One problem associated with gender and economic growth is that women perform the majority of unpaid care-related labor in most parts of the world. This type of labor includes childcare, care for the elderly, disabled, or ill, as well as tending the household. Magdalena Sepulveda, a UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty, stated in 2013 that when unpaid care work is taken into consideration, women in developed and developing nations work longer than men but receive less compensation and recognition for their work (“Women’s Unpaid”). This lack of compensation has shown to be problematic for women’s economic well-being. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that women above 65 are twice as likely to live in poverty as men in the same age range (Fidel). One of the causes of this that the study highlighted was the fact that women often leave the workforce, both temporarily and permanently, to take care of family members (Fidel).
Another problem associated with gender and economic growth is the underrepresentation of women in leadership positions. In January of this year, women made up 5.2% of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, 5.4% of CEOs of Fortune 1000 companies, and, in 2013, 16.9% of board members of Fortune 500 companies (“Chapter 1: Women in Leadership”). Additionally, only 104 of the 541 members of the nation’s current Congress (just over 19%) are female (“Chapter 1: Women in Leadership”). This is problematic for several reasons. First, it means that women are vastly excluded from the high monetary earnings that often accompany top positions. Second, the decisions made by those in leadership positions often have enormous consequences, and the absence of women in such positions means that the perspectives and interests of women are underrepresented in these decisions. Third, women’s involvement social activity correlates with decreased corruption in government and business (“Second MENA Knowledge for Development Forum”). Fourth, the shortage of female leaders perpetuates negative stereotypes of women as being less capable, intelligent, etc. than men.
A third problem related to gender and economic growth is that legislative action, which is arguably the most fast-acting and effective solution for the underrepresentation of women in leadership positions, can actually perpetuate the inequality of women in top positions. Earlier this month, Germany passed a law requiring 30% of board members of corporations to be female (Smale). While this may be an effective measure for increasing female representation, it may have unintended consequences. To understand this, we can examine the analogous case of affirmative action policy in the United States. A well-documented problem associated with affirmative action is referred to as “mismatch”. Mismatch occurs when, in order to meet diversity quotas, a school admits a student who is academically underprepared for that institution (Sander). In these situations, the student often falls far behind his or her classmates, experiences lowered self-confidence, and is more likely to drop out (Sander). Furthermore, that student’s well-prepared classmates, upon seeing their peer struggling, are more likely to buy into negative stereotypes regarding the intelligence and work ethic of minorities. “S/he only got in because s/he’s black, Hispanic, etc.” is a phrase that is commonly tossed around among college students. Policy changes such as the new law in Germany will certainly increase the number of women in leadership positions, but may lead to many of the same problems associated with affirmative action. If companies start appointing women to their boards merely to fill quotas rather than because they are qualified, those women may become overwhelmed by their relative inexperience compared to their male colleagues, which will likely cause them to become less vocal members of their boards. Furthermore, upon seeing that their female colleagues are underqualified, the male of the boards will cease to view these women as their equals in terms of competency and instead adopt the viewpoint that “she only got the job because she’s a woman.”
Thus, legislation, one of the most powerful tools against this type of inequality, may actually be ineffective, making the problem much more difficult to solve.
Works Cited
“Chapter 1: Women in Leadership.” Pew Research Centers Social Demographic Trends Project RSS. Pew Research Center, 14 Jan. 2015. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.
Fidel, Emma. “Women Live Retirement in Poverty at Higher Rates Than Men.” Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 25 July 2012. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.
Sander, Richard, and Stuart Taylor, Jr. “The Painful Truth About Affirmative Action.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 02 Oct. 2012. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.
“Second MENA Knowledge for Development Forum: Gender Equality and Economic Development.” Knowledge for Development. The World Bank Group, 16 Mar. 2004. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.
Smale, Alison, and Claire Cain Miller. “Germany Sets Gender Quota in Boardrooms.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 06 Mar. 2015. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.
“Women’s Unpaid Work in the Home Is a ‘major Human Rights Issue,’ Says UN Expert.” UN News Center. UN, 24 Oct. 2013. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.
I can’t believe that women account for only about 5% of the CEOs of the most profitable companies in the United States. This is an incredible statistic given the fact that we are told from a young age that “we can be whatever we want when we grow up” and while this has proven to be true in many cases, we can also argue that it is not true for women. Given the 5% statistic, it is undeniable that males have a larger array of career options in their future than females do. Even though it seems that via the right education and training, anyone can have any position they are willing to work for, but clearly in reality this is not true. Women can have the same level of education and compete for the same jobs as men but are severely handicapped in the eyes of an employer. This is clearly a problem in our society, we need to empower our women from a young age so that they can truly believe that they can actually “be whatever they want when we grow up”. This type of discrimination stagnates our society in that we stunt the growth of our nation’s female population.