Broader Considerations for the ‘Quota’ Approach for women
By Dr Diann Rodgers-Healey
Released 23 October 2009
In
1986, the concept of the “glass
ceiling”
was used to explain why women, despite achieving certain levels
of success in industry and business are prevented from reaching
the most senior levels of management due to an invisible barrier
that is almost impossible to breach. Twenty years later, despite
research, evidence and an array of proactive gender policies for
equality and equity, there are still concerns about the relative
absence of women in higher management ranks. Surely, the time
for considering quotas for equal representation of women on
boards has come.
The issue of
quotas, however, must be considered in a broader context of not
just getting more women into boards but getting more women into
leadership positions through each stage of their career
progression. The “glass ceiling” is prevalent not just at the
highest points of organizations, but on each level of the career
labyrinth. With numbers of
women in
Australia
decreasing in line executive positions from 7.5% in 2006 to 5.9%
in Australia in
2008, the pool of potential candidates for board positions needs
to be addressed at every rung of the ladder so
that women can strategically negotiate their stages of career
engagement and development.
Examining access to management
positions, The
U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission found that the
2002 EEO data showed that
organisations with a high proportion of women in executive
management have a high proportion of women in their respective
recruiting pools (field management and white collar jobs at
headquarters). The Commission concluded that “successful
elimination of glass ceilings requires not just an effective
enforcement strategy but the involvement of employers, employees
and others in identifying and reducing attitudinal and other
forms of organizational barriers encountered by minorities and
women in advancing to higher level management positions in
different workplace settings.”
To meet
targets at pivotal leadership points in an organisation, there
needs to be provision for a range of measures for women,
including access to challenging career opportunities, mentoring,
leadership training, negotiating and networking, work/life
balance and child care. These initiatives, taking into account
the dual role women have as carers and workers, need to be
accessible by women from early on in a woman’s career to
contribute to subsequent stages of her career development,
giving her the opportunity to be in the feeder position for a
board position.
Whilst
voluntary or legislative targets outlined by Sex Discrimination
Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick move the issue forward,
policies need to address the recognition of merit of women at
senior management levels who have been side stepped for board
positions AND also the development of merit through women’s
career cycles. This approach ensures equity and equality for all
women. Moreover, it is this context that reduces some of the
arguments circling the issue of quotas such as: quotas only
achieve putting in women to make up the numbers; quotas spoil
the chances of other women when the woman does not perform well;
there is a shortage of suitable women.
As quotas shatter the
glass ceiling for women who have merit but have been
sidestepped, strategies that are geared to develop merit for
those women further down the line will provide a fail-proof
system that nurtures talent and leadership.
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