Peace and social progress. Those are the two themes that dominated reasoning for the United Nations to start observing International Women’s Day in 1975 (observances by other bodies go back as far as 1909). Calls to end the First World War were resonate when Russian textile workers took to the streets demanding ‘bread and peace.’
Today, peace is lost. Women soldiers – both volunteers and those with military careers – are on Ukraine’s front lines engaging Putinite invaders who count women soldiers among their ranks as well.
Measuring social progress in its strides toward full equity is a mixed bag. According to HP’s International Women’s Day 2022 Pulse Survey, Canadian women were less successful than men in getting promoted over the past year. 52% of men were promoted while only 29% of women who were equally qualified were promoted. According to researchers, the disparity is due to a lack of confidence among women to apply, or express interest in, pursuing a growth opportunity.
With changes to how Canadians work, thoughts about who benefits from those changes have come too. 36% of HP’s Canadian employees believe hybrid work models are most beneficial for advancing women and minorities. 26% believed an in-person or office environment is the second most beneficial. Only 17% believe a remote workforce is best for advancing women and minorities.
Will what is being called the great resignation affect the Canadian workforce? According to HP’s survey, 41% of Canadians are looking to leave their current company. Of those who are staying where they are, 44% say it’s because having the flexibility to manage work and life is their top reason.
More information: https://www.hp.com/ca-en/home.html
The HP survey results are reinforced by The Economist‘s Glass-Ceiling Index (GCI). That study shows that women are still lagging behind men in senior business roles. Women make up only a third of managers and just over a quarter of board seats across the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The GCI is an annual assessment of where women have the best and worst chances of equal treatment at workplaces in the OECD, a group of mostly rich countries. The assessment combines data on higher education, labour-force participation, pay, child-care costs, maternity and paternity rights, business-school applications and representation in senior jobs to create a ranking of the 29 OECD countries. Canada ranked 10th.
More information: https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/glass-ceiling-index?fsrc=core-app-economist
The Casa Foundation for International Development is holding Women Inspire, its Women in Business and Leadership forum this week. The free virtual event on March 10 will feature women who “have advanced Canada’s trade and economic development landscape and also celebrate inspiring women in Canada that have distinguished themselves in the business and trade sphere.”
More information: https://casafoundation.ca/women-inspire/
