“The woman who can create her own job is the woman who will win fame and fortune.”
Amelia Earhart
It’s official. Germany has put the Women Quota on the Agenda and put it through with regulation 30%. This is monumental. However, while I agree we still have many things to work on in regards to the Gender Dialogue, I don’t think this is necessarily the answer. Really, who wants to be selected to serve on a board of a prominent company or organization based on a quota?
I doubt very seriously that quotas will answer our questions when it comes to addressing the issue of gender inequality. I believe this is the one area where technology can`t help us see exponential growth.. This is where we need to look to nature and let evolution balancing things out as it has already been proving to do so.
The share of women in work has risen from 55% in 1997 to 63% in 2014 (2015). Even more, in countries such as Sweden and Denmark women have almost completely caught up, or in some cities or countries, actually exceed men in the workforce with over 80% of women in the workforce. We can always argue that this is not enough; that there still is much more that needs to be done. This is true. But, at the same time, we shouldn’t ignore the tremendous progress that has been made.
In other words, given that there is clear evidence of forward progress, why force it? In the educational system, for example, women have caught up to men. They are not only attending top rated business schools around the world. Upon graduation, we are seeing many of them start their own businesses https://agenda.weforum.org/2015/03/why-female-entrepreneurs-will-rise-in-2015/. Subsequently, it’s inevitable that many of them will eventually be on top of leading companies.
That’s how It has worked for hundreds of years. The majority of men have had to work their way up the ranks and wait their turn so to speak. If you look, for example, at the board members of the largest companies you will not find any 25 to 30 Year old men, do you? So, you cannot just skip a generation. We have to accept that it’s a process that takes time. Great business leaders have to first be given the opportunity to work at smaller companies and learn to create large values of economy within them. And, that what women are doing which is making them more and more attractive to the larger more established companies. ( http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-15-4563_en.htm ). So why force it?
To be honest, in the long run I am more worried about the male species. Another startling statistic that reveals how much progress is actually being made by women is that in New York, over the last 10 Years, young women have out-earned Men in New York (aged 20-30). What will happen when these women reach 50+ years of age – which is the typical age range of many board members of prominent companies? They will be primary candidates for board positions because of their stellar track record. Should we then, instead, strive for equality by seeking out and appointing 20 Year Boys to boards? No. Definitely not.
So, I believe being the “Quota-Women” will not be the solution. The solution is going to be continuing to focus on identifying talent that can respond to the challenges and currents of today’s modern trends. For centuries, men have allowed their leadership styles to be ruled by their egos. As our political structure continually transitions politically from countries to cities, where we start to look more and more like bees and ants, the political and governmental focus will become a lot stronger and built more around the cities; the mayor will have more power than the prime-minister or chancellor in many regions.
Thus, this type of model lends itself more to being led by a women, a queen bee If you like, where dialogue and patience are core skills. Equally, empathy and trust are placed at the top of the agenda because we are beginning to see and value more that these leadership skills are greatly required in business. Accompanying this natural evolution requires that we also move away from our hierarchical thinking and “command and control” society to more of an egalitarian society (http://www.fastcoexist.com/3031018/6-lessons-that-businesses-can-learn-from-bees).
For all the reasons stated, I personally believe Women are marching on. Thus, the real change regarding gender equality that we want to see and will see in all areas of society over the next 10-15 years will not require or occur primarily as a result of regulations. It’s already happening on its own and at an exponential rate. Sweden, Norway and Denmark are already ahead, and that without forcing. Why? Because these are smaller regions where trends and changes adapt much more quickly than larger regions. Stockholm is the perfect example of this as its “test-projects” can later be rolled out on a global scale.
It is evolution at work. The female that makes it to the top will be a product of Darwinism. For once, we now need to just let evolution do its work as technology can`t handle everything. Forget about the Women Quota. Yes, it true that the ego of many men in power will try to stand in the way of forward progress and accepting many women in the boardroom. But, this, more and more, becoming the result of their own fears of inadequacy. Many men know that women have arrived and that they’re here to stay. Because men have rested on their laurels for too long, not as many men as women are prepared to take on the highest positions of leaderships. This, once again, why we need to let nature run its course. Women, more and more, are gaining access to the board room and other significant promotions based on their own merit. So, we don’t need to interfere. Let it happen naturally and in its own time.