Overcoming Challenges to Gender Equality in the Workplace


Book Description

Many businesses and organizations are increasingly aware of the case for promoting gender equality, both within and outside their organizational boundaries. Evidence suggests that gender equality in the workplace boosts performance, and legal frameworks in many countries mandate specific action on gender inequality in the workplace. However, despite organizational policies on promoting equality and equal opportunities, there remain challenges to be overcome in many businesses, including throughout their supply chains. The book provides research rationales as to why responsible organizations must address the issue of gender equality in the workplace. It also presents case studies, action research and examples of good practices, describing how businesses and organizations are working to promote gender equality in various contexts. The book is designed to support the rationale for gender equality in business and organizations, providing evidence of implementation of gender equality in the workplace and advice on how to deal with and overcome challenges. It will be of interest to academics, employees, practitioners, policy-makers, businesses, institutions and organizations.




Lean In


Book Description

#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • “A landmark manifesto" (The New York Times) that's a revelatory, inspiring call to action and a blueprint for individual growth that will empower women around the world to achieve their full potential. In her famed TED talk, Sheryl Sandberg described how women unintentionally hold themselves back in their careers. Her talk, which has been viewed more than eleven million times, encouraged women to “sit at the table,” seek challenges, take risks, and pursue their goals with gusto. Lean In continues that conversation, combining personal anecdotes, hard data, and compelling research to change the conversation from what women can’t do to what they can. Sandberg, COO of Meta (previously called Facebook) from 2008-2022, provides practical advice on negotiation techniques, mentorship, and building a satisfying career. She describes specific steps women can take to combine professional achievement with personal fulfillment, and demonstrates how men can benefit by supporting women both in the workplace and at home.




The Politics of Promotion


Book Description

Break into the power circle and build relationships that advance careers The Politics of Promotion offers women the tools and guidance they need to successfully navigate the realities of their organization, emphasizing the need to understand office politics to get the promotions and recognition they deserve. Written by Bonnie Marcus, a professional coach who focuses on helping women advance their careers, this book demonstrates the impact of relationships and sponsorship on career trajectory. Readers will learn why excellence and achievement aren't propulsion enough to get ahead, and how networking with power and intention can make all the difference in perception, reputation, and promotion. Far beyond the typical advice of "be assertive" and "embrace ambition," this book provides a unique and proven method for becoming a bigger player in the workplace and avoiding unexpected trip-ups that can add years to the climb—or end it for good. Many women focus on performance, thinking that good work garners promotion. Too often, they're left outside of the circles of power and influence where decisions are made that affect their careers. The Politics of Promotion provides a framework for breaking into that circle, and taking control of one's own career path, specifically showing how to: Navigate office politics successfully Build and nurture key relationships Get comfortable with self-promotion Avoid potentially disastrous "blindsides" Women who want to advance cannot afford to view politics as "dirty." It's the reality of the workplace, one that differs between organizations and fluctuates over time. Although being savvy about office politics is important for both genders, unconscious bias and stereotypes create special challenges for women. Learning to navigate these complex rules and customs is the key to professional recognition for women, fostering relationships that reach far beyond the next evaluation. Women looking to get ahead will find that the insights in The Politics of Promotion can help smooth the way.




The Future of Women's Rights


Book Description

"The Future of Women's Rights" identifies the emergence of various trends threatening the advance of gender equality, women's human rights and sustainable human development. These phenomena include the impacts of globalization and neoliberal economics, developments in biotechnology, the neo-conservative backlash against women's rights, monopolistic ownership patterns over information technologies, the rise of identity politics marginalizing women's issues, and the increase in violent conflict and war. The contributors to this volume are united in seeing a pressing need for women's movements to evaluate their methods, with a view to making their future political work more effective. They identify current issues and trends in the world, thinking through how these may impact women and the work of women's movements.




The Fix


Book Description

In the vein of #Girlboss and Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office, discover how to thrive at work from the head of the Global Innovation Coalition for Change at UN Women with this “passionate, practical roadmap for addressing inequality and finally making our workplaces work for women” (Arianna Huffington). For years, we’ve been telling women that in order to succeed at work, they have to change themselves first—lean in, negotiate like a man, don’t act too nice or you’ll never get the corner office. But after sixteen years working with major Fortune 500 companies as a gender equality expert, Michelle King has realized one simple truth—the tired advice of fixing women doesn’t fix anything. The truth is that workplaces are gendered; they were designed by men for men. Because of this, most organizations unconsciously carry the idea of an “ideal worker,” typically a straight, white man who doesn’t have to juggle work and family commitments. Based on King’s research and exclusive interviews with major companies and thought leaders, The Fix reveals why denying the fact that women are held back just because they are women—what she calls gender denial—is the biggest obstacle holding women back at work and outlines the hidden sexism and invisible barriers women encounter at work every day. Women who speak up are seen as pushy. Women who ask for a raise are seen as difficult. Women who spend hours networking don’t get the same career benefits as men do. Because women don’t look like the ideal worker and can’t behave like the ideal worker, they are passed over for promotions, paid less, and pushed out of the workforce, not because they aren’t good enough, but because they aren’t men. In this fascinating and empowering book, King outlines the invisible barriers that hold women back at all stages of their careers, and provides readers with a clear set of takeaways to thrive despite the sexist workplace, as they fight for change from within. Gender equality is not about women, and it is not about men—it is about making workplaces work for everyone. Together, we can fix work, not women.




Glass Half-Broken


Book Description

Why the gender gap persists and how we can close it. For years women have made up the majority of college-educated workers in the United States. In 2019, the gap between the percentage of women and the percentage of men in the workforce was the smallest on record. But despite these statistics, women remain underrepresented in positions of power and status, with the highest-paying jobs the most gender-imbalanced. Even in fields where the numbers of men and women are roughly equal, or where women actually make up the majority, leadership ranks remain male-dominated. The persistence of these inequalities begs the question: Why haven't we made more progress? In Glass Half-Broken, Colleen Ammerman and Boris Groysberg reveal the pervasive organizational obstacles and managerial actions—limited opportunities for development, lack of role models and sponsors, and bias in hiring, compensation, and promotion—that create gender imbalances. Bringing to light the key findings from the latest research in psychology, sociology, organizational behavior, and economics, Ammerman and Groysberg show that throughout their careers—from entry-level to mid-level to senior-level positions—women get pushed out of the leadership pipeline, each time for different reasons. Presenting organizational and managerial strategies designed to weaken and ultimately break down these barriers, Glass Half-Broken is the authoritative resource that managers and leaders at all levels can use to finally shatter the glass ceiling.




Gender Equality and Inclusive Growth


Book Description

This paper considers various dimensions and sources of gender inequality and presents policies and best practices to address these. With women accounting for fifty percent of the global population, inclusive growth can only be achieved if it promotes gender equality. Despite recent progress, gender gaps remain across all stages of life, including before birth, and negatively impact health, education, and economic outcomes for women. The roadmap to gender equality has to rely on legal framework reforms, policies to promote equal access, and efforts to tackle entrenched social norms. These need to be set in the context of arising new trends such as digitalization, climate change, as well as shocks such as pandemics.




Good Guys


Book Description

The key to advancing gender equality? Men. Women are at a disadvantage. At home, they often face an unequal division of household chores and childcare, and in the workplace, they deal with lower pay, lack of credit for their contributions, roadblocks to promotion, sexual harassment, and more. And while organizations are looking to address these issues, too many gender-inclusion initiatives focus on how women themselves should respond, reinforcing the perception that these are "women's issues" and that men—often the most influential stakeholders in an organization—don't need to be involved. Gender-in-the-workplace experts David G. Smith and W. Brad Johnson counter this perception. In this important book, they show that men have a crucial role to play in promoting gender equality at work. Research shows that when men are deliberately engaged in gender-inclusion programs, 96 percent of women in those organizations perceive real progress in gender equality, compared with only 30 percent of women in organizations without strong male engagement. Good Guys is the first practical, research-based guide for how to be a male ally to women in the workplace. Filled with firsthand accounts from both men and women, and tips for getting started, the book shows how men can partner with their female colleagues to advance women's leadership and equality by breaking ingrained gender stereotypes, overcoming unconscious biases, developing and supporting the talented women around them, and creating productive and respectful working relationships with women.




The Diversity Advantage


Book Description

Close to one billion women will enter the global workforce by 2020, but these women are likely to drop out or get stuck in dead-end jobs. Gender equality is a human rights issue, but engaging women in the workforce is primarily an economic issue-diverse leaders drive bottom-line growth and high-level innovation for global corporations. This book isn't only for women, chief inclusion officers or HR practitioners. It offers insight and case studies from global leaders on why it's a priority for everyone in an organization. To attract, retain and promote women, the best companies worldwide have made inclusion part of their entire culture, not just their hiring processes. Diversity in the workplace isn't just the "right" thing to do-it's a financially savvy strategy in today's hyper-competitive digital marketplace.




Gender Inequality at Work


Book Description

Comprises 14 papers on earnings inequality between men and women, earnings among women managers, career processes and trends, and occupational resegregation. Includes papers on women's increasing presence in academic sociology, computer work and public school teaching.