Is Normalized Gender Equality a Reality ?

by Punita Chhabra

Quintus Solutions’ recent poll results, are both insightful and encouraging. An overwhelming 80% of the respondents indicated that within their respective organizations, women are provided equal opportunities for career advancement! While this vote of confidence spans a variety of professional disciplines, Supply Chain has emerged as the clear leader.

It is important, however, to acknowledge that 20% of the respondents remind us that while tremendous progress has been made in recent years, we cannot sit complacent. As parents, educators, leaders, and employees ourselves, we must continue the efforts to achieve a workplace without any biases.

Forward thinking companies appear to be making commendable strides in development of programs that foster career growth through awareness, positive reinforcement, and action. These programs achieve meaningful change only when coupled with a talent pool of qualified individuals. These companies establish metrics which help detect and eliminate gender disparities. Some of the key trends monitored include:

- Hiring for senior leadership roles

- Performance Evaluation distributions

- Salary increase bias (including allocation of special budget to promote pay parity.)

For those who know me, it’s no secret that I vehemently oppose the idea of granting anyone an “unfair” advantage. Nevertheless, I strongly believe that certain societal biases, often unintentional, continue to hinder our progress towards equality. I am an advocate of equal opportunities that are accessible to all. It is our collective responsibility to foster an environment where merit consistently outweighs any overt or unacknowledged biases.

We’ve come a long way on this journey, but much is still to be done to achieve a truly equitable workplace for all. I am optimistic, and look forward to the day, when gender bias in parenting, education or the workplace will no longer be a topic of interest or discussion.