Does gender affect promotion opportunities?
Does the employee’s gender affect the possibility of getting a promotion at work – this question was asked to the respondents in the study „Women in the labor market 2023. DE&I policy in practice”.
The gender of the employee does not affect the possibility of getting a promotion at work – believe 39 percent. women and 69 percent men. These are the results of the study described in the report „Women in the labor market 2023. DE&I policy in practice” prepared by Hays in cooperation with the Center for Research on Women and Diversity in Organizations, operating at Kozminski University. Specialists and representatives of companies took part in the study. Equal opportunities for women and men in the professional environment is among the priority objectives of diversity policies (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) in force in companies.
57 percent of respondents experienced gender-related obstacles in their careers. Women often earn less than colleagues with similar qualifications, have difficulty breaking through in occupations and sectors considered typically male, and face prejudice against women in business.
“Women make up a small percentage of all people employed in the construction and real estate sectors, while in our office company they make up the majority of employees. The management board of our company consists of 4 women (including CEOs and CFOs) and 5 men,” said Bartłomiej Budnicki, Strategy & Insight Advisor DE&I Lead at the Skanska office company in Central and Eastern Europe. “With the growing social and regulatory expectations (including the entry into force of the CSRD, the EU Sustainable Development Reporting Directive, which requires companies to publish information on diversity and inclusion, putting non-financial reports on an equal footing with financial ones), DE&I ceases to be a choice and becomes an imperative for survival and development. Companies that understand this have and will have an advantage over those that do not.
The report points out that the path to high-level positions can also be challenging. According to Eurostat data, in Poland 43 percent. of managerial positions are occupied by women, which gives us the second place on the list of countries with the ratio closest to the 50:50 ratio. The proportions of women and men in top management positions in organizations are less optimistic. Only 19 percent of respondents are employed in companies run by women. However, it is a percentage by 3 percentage points. percent higher than that recorded in 2022.
Data from the European Institute for Gender Equality show that in Poland women constitute 26.3 percent. persons sitting on the management boards of the largest listed companies, with the European average of 34%.
Compared to last year’s edition of the survey, the percentage of female respondents aspiring to become president or managing director (12%) and running their own business (7%) has increased. In addition, in 2023, the percentage of women convinced that there is no relationship between the employee’s gender and promotion opportunities increased by 6 percentage points. to the level of 39 percent.
As stated, there is a visible difference between the perception of professional success by women and men. 58% of employees aspire to take a managerial or directorial position. women and 43 percent men, while to the position of managing director or president – every tenth respondent and every fifth respondent. The report also points to the change that has taken place – in the opinion of the respondents – in terms of fair remuneration. In 2023, 35 percent. women (2 percentage points more than last year) and 67 percent. of men (by 1 percentage point more) expressed the belief that they and their associates with similar qualifications are fairly remunerated, regardless of gender.
Among people raising children, as many as 66 percent women and 37 percent. of men declare that in their professional career they have experienced difficulties in reconciling work and parental responsibilities. „The responses of women are disturbing, which show that as many as two out of three working mothers have experienced difficulties in reconciling professional and parental responsibilities” – added. It was pointed out that the most common obstacles are: the need to choose between being involved in family or professional life (77%), the inability to fully participate in the child’s life (65%) and the lack of time to spend with loved ones (55%).
As reported by the Ministry of Family and Social Policy, the government of the Republic of Poland is taking actions aimed at equalizing women’s opportunities on the labor market and facilitating the reconciliation of professional and family life, with a simultaneous sense of responsibility for the demographic situation.
“The Ministry of Family and Social Policy combines building a stable and responsible pro-family policy with the full use of women’s talents on the labor market. One of the goals is to increase the availability of childcare facilities for children up to the age of 3, and thus to reduce the difficulties for parents in combining family and professional responsibilities and to reduce the cost of childcare. The goal is to cover 33 percent in 2030. all children under the age of 3 with such care – in accordance with the Strategy for Responsible Development. He also drew attention to the leave system related to the care of young children. These leaves are intended to give parents maximum flexibility in deciding who will look after their child and how long. In addition, it is possible to combine parental leave with work of no more than 0.5 FTE.
“As part of the National Action Program for Equal Treatment 2022-2030, Priority II was created: work and social security, which defines the government’s policy on issues related to equal opportunities for women and men, including on the labor market. Priority II lists not only specific tasks aimed at supporting equal opportunities for women and men on the labor market, but also facilitating the reconciliation of family and professional life or recognition of unpaid work. Among the challenges that have also been defined in the NREAP 2022-2030, there is a part devoted to the promotion of women in managerial positions.
As indicated by the Ministry of Family and Social Policy, activities are also being carried out to make employers and employees aware of the issue of wage inequalities.
“In order to help employers verify whether they are remunerated equally for the same work, in 2017 the ministry prepared the “Equal Pay” computer application, which allows you to easily estimate the differences in the remuneration of employees, taking into account their gender, age, education and other selected characteristics (i.e. the so-called „adjusted wage gap”)” – he explained. Using the application in question does not create additional administrative or financial burdens for the entrepreneur. The application is available free of charge on the website for all employers, for whom it can be a support in shaping a payroll policy that is conscious and non-discriminatory in terms of gender.
Already today, however, Poland is among the five member states where the wage gap was less than 5% and was equal to 4.5%. Only 4 countries are ahead of Poland: Luxembourg, Romania, Slovenia and Italy. Among the 27 Member States, in 8 the wage gap does not exceed 10%. By comparison, the rate was highest in the following countries: Latvia (22.3%), Estonia (21.1%), Austria (18.9%), Germany (18.3%) and Hungary (17.2%) percent).
Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.
