When women, in different job positions and from different countries, were asked ‘How do you think your gender has affected your working life?’ The majority of them confirmed that their gender had been an issue or a problem for them in the workplace. For example, Indian women face some of the worst cases of unequal treatment in the workplace among 20 countries but are most likely to speak out against harassment. Whilst this article will attempt to accurately tackle this concern, it will also look to capture broader insights and observations about how best to realize the talent of women in the workplace.
Women’s opinions were different when It came to the extent to which they saw their gender as relevant to them as they pursued their careers. Some of them saw their gender not that relevant, and on the other hand, they were those who felt it was always relevant in every situation. Yet there were other women who took up a place in between, seeing their gender as to some extent relevant. Noticeably, there was a shift that took place when women became parents, which tended to move their gender from the background into sharp foreground focus. Across all these points of the relevance, there was a consistent desire to be rated based on one’s competence and ability, not based on one’s gender. And these are some of their answers:
“It would be a lie in my case to say that gender has held me back. But it has sometimes been a case of feeling in a foreign country.”
“I would say not at all, up until the point at which I got married and had children. Then it was fundamental.”
“I don’t think of myself as ‘a woman’. I think of myself as ‘a person’.”
The lack of women moving up and through organizations, inhabiting leadership positions and securing appropriate recognition for their work leads us to believe that gender needs to be looked at and cannot be totally irrelevant. Gender may not be the most important thing, or something people see as having influenced their own career trajectory. But it does not mean that gender is, therefore, completely irrelevant, or that it does not in some way affect how colleagues, or society more broadly, view women. There is no expectation that a reader should share this opinion, nor would all the women involved in this article. The comments and insights gathered here stand on their own merits and a reader can draw their own conclusions from them.
How Women Can Overcome Business Challenges:
1-Women Entrepreneurs Think They Need to Act Like Men
A woman CEO agreed that confidence is the key to success, even when you’re up against a boardroom full of men. When she was a newly appointed CEO, she often felt her ideas were more scrutinized than those from her male colleagues. However, she didn’t let that discourage her from being a great business leader. So, Be yourself, and have confidence in who you are, “Don’t try to have a male attitude toward business: such as competitive, aggressive and sometimes overly harsh. Women business owners and working women who have children experience even more demands on time, energy and resources, moreover, they face gender discrimination in business and on the job. But women are not less successful than men, in fact, statistics show that women are starting businesses at more than twice the rate of all other businesses. Women are resourceful, and able to succeed, despite many challenges.
2-Finding the Right Work-Life Balance for Busy Working Women
Many women struggle with finding better ways to balance work and life, and often this guilt comes from outside sources like pressure from husbands, family, and friends. Some women opt to travel to have more time with their families, while others believe that women should not feel guilty about having
a passion for work.
3-Overcoming Gender Discrimination against Women in Business
Discrimination begins in elementary school continuing into college. Even though more women hold higher degrees than men, they are still passed over for jobs that go to less-educated and less-qualified men, and they also receive less compensation than men for the same job.
4-Women’s Business Issues and Political Challenges
There are laws that protect women, and laws that hurt women in the workplace and it is important for women to consider how far we have come in legislative changes, and how far we have yet to go.
5- Job Fields and Industries Women in Business Are Dominating
Women are often paid less than men for doing the same job. But there are some industries where women are competing, and in which they even dominate. Knowing where women succeed can help them decide areas to grow their business and identify obstacles in male-dominated industries, such as Public Relations, Human Resources, etc.
6-Networks and Resources for Overcoming Women’s Challenges in
Business The future of social networking is pink; as women do not just use social networks to find new recipes, and talk about diaper rash and men, they form their own networks geared towards today’s progressive working and entrepreneurial women. Creating new opportunities in “women-helping-women” organizations when they are shut out of male-dominated industries. If the rapid growth and rising power among successful women business owners continue at the lawmakers and many men are not interested in leveling the playing field, women in business are coming with bulldozers.
7- Many Women Have to Balance Raising Families with Running their Businesses.
And finally, two of the most effective tools to overcome those challenges are finding a mentor, and obtain funding by getting government contracts.
By: Nirvana Tork
EDITOR: Marina Eshak
Photography: Ahmed Samir
This article is a product of a writing competition organized by Global HR Forum & HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine. Ms. Nirvana Tork was honorably one of the shortlisted winners in the HR Writer Competition. Judging Panel: Mahmoud Mansi, Dina Marei, Alia Faramawi, Ahmed Saadalla, Nada Adel Sobhi. General Coordinator: Ms. Nour Elzeny.