Gender balance means men and women are availed equal opportunities. FILE PHOTO | NMG
As the world marked the
International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8, it was gratifying to see the
debate on gender equality evolving to one that seeks to level out the
field for both genders such that there is fair consideration of
aspirations, rights, responsibilities and opportunities; hence this
year’s theme - Balance for Better.
This theme was
arrived at on the basis that everyone has a part to play, and, from
grassroots activism to global action, we are entering an exciting period
of history where the world expects balance as the critical driver for a
better working world.
Gender balance means men and
women are availed equal opportunities and are judged on their talents
and abilities. In the words of World Economic Forum (WEF) founder and
chairman Klaus Schwab, talent is one of the most essential factors for
growth and competitiveness. Therefore, to build future economies that
are both dynamic and inclusive, we must ensure that everyone has an
equal opportunity.
As it currently stands, no country
in the world has fully closed its gender gap, and the most recent survey
by the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index – which examines
the gap between men and women in four fundamental pillars of Economic
Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and
Survival and Political Empowerment - estimates that it will take another
100 years to close the overall global gender gap in a majority of
countries.
Similarly, a report last year by McKinsey reaffirmed the correlation between diversity and company financial performance.
Gender diversity
The
survey, covering 1,000 companies in 12 countries, concluded that firms
in the top-quartile for gender diversity on their executive teams are 21
per cent more likely to have above-average profitability. For
ethnic/cultural diversity, top-quartile companies were 33 percent more
likely to outperform on profitability.
To achieve
equality, Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and
Iceland), have been rewriting the rules of work by adopting more
family-friendly policies to help both men and women succeed in the work
place. These countries frequently top the gender gap index for having
the highest women workforce participation rates in the world, with
corresponding economic growth levels.
Here in Kenya, the gender equality debate continues to exercise
the minds of policy shapers in the public and private sectors alike. As
illustrated by the WEF Global Gender Gap Index, Kenya still has some
distance to cover before it can attain gender equality.
A
2017 Index placed Kenya in position 76 out of 144 economies surveyed
with Rwanda, at position four overall, being the best performing African
country. Burundi, which was ranked 22nd overall, emerged first globally
for creating a level playing field for economic participation for both
genders.
Kenya was ranked 44th while Rwanda (7) and
Namibia (10) were the only other African countries that made it to the
top 10 in this category. Efforts to create laws to support the one third
gender requirement as captured by the constitution have repeatedly
failed.
CAROLINE NDUNG'U, Director of marketing and corporate relations, Barclays Bank of Kenya.
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