Measures to increase women’s representation at all management levels to alleviate gender inequality

1. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE Measures to increase women’s representation at all management levels to alleviate gender inequality Annie Chen Chair of the human rights committee

2. Introduction • Gender inequality has been a lingering issue over the past decades, and is still prevalent in many countries. • Management levels can differ from CEO positions to factory manager positions. • With an increase in women’s representation in management levels, there would be a more equal platform for women and men. • One of the Millennium Development Goals is promoting gender equality and empowering women

3. Definition of key terms • Management levels: These are management positions in an organization, responsible for overseeing the productivity and performance of employees. The number of levels in management increases when the size of the business increases. Levels of management can be classified in three categories: • Top level managers – administrative level; controlling and overseeing the entire organization • Middle level managers – executing organizational plans in conformance with the objectives of the top managers • Low level managers – controlling, directing, and supervising employees Each level possesses certain job responsibilities to ensure the effectiveness of the organization.

4. Definition of key terms (continued) • Gender equality: Equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities of women and men. Equality does not mean that women and men will become the same but that women’s and men’s rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or female. Gender equality implies that the interests, needs and priorities of both women and men are taken into consideration, recognizing the diversity of different groups of women and men (UN Entity for Gender Equality).

5. Topic overview • In the recent decades, many countries around the world have made significant progress towards gender equality through education, but generally, women still continue to earn less than men and are less likely to make it to the top of the career ladder. • Women continue to undertake a much higher load of unpaid work than men, which then constrains their opportunities in paid work. Compared to men, employed women also work fewer hours, are less likely to make progress in their careers, and are underrepresented in decision-making positions.

6. Topic overview (continued) • Gender inequalities persist in: • Working hours • Conditions of employment • Occupation and sectors • Earnings • Representation in decision-making positions • Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD): on average in OECD countries, women are paid 16% less than men, and these OECD countries are largely the more developed ones. With such a notable gap in gender inequality of employment and management levels in these MEDCs, these statistics would only continue to worsen in LEDCs.

7. Topic overview (continued) • Within the European Union, only 13% of the major companies’ executives are women, with only 3% female chairs. • In 2011, the Economist showed that in the United States, only between 15-20% of all executives are women, less than 10% of all top earners are women, and fewer than 5% of all CEOs. • In Saudi Arabia, a nation with strong cultural Islamic beliefs, occupational segregation between men and women is strongly evident in their labor market, with Saudi women largely restricted to traditionally female-oriented fields. There is a lack of opportunities for women in decision-making and management positions—less than 1% of decision making posts are held by Saudi women.

8. Barriers to women’s rise in management levels :

9. Major parties involved • OECD: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development • Mission: to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. • Involvement: OECD has held meetings that have extensively discussed gender equality in education, employment and entrepreneurship. The final report of this 2012 meeting: http://www.oecd.org/social/family/50423364.pdf

10. Major parties involved • OHCHR: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights • UN agency promoting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) • Has a Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women • Meetings in which 23 experts on women’s rights monitors the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

11. timeline • 1948– Creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights • Article 23: Everyone has the right to work; Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work. (Everyone– men and women) • 1979 – CEDAW adopted by the General Assembly • 1981 – CEDAW came into force • Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Vital document for women’s rights and equality. Extremely relevant to this topic: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cedaw.htm • 2006 – UNHRC was established and replaced the UNCHR • The Human Rights Committee • 2012 – EU resolution A7-0041 targeting women’s equality in management levels • http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P7-TA-2012-0069+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN

12. Un involvement • Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) • An international treaty that was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979, aimed to give equal rights to women and men. The spirit of this Convention is rooted in the goals of the UN: “to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women.” The document states the meaning of equality and establishes an agenda of action ending gender based discrimination.

13. UN INVOLVEMENT • Human Rights Council Resolution A/HRC/RES/15/23 • This resolution is working to eliminate discrimination against women. “Emphasizes the significant role that women play in economic development and in the eradication of poverty, and stresses the need for promoting equal pay for equal work or work of equal value and for promoting the recognition of the value of women’s unremunerated work, as well as for developing and promoting policies that facilitate the reconciliation of employment and family responsibilities;” (Clause 8). • Adopted without vote, nonbinding actions, but recommendations.

14. Possible solutions • Take active measures to combat discrimination • Empower well-resourced specialized bodies to investigate companies and organizations • Empower specialized governmental bodies to take legal action against employers who engage in discriminatory practices, even in the absence of individual complaints. • Family-friendly domestic policies • Flexible working hours • Parental leave • Child-care facilities for women while they are at work • Transportation

15. Possible solutions • (Extension on child-care facilities): • Ask governments to invest in affordable facilities for the care of children and of the elderly • Parents, especially women, would then have more freedom in occupation and working hours. Also a larger opportunity to take on a bigger commitment job that could potentially result in the availability in achieving a higher management level position.

16. Possible solutions • Proposed quotas for companies: • Quotas to increase the percentage of female representation in corporate management bodies, taking into account of individual member states’ responsibilities and their economic, structural (i.e. company-size related), legal and regional specificities. • E.g. European Parliament resolution A7-0041/2012: “Call from 2011 for legislation, including quotas, to be proposed by 2012 to increase female representation in corporate management bodies to 30% by 2015 and to 40% by 2020” (Clause 28)

17. Possible solutions • National plan of action: • Forming policies for working women • Targeting women’s participation in the labor market • Upgrading female levels of literacy and education • Increasing capacity building and vocational training • Governments should work hand in hand with NGOs for implementation and follow-up of action plans. • Raise public awareness: • Let the public be more aware of the positive role that women play within the labor market, as well as their rights, opportunities, and successes. • In numerous countries, women often represent the untapped and important source of power for the economy.

18. Bibliography • "About the OECD." The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). OECD, Web. 17 Feb. 2013. http://www.oecd.org/about/ • "Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women New York, 18 December 1979." Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Web. 17 Feb. 2013. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cedaw.htmb • "European Parliament resolution of 13 March 2012 on equality between women and men in the European Union - 2011." European Parliament. European Parliament, 13 Mar. 2012. Web. 17 Feb. 2013. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P7-TA-2012-0069+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN

19. Bibliography • "Proportion of women in senior management falls to 2004 levels." Grant Thorton. Grant Thorton, 2011. Web. 17 Feb. 2013. http://www.internationalbusinessreport.com/Press-room/2011/women_in-senior_management.asp • "Report on the Gender Initiative: Gender Equality in Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship." Meeting of the OECD Council at Ministerial Level Paris, 25-26 May 2011. OECD, 26 May 2011. Web. 17 Feb. 2013. http://www.oecd.org/education/48111145.pdf • "Women’s Employment in Saudi Arabia: A Major Challenge." Booz&Co. Booz & Company Inc., 30 Mar. 2010. Web. 17 Feb. 2013. http://www.booz.com/me/home/what_we_think/40007409/40007869/47902935?pg=all