Sustainable Development Goal: Gender Equality Assignment Sample

• Subject Name : Management

Gender Equality in the CSR

Table of Contents

Introduction.

Factors contributing to Gender Inequality.

Lack of employment equality.

Job segregation.

Consequences of the issue.

Measures to incorporate gender equality in the company.

References.

Introduction to Sustainable Development Goal: Gender Equality

Gender equality is a worldwide issue which the entire world is striving to attain. The international organization in its 17 Sustainable Development Goals has taken into account Gender equality as one of the major issues that the entire world economies need to achieve. It is the 5th Sustainable Development Goal among the 17th SDGs (Pandey and Kumar, 2019). The main purpose of this is to eliminate any forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls. As part of the corporate social responsibility, every company ought to include Gender Equality in its standard rules and regulations as well as code of conduct. Addressing gender equality issues helps to empower women in an institution that will in turn definitely lead to development in any organization.

Factors Contributing to Gender Inequality

The issue of gender inequalities occurs when men and women are not regarded equal in relation to the differential access of resources as well as the gender norms and stereotypes that encourage gendered identities thus constraining women's and men's behavior in ways that cause inequality.

Two contributing factors that have led to issues rendering the SDG to intervene in addressing the gender equality issue are:

1. Lack of Employment Equality

This means that there are very many countries that do not offer women similar legal work rights as compared to men. In some societies, women are denied opportunities to attend school hence remain illiterate. Illiteracy further contributes to more women missing out on job opportunities. The Sustainable Development Goals depend on achieving the 5th goal which is gender equality by 2030 to eliminate the many root causes of discrimination that curtail the rights of women in both public and private spheres. It advocates for fairness and equality in regard to female employment and education to ensure that women are not left out on opportunities since they are the most affected. Employment inequalities occur when for instance men are given more job opportunities compared to women (Frontiers in Psychology, 2015). Also, considering women as inferior in some societies leads to their lack of education opportunities which therefore means that fewer women will be employed. The SDGs, therefore, try to advocate for equality in giving employment opportunities and base recruitments on professional capabilities rather than the gender of an individual. Women and men are also treated unequally in giving pensions as well. This can be shown by the OECD statistics as well:

2. Job Segregation

Job segregation occurs when men are given some type of jobs, for instance, technical jobs, leaving out women on other opportunities. The jobs which may be deemed fit for men happen to pay better leaving women for lower jobs. The 8th SDG advocates for sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all. When there is job segregation, these goals together with the 5th goal of gender equality are not met. The SDGs, therefore, advocate for equal treatment of all genders to gain access to any opportunity so long as they can do so (Frontiers in Psychology, 2015). Job segregation is also an issue that is addressed in relation to SDGs because they try to address the gender equality issue in the 5th goal addressed. It aims at addressing the availability of equal job opportunities for both men and women. This is because there are societies that still hold the belief that women are to take inferior jobs with less pay as compared to men.

Consequences of The Issue

The glass ceiling is a classic example of failing to address gender equality. Women often find it harder to have career growth compared to men despite being of equal qualifications. Another consequence is the inequality of pay among men and women (Obadić, Sinčić Ćorić, and Pološki Vokić, 2019). Women are often paid less despite having the same workload and qualifications as their male counterparts. This can be shown with the data as well:

These figures by the International Labour Organization depict the biasedness in wages in different countries among men and women.

One possible consequence of addressing the issue of gender equality is the need for a restructure especially in the cultural aspect of the society. It is the only way to attain true gender equality.

Measures to Incorporate Gender Equality in The Company

Gender Equality is the 5th goal in the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. The main purpose of this is to eliminate any forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls. Below are recommendations on how to help mitigate this as a Corporate Social Responsibility directive in the Company:

• Tackling structural barriers to gender equality by the company should focus on policies that address structural and power dynamics that encourages discrimination against women and girls and represent barriers to gender equality, including removing discriminating legal frameworks,
• Making a safer workspace environment for women in the workplace and office premises. Women are still underrepresented in government positions, and so in corporations. There has been progressing in recent years as we encounter an increase in women taking leadership roles (Begum, 2016); however, there is still a significant number of challenges. Create a project that is inclusive of women, where they are not suppressed to voice out their ideas and opinions. This change is internal but has a great impact on external stakeholders.
• Implementing policies that promote women's labor force participation, these include reducing and redistributing unpaid care work.
• Strengthening accountability mechanisms in the company can enable managements and other stakeholders should build accountability mechanisms into interventions and strategies and monitor the effectiveness of these mechanisms, including taking action to ensure that such mechanisms are responsive to the rights of women and girls.
• Increasing speculation and financing for gender fairness by the Company can build ventures for sexual orientation equity for ladies' and young women strengthening and empowerment by advancing speculations in gender uniformity in all areas (Kaur, 2013).
• Increasing information assortment limit by the Company ought to reinforce measurable frameworks to gather and deliver high-caliber, available, dependable, opportune, and disaggregated information to screen SDG pointers and backing proof based strategy detailing for equality.
• Support women in leadership roles that promote gender equality. As we see the progress in gender equality, more and more women are taking on big leaps to promote gender equality. They are often women in political positions or of influence. By expressing support and backing up projects lead by these figures, as a CSR, it supports this goal (Pimpa and Moore, 2018). A company can implement a policy of integrating women by accommodating them in leadership positions.
• Livelihood projects for women. Financial independence is not exclusive to men or women. However, a lot of married women depend heavily on their spouses for financial support and are often placed in a position where they cannot make their own decisions and lead their own lives. Teaching women to be financially independent by creating livelihood projects targeted at women (especially housewives or single mothers), is empowering gender equality (Vilke, Raisiene, and Simanaviene, 2014)
• Create employment opportunities for women. Create a CSR project that empowers women, with employment opportunities that do not exploit them, but provides equal pay corresponding to their skills and abilities.

References for Sustainable Development Goal: Gender Equality

Pandey, U. C. and Kumar, C. 2019. SDG5 - Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women and Girls. United Kingdom: Emerald Publishing Limited.

Begum, M. I. A. 2016. Corporate Social Responsibility and Gender Commitments. A Case Study of Commercial Banks in Bangladesh. Germany: GRIN Verlag.

Pimpa, N. and Moore, T. 2018. Corporate Social Responsibility and the Inclusivity of Women in the Mining Industry: Emerging Research and Opportunities. United States: IGI Global.

Kaur, P. 2013. ‘Corporate Social Responsibility and Gender Equality in Workplace’, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention. Vol. 2, No. 11, pp.36-40

Vilke, R., Raisiene A. G. and Simanaviene, Z. 2014. ‘Gender and Corporate Social Responsibility: ‘big wins’ for the business and society?’, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 156, pp. 191-202.

Frontiers in Psychology. 2015. Gender inequalities in the workplace: the effects of organizational structures, processes, practices, and decision makers’ sexism. [Online]. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01400/full [Accesson on: 27th October’2020]

Obadić, A., Sinčić Ćorić, D. and Pološki Vokić, N. 2019. Gender Equality in the Workplace: Macro and Micro Perspectives on the Status of Highly Educated Women. Germany: Springer International Publishing.

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