You, like me, are the result of a sexist society. From childhood, you learned that
there are “woman” things and “man” things, as well as colors, behaviors, attitudes,
feelings, professions, careers and places, explicitly or implicitly, assigned to genders
in a binary and distinct way.
It is very likely that you grew up listening to and laughing at jokes that offend those
who are different from you: women, black people, LGBTQIA+, people with
disabilities, old, fat, among others. Jokes that you unconsciously tell to this day.
If you are a straight, white male with no apparent disability, who has had
access to a quality education and the best job and career opportunities, the
world has always been built for you. Meritocracy, in which you believe, defend
and promote with such conviction, was made by all the white men who
preceded you in command of nations, governments, institutions and public
and private companies, ever since.
It is not your fault. However, it is past time for you to assume your responsibility,
non-delegable and non-transferable, to use your power position to change the
reality around you.
Setbacks between advances
You may have noticed that, in the last 60 years, we women have advanced in the
occupying the workplace. If here in Brazil, until 1962, we needed our husbands'
authorization to work, today, millions of us own our history, most of them in
universities and we are everywhere, even if we are still far from having the same
conditions as you.
Our salaries are still, on average, 20.5% lower than those of men in the same roles.
We continue to be severely penalized when we choose to donate our bodies to
generate new life and continue humanity. Remember: that is what your mother did
to bring you into the world! Unfortunately, here in Brazil, 50% of women are laid off
within two years of returning from maternity leave.
We still have to face a double working day, since taking care of housework and
raising children are still responsibilities assigned mainly to women.
We have been suffering all kinds of personal and professional violence, since
childhood: harassment, maninterrupting, bropriating, mansplaining,
gaslighting — at the end of this article, I will add a glossary on these terms —,
rape, domestic, psychological, patrimonial violence, culminating in femicide.
Despite all this, Microsoft, SAP, Twitter, Intel, Google, WeWork, Uber, Bayer, BP, Fleury,
Sabin, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Citroen, P&G, UPS, GE, Equinor, Adidas, OAB SP,
Gerdau Summit, Swarovsky, Sephora, Hinode, Travelex Bank, UBS, Deutsche Bank,
Standard Bank, BMG, Rede and Nubank, among many other companies, are today
led by women here in Brazil and/or in Latin America.
Women who support businesses
However, despite these white female leaders, this portion represents only 3.5% of the
contingent of companies present in Brazil. As if that were not enough, we represent
only 11.5% of the total number of directors, and six out of ten companies listed on the
Brazilian Stock Exchange do not have any women on the board of directors.
What are you waiting for to accelerate the inclusion and rise of women in your
company's leadership positions? Remember: in Brazil, we represent 52% of the
population; we are 67 million mothers, responsible for 38.7% of homes and 80%
of consumption decisions in the country. The sustainability of your company
depends on us.
However, to ensure this sustainability, you have to be genuinely committed to
changing reality, promoting gender equality (SDGs) as a value of your company's
culture and leadership, with clear and measurable goals, affirmative policies, quotas
and equal wages.
Furthermore, it is necessary to encourage co-responsibility of tasks and child raising
with parental leave, for example, by ensuring that women are part of succession
plans. In other words, this means putting ESG into practice, with courage and agility.
Besides, there is no future without women, and you know it.
To learn and not forget:
Maninterrupting: constant interruptions of our lines.
Bropriating: misappropriation of our ideas.
Mansplainning: Men explaining the obvious to us.
Gaslighting: Men undermining our self-confidence.
I am Neivia Justa, awarded and recognized Brazilian businesswoman, mother of Luiza and Julia, two teenager girls, journalist, entrepreneur, influencer, teacher, mentor, consultant
and connector of purposeful leaders who think, communicate and act in a conscious, diverse, inclusive and innovative way to guarantee a sustainable future for all.
Article originally published in Portuguese on
https://www.revistahsm.com.br/post/onde-estao-as-mulheresda-sua-empresa
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