large companies were surveyed.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
