Peggy Choi, Lynk CEO and co-founder, says that workplaces must prevent further regress on gender equality amidst global uncertainty
This year’s International Women’s Day theme called on us to #breakthebias, exhorting us to be intentional in creating more equitable workplaces for all.
There's been some good news on that front: According to the YPO & UN Women HeForShe Global CEO Survey on Gender Parity conducted last year, 60 per cent of more than 2,000 CEOs surveyed reported that their organisations are more diverse than they were five years ago.
A growing focus on diverse board representation in recent years has also seen significant traction. Bloomberg also reported that the percentage of women on board seats in companies on the S&P 500 banks index reached 35 per cent for the first time in May 2022. In the meantime, the FTSE Women Leaders Review found that nearly forty per cent of board positions at the UK's biggest companies were held by women, while social enterprise Aurora50 reported that listed companies in the UAE have more than doubled the number of women on their board of directors since 2020, as part of the country's efforts to improve gender diversity among corporations.
However, it is also observed that women have been disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 crisis. The UN Women’s 2022 study that was conducted in 20 countries shows that attitudes toward gender roles have deteriorated amid the pandemic. In times of hardship, outdated social norms can lead to reversals in the hard-won gains in gender equality. Some are calling the regress a “she-cession.”
As the global economic outlook grows uncertain, how do we do our part in reversing the regress on equality and put us back on the right track for a more equitable workplace?
Value diversity of thought
At Lynk, we truly value diversity of thought—it is a key enabler that has helped us grow a team of ten to a company of over 200 employees from 22 nationalities who together speak more than 15 languages, and who work from eight locations worldwide. I often try to remind myself and our team—at all levels—that there is more than one way to think about something. The same thing may be right in a specific context, but wrong in another. We disagree and commit.
The emphasis has been a driving force for our ability to think outside of the box and deliver real innovation to our customers. A natural outcome of this practice is that we are valued based on merits. True equality is achieved with a genuine embrace of diversity, not just the intentional engineering of gender ratios.