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SERWAN Keeshita Neha –

1908_18163

Ramoojee Marie Soëllie –

1908_18139

Deepsha Sookroo Bheem –

1808_16089

Baboolall Keshna –
1908_17938

BHRM/19B/FT
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Table of content

History 3

Progress toward gender inequality 7

Importance of wonen in workplace 10

Challenges 10

Why gender inequality is just not anout women 20

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Women in the Workplace 2020: Progress toward gender equality.

How far do you agree?

I matter. I matter equally. Not 'if only,' not 'as long as'. I matter. Full stop.-
Chimamanda Adichie, Nigerian writer

INTRODUCTION:

Equality or non-discrimination is a state where equal opportunities and rights are

obtained by every citizen. Each individual in society craves equal status, opportunity,
and rights. It is a general fact, however, that there is a lot of inequality between
human beings. Owing to cultural differences, geographical differences, and gender,
prejudice occurs. Gender-based discrimination is a problem that is widespread in the
world as a whole. Gender equality means providing both men and women with
equal opportunities in terms of politics, economics, education and health. Hence, this
essay will look deeper as to what extent, Women in the workplace 2020 is really
progressing toward gender equality.

HOW IT WAS IN THE PAST:

Gender equality has hardly been accomplished in the past, and both genders,
women and men, cannot meet their full potential in society. This is because the two
genders have a lot of wrong thoughts, wrong claims, and wrong decisions. They
build the wrong decision and form the characteristics that affect the perception of
both sexes and the way we view depressed individuals. In the past, gender roles
were developed. There are always stereotypes of women and men, as males are all
about decision-making, dealing with the key problems, while females should always
sit at home and settle the minor stuff. There is discrimination everywhere and a
stereotype comes with prejudice. Stereotypes of gender reflect a bad message and
appear to give an individual a negative impression. It affects the decision that we
offer to the two sexes. Everyone is unique, with characteristics of their own. If we are
stereotyped by an individual because of their gender, it is incredibly unfair.
Therefore, stereotype reflects the truths about the realities like not only male are
always with courage and strong body to work, on the contrary, female even can
perform better than male in every aspect.
For highly educated women, growing opportunities also emerged over the decades
from 1930 to 1970. That said most women still expected to have short careers early
in that era, and women were still mostly regarded as secondary earners whose
careers as husbands came first. As time advanced, views regarding working women
and their opportunities for jobs shifted. They increasingly saw that they could
balance work and family as women gained experience in the labor force. A new two-
income family model has emerged Whether or not they expected to marry and have
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children, some women started to attend college and graduate school with the
intention of working.

NEW NATIONAL GENDER POLICY TO REVIEW POLICIES AND PROMOTE

GENDER EQUALITY:
A new National Gender Policy was established on 03 March 2020 for the next 10
years to serve as an important platform for ministries and other institutions to review
policies and promote gender equality, said Ms. Kalpana Devi Koonjoo Shah, Minister
of Gender Equality and Family Welfare, at a press conference in Port-Louis to mark
International Women's Day 2020. The Minister stressed that since the Beijing Forum
for Action in 1995, the Government has been committed to the ideals of gender
equality, encouraging joint efforts for an inclusive society in which women are
empowered in all realms. Various measures, including the extension of the Maternity
Leave period from 12 weeks to 14 weeks; the implementation of a national minimum
wage; and the provision of free tertiary education in this sector.

IMPACT OF COVID 19:

The pandemic is a financial and health epidemic that has turned the lives and
workplaces of individuals upside down. A number of workers are exhausted and
burnt out. In particular, women have been adversely affected, and three classes
face different challenges: Mothers, women at senior level, and black women.

For employees, the Covid-19 crisis has been highly challenging. Multiple Challenges,
including childcare and home school duties, are looming high, and burnout, and
mental wellbeing. Many workers feel like they need to be "always on at all hours of
the day, ready for work. And layoffs, furloughs, and financial uncertainty worry a
large number of workers. These problems, taken together, paint an image of a
workforce coping with unsustainable strain and anxiety. Nearly half of workers state
that over the past few months they have regularly felt overwhelmed at work, and
around a third report feeling tired or burnt out. For working parents, especially
working mothers, these burdens are even heavier.

TESTIMONIALS: WHITE WOMAN, TWO CHILDREN (AGES 7 AND 11), VP

“ I feel like I am failing at everything. I am failing at work. I am failing at my duties as
a mom. I am failing in every single way because I think what we are being asked to
do is nearly impossible. How can you continue to perform at the same level as in the
office when you had no distractions, plus being asked to basically become a teacher
for kids and everything else with online learning? I am doing it all, but at the same
time I am feeling like I am not doing any of it very well. I also worry that my
performance is being judged because I am caring for my children. If I step away from
my virtual desk and I miss a call, are they going to wonder where I am? I feel that I
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need to always be on and ready to respond instantly to whatever comes in. And if
that is not happening, then that’s going to reflect poorly on my performance.”

ONE IN THREE MOTHERS AMY BE FORCED TO SCALE BACK OR OPT OUT:

In view of the immense difficulties that mothers face at work and home, there are two
things that should come as no surprise: many mothers are considering a decline in
their employment or leaving the workforce, and mothers are far more likely than
fathers to think about taking these steps. Among mothers who are thinking about
downshifting or quitting, the majority of them mention childcare obligations as a
primary reason.

TESTIMONIALS: ASIAN AMERICAN WOMAN, TWO CHILDREN (AGES 1 AND 5),

SENIOR MANAGER
“ There were times when I said to my husband, ‘One of us is going to have to quit
our job.’ And I remember thinking, ‘How come I am the only one thinking about this,
and my husband isn’t?’ I don’t think him leaving was ever in question.”

STEPS TO MINIMIZE GENDER BIAS:

The pandemic may exacerbate stereotypes that women have faced for years: Higher
standards of performance, harsher judgment for errors, and penalties for becoming
mothers and benefiting from flexible jobs. During Covid-19, these prejudices may
show up in new ways: For example, when judgmental remarks about young kids are
made, Playing on video calls in the background; when co-workers believe, The
reality that women are less committed to their work, consciously or unconsciously;
Or when women in performance evaluations are judged by supervisors. Given that
executives and team members have less insight into the visibility of their colleagues,
they might be more inclined to make assumptions about their day-to-day jobs,
results, and this increases the probability of bias slipping into.
It is important to track outcomes for promotions and raises by gender as well as the
breakdown of layoffs and furloughs by gender to make sure women and men are
being treated fairly.

TESTIMONIALS: VP, FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

“ We really need to change the definition of what performing strongly means this
year. A woman on my team asked me, ’How is this all going to impact my ability to
get promoted? Is the fact that I have children at home and I have to divide my time,
will that hurt my chances of getting promoted?’ I want to say, ’No, it’s not going to
hurt you.’ But how do I put that into action? In reality, it may hurt her chances when
she is up against a man who did not have to deal with any of that.”
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However, the other side of the coin shows an alternate view on women. Lots of men

feel threatened by female bosses. There are countless studies which show that men

prefer male over female bosses. In recorded Gallup polls since 1950s, the number of

respondents saying they would prefer working for a woman has never exceeded

25%.This is the reason for the lack of representation of women in the workplace.

Because there is a lack of powerful female leaders at the top, there's nobody to

encourage and support women who have just started working and are in entry level

positions.

If today, the whole word recognizes the Great Indian Woman Astronaut Kalpana

Chawla and if women hold a significant position in the family, at workplace and in the

society, the glory goes to the responsible people for the initiation of the upliftment of

women.

All together with Kamala Harris makes History as First Woman and Woman of

Color as US vice President Ms. Harris, the daughter of an Indian mother and

Jamaican father, has risen higher in the country’s leadership than any woman ever

before her.
In her victory speech, Ms. Harris spoke of her mother and the generations of women

of all races who paved the way for this moment. “While I may be the first woman

in this office, I will not be the last, “she a cheering and honking audience in

Wilmington, Del. “Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country

of possibilities.”

Progress towards Gender Equality at Workplace

There exist several factors to be considered in a country but there is the gender
parity which plays a vital role in the economy of a country as well as the lives of
human beings. As mentioned before, there was more gender inequality in the past
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and people’s lives were based on rules and culture. As the years went by and the
world keeps on evolving, the government came with some initiatives to reduce the
gender gap. Its main focus was to ensure that both men and women had equal
rights, opportunities and responsibilities. One major aspect of this resolution was to
increase the percentage of women in employment. Although the ideology of gender
equality was there, the process was not an easy one but rather a slow one. Through
legislation, fiscal measures, programmatic change and public private partnership,
governments made this task achievable. This statement can be proven by 3
examples given below.
There has been an increase of women’s participation in labor-force by 30% from
28% in 1950 to 58% in 2016 in Singapore. Policies such as maternity leave,
increased tax relief, childcare subsidies helped women to achieve work-life balance.
In Japan, the rate for the participation of males for childcare was increased from
under 14% to over 40%. Third, In Canada where Justin Trudeau has named his
country as the first gender-balanced cabinet in 2015 and was considered as the
single most acted-on SDG in 2017 (Sustainable Development Goals).
Since we are talking about equal rights progression in the workplace, there are equal
opportunity businesses which invested in the success of women and taught how to
strive in the workplace. For example, Visa, a credit card company introduced a
program to provide a support system for women that have been taking the
responsibility of being a full-time mother to get back on track on being a career
woman. Similarly, additional professional development opportunities were provided
to women working for Facebook Company. In America, in terms of management,
women are still in minority because there are only at 38% at a manager position
while men are at 62% and in terms of leadership there is a steady improvement.
If it is to compare to the past life, it can be noted that there has been a progress
towards gender equality at workplace. In the case of Mauritius, there has been some
improvement regarding the sets held by women in the Parliament. There has been
an increase of 13.1% from 5.7% in 2000 to 18.8% in 2014 and a further increase of
1.2% in 2019. In terms of Women Representation in Parliament, Mauritius was
classified 149th in ranking. During the years 2015-2018, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim was
elected as the first President in Mauritius. According to the World Bank collection of
development indicators, the participation of woman in the labor force in Mauritius is
currently 39.59%.
On a global perspective, on a political view, the evolution of women has been
incredible. There are some empowered women who have become successful
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leaders. For
example,
countries like
Germany,
Taiwan, New
Zealand,
Iceland,
Finland,
Norway and
Denmark are
owned and controlled by women.
In order to get a better image of this concept, Covid-19, the recent crisis faced the
whole world will be taken as an example. Researchers denoted that female-led
countries have handled this pandemic situation much better than male counterparts.
This was proven by doing a comparison between countries with the more or less the
same GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita, population, population density over
65 years. Consequently, match other variables like health expenditure per capita, the
number of tourists entering the country and gender equality. In overall, it is an
indicator used to get statistical information. As a result, it was shown that Hong-Kong
recorded 1056 cases, 4 deaths while Singapore recorded 28794 cases, 22 deaths in
the same period. Likewise, Norway under Erna Solberg, had 8257 cases and 233
deaths in contrast to Ireland under Micheal Martin with 24200 cases and 1547
deaths. Moreover, Taiwan had 440 cases and 7 deaths while South Korea recorded
11,078 cases and 263 deaths. This pandemic has affected every countries but
through this situation, it has been proven how strong women are. Both men and
women can handle a tough situation. Women too are smart and powerful.
“No woman should be told she can’t make decisions about her own body.
When women’s rights are under attack, we fight back.”~ Kamala Harris.
Kamala Harris, born on 20th of October 1964, was elected as Vice President of the
United States in November 2020. She was the first Indian American to serve the
country. She is such an ambitious and inspirational leader. This is one of the major
progresses of gender equality. This proves that there is an
opportunity to believe and to raise women power.
Here comes another inspirational woman who is actually an
author and attorney, Michelle Obama. From 2009 to 2017,
she was the First Lady of the
United States. She delivers
noteworthy speeches. Her
messages are delivered
through her interviews and
books. She inspired and empowered young women.
She wants them to commit to their own education.
Moreover many girls see her as fashion icon.
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Speaking of fashion icon, long time ago girls had

to learn sewing and so on but nowadays they
evolved. They can actually turn their ideas into
reality. They are fashion designers, stylists and
seamstress. They are creative. Women
nowadays are very knowledgeable and are
highly equipped to perform these types of tasks.
For example one of the most well-known fashion
consultants is Maria Cristina Cordula. She is a
Brazilian model, settled in France who now
performs on tv shows and provides women with proper advice about the best outfits
for your body shape and so on. In other words, she tries to encourage women care
about them and be confident about their looks.
When it comes to gender equality, the first thing that comes to our mind is mostly
getting women’s participation in the labor force and mainly in the parliamentary or
anything related to management. This is not the only place where women have
evolved. If we have a look on the institutional background, it can be noted that there
are many female teachers. For instance, in Mauritius, according to the World Bank
collection, 47.64% trained teachers in secondary
education and 100% in primary education have
been reported in 2019. In this new world, there
must be the eradication of patriarchal society. Every
gender must be given equal opportunities, jobs and
salary. There must not have any types of
discrimination. There must be a sense of belonging
in his/her workplace. Indeed, they must all feel
accepted, being able to voice out their opinions and
have promotions in job status too.
In overall, compared to decades ago, there has been a progress towards gender
equality. There are legislations and campaigns done to fight for gender equality.
Companies investing in the success of women in the workplace and the point they
have in common is to ensure equal remuneration and opportunities. There has been
such a progression in the participation of women in different types of jobs which is in
fact very amazing and which shows the empowerment of women. It can be seen that
there is a positive change towards gender equality and this must keep evolving
gradually.
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Importance of women in the workplace

According to research, it has been proved that a higher level of women in organizations has
been so beneficial in terms of the productivity, as well as the profits. Women have been equally
capable and successful as men in this modern world. As such, gender diversity at the workplace
should be made a mandatory rule. Moreover, companies with a diverse workforce are more
successful than the others, which are predominantly male dominated.

Through the wages, positions and the designations that men and women get at work,
workplaces are often unequal, which is in fact a global reality. But nevertheless, women have
prevailed in making a mark on their own in this competitive market. Having gender diversity
at the workplace are advantageous in term of:

➢ Better job satisfaction

➢ The work turns out to be enjoyable and fun
➢ The dedication level towards the company will be higher
➢ Being positive and focused on company goals
➢ More meaningful work
➢ Have better opportunities to succeed
➢ Lesser burnout situations

Challenges face by women in the workforce

1. Men verses women issues
Men and women are always two sides of the same coin. But it's still a shame that, apart from
being equally talented, there is still discrimination in the eyes of the beholder. Women wants
to be recognized with her talent and not her gender. A study by Payscale says that in 2018, the
median salary of women was about 22 percent lower than the median salary of men. Women
earn 77.9 cents for every dollar made by men. As colleagues, men and women must combine
their synergies and work in union.

2. Gender bias

Gender equality is another challenge that many women experience in their workplace. Jobs that
require frequent travel, physical exertion are still only open to men because they are considered
more suitable than women. It must be understood that women are blessed with the opportunity
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to bring another soul into this world, and this factor must not hinder their growth and progress.
It is a promising change to see that many social security organizations, such as the United
Nations, are raising the issue globally and are committed to eliminating gender bias in the
workplace.

3. Sexual harassment

One of the most embarrassing and heartbreaking challenges a woman faces in the work
environment are the types of sexual abuse she faces. Many men have the perception that
working women are compromising with the nature that is the basis for such evil actions. The
Women at Work report found that 35% of women working full-time in the corporate sector
were sexually harassed. Another study by the EEOC estimates that 75% of women exposed to
such hostile situations will not report their harassment. This technique has forced laws and
orders to impose some severe penalties on these ruthless men. To reduce this challenge, there
are social security organizations that discuss women's empowerment in various fora and have
raised the voice against harassment of women in the workplace.

4. Race and Ethnicity

64% of Americans say that racism continues to be a major problem in society and in workplace.
White men and women continue to be hired more than people of color, women from different
ethnicities. Black women deal with additional challenges, including longstanding issues of
racial bias, and receive less support from managers and colleagues. The Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission found that the workplace discrimination allegations accounted for
33.9 percent of the racial discrimination claims. A report released by the UK government shows
that their economies could be boosted by up to $ 29 billion if their black and minority ethnic
abilities were fully utilized in the UK.

5. Work-life imbalance

Another notable challenge woman faces in the workplace today is the work-life imbalance.
Distinguishing between personal and professional lives becomes difficult for women in
general. If she has to attend a family event and she is asked to attend a company dinner that she
doesn't have a plan for, she needs to gather courage and politely decline the following: what
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she's committed to her family. All she needs to manage is time and effort then everything falls
in place.

6. Maternity leave

Over 50,000 people lose their jobs because of maternity discrimination each year around the
world. Most companies have policies on maternity leave, where maternity leave is granted to
the first two children, which is noticeable. But when the lady returns to office after the
maternity break, she may be surprised, because her role will no longer be the same. To bridge
this gap and alleviate the challenge, corporate firms have now included flexibility policies for
women who have resumed their careers after maternity leave.

7. Lack of role model

As compared of 62% of men in managerial positions, only 38% of women are promoted to be
managers. Women have repeatedly proven their talent on the business front, but still the top
cream layer is mostly occupied by men. So when women look for leaders they can imitate, they
are left behind.

When women look to men for guidance and mentoring, they feel disconnected and confused
as there is a big difference in their neutrality and communication style. But this challenge is
slowly diminishing as more and more women are involved in management, politician,
president, and CEO roles and in the next few years there will be more leaders who will become
role model for generations to come.

8. Ego clashes

Adam was the first human being in this world and then came the day before. Men always try
to prove their superiority at work. No matter how nice the woman is to him, he will try to find
faults in his approach or his way of working. Working women need to encase this ability of
hers to persuade and win the trust of her peers and this will definitely help her to befriend her
colleague and turn the ego clash into nothing.

9. Gossip

An office without gossip is like a cake without icing. Tea breaks, lunch, toilet meetings are the
place and time when gossip is created and spread. Some comment on her abilities, while others
comment on her friendly approach. Such comments sound too harsh and many times force the
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girl to put down the papers. All you have to do is not return any hard feelings. Women should
know how to face this emotional challenge and win after it.

10. Safety

Last but not least, the most dangerous challenge for women in the workplace is their safety. As
more and more cases of physical assault and abuse are reported in dailies and news channels,
women must learn the art of self-defense for their safety. Many organizations have used special
security services to help their employees get home late at night. Not only working women, but
all girls should always be ready to face the wrath of uncivilized men and therefore should equip
themselves with defense mechanisms and face their challenge with overwhelming self-
confidence.

We are on 2020 and the world wants to move forward and creating an environment where all
people are treated equally. But why is it stopping for women at some points? Why do we expect
women to balance their careers and homes when men are supposed to be the breadwinners in
the family? If there are men who have come forward to support women in all their endeavors,
why is the word “feminism” marked with so much hatred and contempt? It's time to break
down toxic masculinity and make people understand that the goal of feminism is to close the
gender gap and achieve political, economic, personal and social gender equalit

How companies can address the core challenges women are facing nowadays?

In order to retain the women most affected by challenges, companies need to take steps to
alleviate the additional pressure they are under. The chart below shows the six key areas that
companies should focus on or expand their efforts.
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Make work more

sustainable

Reset norms around

flexibility

Key areas Closer look at

performance reviews

Minimize gender bias

Policies to better
support

Strengthen
communication

Chart 1: Keys areas where companies should focus

Make work more sustainable

To employees facing burnout, especially mothers, during the Covid-19, it is vital to create a
sustained working environment. The strategies developed before this pandemic need to be re-
check whether it is still practical or not. Also, they can set new targets, narrow the project scope
or keep the goal on and extend the deadline. In addition, organizations can find creative ways
to give employees more time off.

Reset norms around flexibility

Flexible work arrangements help employees to cope with their career and personal priorities.
It is an effective tool for organizations to attract top talent, as well as cost-cutting measures to
reduce turnover, productivity and absenteeism.
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There has been a dis-balance between the work and home because of Covid-19, mostly to
women. “CHRO, RETAIL INDUSTRY” has adopted structural changes to scheduling norms,
like company-wide flexibility, no-meetings on Wednesdays. New plans should be structured
by companies, likewise, establishing new work norms, for example, setting hours for meetings,
placing policies to respond emails outside typical business hours, and enhancing
communication about work hours and availability within teams.

Leaders can also express their support for workplace flexibility. 57 % of employees say their
company's executives did so during Covid-19. In addition, managers can encourage their own
team to be a role model and consider utilizing Flexible work arrangements.

Take a closer look at performance reviews

Performance reviews play a crucial role for an effective organization and rewarding employees
for their contributions. However, the criteria set before Covid-19 may be inappropriate as there
has been a rise in the in challenges faced by employees in their personal lives. Managers can
help to relieve employee stress and refocus on key priorities, such as, reassessing performance
criteria established before the pandemic to ensure those criteria are still achievable. To prevent
burnout and worry, criteria can be introduced in line with what employees can reasonably
achieve. This will ultimately conduct to stronger performance and higher productivity. Studies
have shown that managers are supporting employees’ work-life needs. In “ADOPE
COMPANY,” managers have been asked to meet with each team member about their schedule
constraints and accommodate flexibility needs as much as possible. Managers went into these
meetings armed with information to make the conversation more productive, including FAQs,
tip sheets, and insights from a virtual Q&A session on flexibility during the pandemic. Adobe’s
employee pulse survey of August 2020 suggests these efforts are genuinely helping. Questions
about whether managers care about employee well-being and whether employees have the
flexibility they need received favorability rates30 of 85 percent and higher.

Take steps to minimize gender bias

Working women of color face a unique set of challenges that intersect across ethnicity, gender,
and culture. Because of this, many women of color who oftentimes have to deal with daunting
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roadblocks such as other people’s beliefs, attitudes, and experiences. Manager need to build
trust and confront inequities head on through organization-wide strategies.

Also, Covid-19 has increased the stereotypes women face since years in terms of higher
standards of performance, stricter judgment of mistakes, and the punishment of motherhood
and the use of flexible job options. So, awareness level should improve in order to alleviate
these biases. Also, training can help. In the past year, researches have shown that only 1 in 4
employees have attended unconscious bias training, and even employees who have attended in
the past would benefit from retraining. So, it is important to track the results of promotions and
raises by gender, as well as the distribution of layoffs and leaves by gender, to ensure that
women and men are treated fairly.

Adjust policies and programs to better support employees

To support employees during Covid-19, organizations have boosted their policies and
programs, likewise, ranging from offering longer paid time off to providing resources for home
schooling. Businesses need to ensure that employees are aware of the full range of benefits
available to them.

There is an issue between what companies offer and what employees are aware of. For
example, almost all companies offer mental health counseling, but only about half of
employees know this benefit is available. The same trend applies to other valuable programs
such as parenting resources, checkups and bereavement counseling.

Organizations need to determine how effectively they respond to the greatest employee
challenges and reallocate resources to the most valuable programs. They should also consider
whether their benefits are going far enough to support employees. From the beginning of the
pandemic the first priority of many organizations was the health and safety which has
contributes largely to the performance as well as the productivity. The “CHIEF
TRANFORMATION OFFICER” in the “TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY” declared that it has
alleviated a lot of anxieties they were feeling. A simple policy change really has far-reaching
power to support its employees.

Strengthen employee communication

Communication is the key to success of companies. It should be open and regular, especially
in crisis. Updates about the business situation and important decisions that affect employees'
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work and lives need to be share frequently, and that they should deal directly with the
information. It is also important that leaders and human resources communicate with empathy,
so that employees feel valued and understood. Research shows that this openness and
understanding reduces anxiety and builds trust among employees. The HR of “FOOD
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY” has declared that since Covid-19, their senior leadership
has increased the number of touchpoints, whether it’s through town halls, webinars, or Zoom
calls. They have used them to learn from managers and associates and to communicate what
we’re doing to support employees, including resources for their emotional and physical well-
being.

How companies can better support Black women?

Black women have had a worse workplace experience than most other employees. Now, they
face all the same challenges other women face, plus the heightened challenges stemming from
racism. How to better support black women?

Firstly, a clear commitment should be made among staffs to promote and support Black
women. Many employees fail to realize that black women are having a markedly worse
experience at work. Since years, studies have proved that Black women face more systemic
barriers and receiving less support from managers, which leads to more severe discrimination.
Organizations should adopt an alternate approach to their diverse endeavors. Many efforts to
diversify businesses focus on race or gender, meaning women of color can be looked down
upon. In contrast, when companies target and track results by gender and race combined, they
can gain data-based insights about the barriers black women are facing. Face and target specific
interventions with recruitment, mentoring and funding.

Secondly, Businesses should develop a sound environment, where Black women will feel
valued and concerned. Discriminatory behavior and micro-aggression should not be tolerated
and make sure that Black women get the formal and informal support that other employees do.
Effective training on diversity and allies will give them a better understanding of how to fight
racial discrimination and how to present themselves to black women as allies. It is also
important to think about customs, rituals and organizational standards to ensure that they are
inclusive. For example, are black women included in informal meetings? Are team events held
in safe and welcoming spaces? Gathering feedback from black women on what works and
doesn't work for them is essential to this process, as is giving black women a voice in shaping
new corporate standards. The more companies take into account the unique perspectives and
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experiences of different groups of employees, the more effectively they can create an inclusive
culture.

Why gender equality is not just about women?

“ women and children are already love unconditionally. Men are only loved on the accountability
they provide.” Chris Rock

So far we have discuss about women in the job

market. In the attempt of organization to provide
gender equality the focus on women is seen more. As
we mentioned before, the years which has passed
these issues has been looked into, and women has
been given more of voice in the workplace. Gender
equality bandgawon could be seen rising in
workplaces. There is this unspoken tension, where
some men believe they are “ sacrificial lamb” at their
work place, that is why they did not get the job, or
women, “because I am a woman I didn’t get the
position”. There is this deeply ingrained sexist views, some concious and some
unconcious, from both men and women. Rather than equal opportunity, taking the 3
basics, confidence, childcare and capability. Confidence, somehow women have
gained the label of lacking confidence, and men are given the label of having too
much confidence. Childcare, women do not just become mother, people become
parents. In some way making parental leave an only women ask , is discriminating
against men. Capability, women can be now seen everywhere, women in finance,
women in tech sector, women in retail, we can see the focus on capability, so it is a
myth that women are less capable. Confidence,
childcare and capability, have somehow been
labelled as an only women problem, when It is
actually an every person issue.

With the stereotypes, labelling women as

underconfident and men as overconfident, the fact
remains neither, over nor under confident is good.
Both men and women can be categorised into four
types of confidence, lacking confidence and self
awareness, self sabotage, next one is lacking
confidence under the surface, while displacing a fake
sense of confidence. Third category, display of
confidence while lacking self awareness and lastly confidence and capability match
with self awareness. Hence confidence is an everyone issue, not just a female issue.
 19

As we highlighted before, parental leave, in parenthood men become father as well,

and according to the youtube algorithm, the majority watching “ how to parent?” are
men. If men want to be more present father, why have parental leave and flexible
working women , why is the term working woman used but not working man. The
arrival of children is where is actual gender equality divide in workplace. Taking
parental leave as example, in Mauritius women are granted with 12 weeks of
maternal leave while men only 5 days. , the same way if men were granted with 12
weeks of holiday and women of 5 days, then there will be complete uproar.

What happens if men start protesting

for equal parental leave on the street.
In the workplace with gender equality
we can see women helping women,
which is something great, but the fact
remains work place does not consist
of women only but men as well. Many
more people are stuck in the gender equality bandwagon. According to an interview
made by Caroline Strachan(made in uk where maternity leave is of 6months and
paternity leave of 2weeks), where male were questioned the statement took out
was “why do women need additional support if I want to learn something new I just
have to get on and do it I can't take more than two weeks parental leave my leaders
will think I'm not serious about my career “ , even men suffer from dad confidence
and dad guilt. A type of gender war battlefields have been drawn where women and
men are to retreat in their own gender camp.
 20

References:

McKinsey& Company, January 28th 2019, Accelerating gender parity: What can
Governments do?, November 28th 2020, https://www.mckinsey.com
Wikipedia,n.d, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, 28th November
2020,https://en.m.wikipedia.org
Trading Economics,n.d, Mauritius Labor Force, Female, 28h November 2020,
https://tradingeconomics.com
The Conversation, 28th August 2020, Are Women leaders better on Coronavirus?
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Britannica, n.d, Kamala Harris, 29th November 2020, https://www.britannica.com
Michelle Obama, 29th November 2020,https://www.whitehouse.gov
Wikipedia, n.d, Cristina Cordula, 29th November 2020, https://en.m.wikipedia.com
RippleMatch, March 1,2020, 20 Companies Invested in the Success of Women at
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Trading Economics,n.d, Trained Teachers in Primary/ Secondary education (% of
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leaders-can-do-to-help/

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[Accessed 28 11 2020].

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