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International Women’s Day – Why we should stop talking and start acting
08. Mar 2021 |
- min Lesezeit
Over the years the international women's day has become a lot of attention by the media. But is the attention it gets really beneficial to its purpose?
Gender debate = marketing?
When scrolling through social media these days, it is hard not to come across various brands and companies advertising for international women’s day. What seems beneficial in order to raise awareness for the inequalities between the different genders, often is yet just another marketing activity to raise profits instead of truly taking action against unequal treatment. Taking a closer look at some advertising companies even reveals that those are by far not at a point, where men and women profit from equal pay or are equally represented within the company. But how far are we really from a society and business world, where gender equality is more than just a marketing gag?
What the statistics reveal
According to the German employment agency, the average income of women is still 12 percent less than a man’s. And while the gender pay gap is a relevant issue, the aspirations of women to achieve highly paid positions seem to have even fewer chances of success. Only 12.8 percent of management board positions across all DAX companies are occupied by female leaders. Though the statistics in politics look a bit brighter, as roughly 30 percent of the parliament seats are taken by women, they still cannot relativize the importance of measures facing the unequal opportunities of men and women in Germany. Not to mention that Germany – compared with the rest of the world – is one of the countries being more exemplary than others, considering that in certain regions around the globe women are still limited in their right to vote. Those numbers highlight how crucial it is that politics and also companies take them seriously if the aim is to achieve gender equality across all spheres of life.
How to start acting
Starting with yourself is a mindset we at DieProduktMacher believe is necessary in order to achieve the change we want to see happening on a broader scale. The first step we took to suffocate inequality is truly transparent and equal salaries within the company. No longer does an employee’s salary depend on the gender or negotiating skills, but only on the qualification, the person brings into the team. This decision not only removes potential tensions and fears of the people joining and working for DPM, but it also helps to build trustful, long-lasting relations between both parties. Meanwhile, also we at DPM cannot claim to be at a point, where we could benefit from an equal distribution of men and women within our team and management. It is, therefore, why we want to keep on working towards a more diverse working environment that also encourages more female talents to join. Because taking this matter seriously requires fewer talks and more actions.
