Argentina was in the news again because the General Inspection of Justice (IGJ) decided to annul the Women’s Quota Law, which established that organizations must include in their administrative and oversight body a composition that respects gender diversity. In other words, that the boards had the same number of female members as male members.
Because change? According to the IGJ, on repeated occasions the Justice ruled in favor of those who initiated lawsuits discussing the content and compliance of the resolution. In this way, the administrative regulation being invalidated by a final ruling, the Administration cannot defend its validity again in court. However, Do we need a law to recognize the role and potential of women in leadership positions?
If we take the data from the latest report carried out by KPMG, which analyzes the composition of the boards of directors of 1,000 companies in Argentina, only 17.5% of the members (regular and alternate) are women (6,153).
If we look at the position of presidencies, 93.6% are occupied by men and only 6.4% for women. Although the data is not encouraging, it is important to note that the participation of women was increasing: 8.4% in 2018, 10.3% in 2019, 12.8% in 2020, 13.7% in 2021 and 16% in 2022.
Is this increase enough to indicate that there is greater recognition of women’s leadership? Although these numbers are an incentive, we have to continue working on this path, given that there are still very important gaps in terms of salaries, activities and roles between men and women.
Some actions that we can promote so that women not only occupy positions on company boards but also so that they are leaders in different industries are:
Make visible and recognize. There are incredible women in the world working on projects that can change the world. Making visible their stories of improvement, achievements and also failures are a source of inspiration for more women to undertake, train themselves and not interrupt their professional careers due to pressures, ceilings and glass walls. Personally, I highlight that there are competitions such as “Women that build”, promoted by Globant on a global scale – and in which I have the honor of being nominated and being a finalist in the “tech entrepreneur” category -, in which the leadership of women who work to promote solutions based on the potential of technology.
Accompany. We are not alone. All of these women who inspire us are part of organizations and projects that seek to accompany the development of other women. Organizations such as the Women in Technology Committee, Women in Tech, Girls in Technology, Programmer Girls, Programmer Clubs, are examples of women who lead these spaces and who, at the same time, have the opportunity to generate better and greater alliances with the fields public and private, to give much more power to everything they do.
To empower. One of the big problems when determining “quotas” is that the reason why women come to occupy leadership roles is confused. It is not about “complying with the rules” but rather recognizing the value, training, capacity and type of leadership that women have to occupy a position. It often happens that there is a dismissal or devaluation of why women reach these positions, instead of affirming that they get there through their own merit. It is key that organizations have transparent criteria for selection, for the development of careers within their structure and also with constant review processes, so that the gender perspective is not a discourse but a real and sustained commitment to equity. .
Enhance. One of the aspects that technology provides us with is access to an immense amount of resources and training instances for everything that is the upskilling and reskilling process. But in most cases it is women who are forced to abandon courses to deal with care or parenting issues. To this we must add that times change rapidly and so do the skills required in the market. That is why it is key to redefine the scope of professions; Not only for women, although for us it is more urgent. Continuing to work jointly across sectors is essential so that more women can develop technical and leadership skills, and thus expand their opportunities for personal and professional growth. And without a doubt deepen training in financial education from all areas.
Finally, I return to an aspect that cannot go unnoticed: the commitment to review what is not said within organizations. Each of these points that I mentioned cannot generate the transformations necessary for the growth of economies, countries, and society, if culture is not transformed. Why are there no changing tables in the men’s bathrooms? Why don’t companies provide more breastfeeding or care spaces? Why does the leave regime continue to grant men less time than women, as if it were not his responsibility to take care of his children?
These are some aspects that limit, regardless of their capacity, the possibility of more women occupying leadership roles in organizations. The quota is a mechanism that allows us to make a problem viable, but the real change lies in moving from speeches to real commitment, to concrete action and generating true transformations in pursuit of gender equality in companies and in society in general. .
Founder and General Director of BountyEdTech, Argentine finalist in the Tech Entrepreneur category of the 5th edition of the Women that Build Awards, promoted by Globant worldwide.
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
