WOMEN & THE COMPANY: Arguments in favour of recruiting women

SENDOTU 2 Workbook – WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE

Some companies, businessmen and businesswomen may think it safer to rely on male and female stereotypes when hiring new male or female employees, re-structuring their staff or taking promotion-related decisions.

However, the «age-old» myths on the supposed inability of women to perform certain jobs, or their lack of leadership, limited technical skills or lack of job loyalty have all been shown to be totally incorrect.

Women today:

.- Make up the majority of talent, accounting for 60 per cent of university graduates in Europe.

.- Represent the majority of the market, taking up to 80 per cent of the decisions on the purchase of consumer goods, including «traditionally male dominated» items such as cars.

.- Make an important contribution to business profitability, with those companies having a better gender balance at management level obtaining better results than those companies employing fewer women at top level business positions.

.- Are crucial to demographic change. Those countries that adopt policies to encourage women to work have higher birth and growth rates.

For all these reasons at the Sendotu project Laboratory of Experiences we have prepared this workbook on women in the workplace, as a compilation of the different arguments in favour of hiring women to work in business organisations.

The document is intended to serve as a tool for all of us working towards equal opportunities between men and women. Starting from the fact that vertical and horizontal gender segregation does actually exist, in chapter two we then move on to counter-argue, or to deconstruct, those stereotypes that are still operative in the business world.

The third chapter presents a variety of economic arguments in favour of gender equality.

Finally, annex II sets out some of the existing aid available for the reconciliation of personal, family and working life, and also the legislation enacted with regard to this.

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