How weird that this article should pop up on my computer screen five minutes after I posted an introduction to myself! Not that I happen to think MDs should “rule” their companies – guide would be a better term, in my opinion – but the coincidence really is peculiar. Anyway, what do you think? Is the glass ceiling really shattering or not? With thanks to Yahoo.
Apparently, women are increasingly going to challenge the male dominance of the workplace and will seek out organisations that support them, a report claims.
Women are set to rule the global workplace over the next few years with a record number of graduates prepare to enter the workforce.
A paper released by Regus, the world’s largest provider of flexible workspace, confirms there will be an influx of female talent and that over the next three years 70 per cent of graduates will be female.
“Males have historically dominated the workforce in terms of the number of workers and their seniority. However, with females set to be the majority of tertiary educated employees entering the workforce, it is time to close the gender inequality gap for good,” Author of the white paper report, “Meeting the future of work”, John Blackwell, said.
“Women are increasingly going to challenge the male dominance of the workplace, and will seek out organisations that support the female worker and enable them to fulfil their career aspirations.”
The new report, supported by Regus polled over 25,000 professionals globally at the outset of 2012 (with approximately 750 respondents from Australasia). It shows that for older staff, 72 per cent of the worldwide workforce is male.
For Generation Y workers, (those under the age of 35 years), the gender gap is smaller with nearly half of workers being female (48 per cent).
From both older and Gen Y workers however, men are still on top when it comes to management roles. Only 24 per cent of Gen Y managers in the workforce are female (76 per cent of managers are male), despite the fact females enter the workforce with higher educational qualifications than males.
In fact, 41 per cent of females hold a bachelors level degree compared to 35 per cent of males, and women are leaving university five to six points higher in academic achievement than their male counterparts.
“If organisations want to harness the talent of female workers, a number of steps need to be taken but perhaps the simplest and most effective one is to implement flexible working,” Australia Country Head for Regus, Jacqueline Lehmann, said.
A flexible work policy could mean offering shorter commute times with the options of being able to work from different locations, such as from home or a local business centre, as well as flexibility with their hours.
This will allow all staff – but particularly women with family commitments – to be more happy and productive in their jobs.
“Gender disparity is an issue that Australia and the world have been facing for a long time, but now, with more women set to be entering the job market, the question of how organisations can harness the potential of their female employees is more significant than ever,” she said.
Interesting stuff. What about your workplace? How are women progressing there?
Vanessa T
The Tipping Point 