Blog

Women around the world continue to earn less than men

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has just released a new report on global gender inequality in the labor market. The report finds the average pay gap to be 22.4% in men's favor. Interestingly, the data indicates that the pay gap widens with increased education. Researchers speculate that this could be due to workplace discrimination, occupational segregation, or a higher proportion of women being employed in part-time work or work that is below their education levels. The need to juggle work with care responsibilities is also cited as a factor for the continued and persistent pay discrepancy.

Study shows changing attitudes among women and men in the workforce

A new study on attitudes in the U.S. workforce finds that about two thirds of both women and men say they want more responsibility on the job, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the report, the share of dual-earner family income contributed by women has risen to 44%, and 26% of women now earn 10% or more than their husbands.

Measuring gender-sensitive service delivery

UNDP, UNIFEM and Gender at Work have just produced a useful new guide to gender-sensitive service delivery. This is a tool to help improve service provision to women in development projects. It includes best practice examples and case studies.

S&P sued for allegedly targeting women in layoffs

A former managing partner at Standard & Poor's, a ratings agency, is suing the company for discriminating against women as they reorganize their leadership. The credit ratings agency has replaced at least 5 women executives with men since the market's collapse in 2007, Bloomberg reports.

Marketing to women during the recession

A new article in the Economist looks at how recession-impacted companies are targeting female consumers to help boost their sales. Focusing on female consumers certainly makes sense, since women in the United States make 80% of discretionary purchases. And now that men are losing jobs at higher rates than women, they may bring home a greater share of household income and have more buying power.

How can more women get on FTSE100 boards?

A new report by Heidrick and Struggles, an executive search firm that is a member of our forum, focuses on what it takes for women to get on FTSE100 boards. The report finds that women comprise only 13% of executive directors of FTSE100 companies, and it examines some of these women's characteristics, such as age and education as possible guidelines for what it would take to increase their numbers.

Women gather in Liberia

Some 800 guests assembled this March in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, for the International Colloquium on Women's Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security. The event was co-convened by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and President Tarja Halonen of Finland to create an environment for women and their champions around the world to discuss and act on the lessons from women in leadership.

International Women of Courage Awards

This March, in celebration of International Women's Day, the U.S. State Department honored outstanding women from around the world in a ceremony in Washington, DC. The award rewards women leaders for their courage and leadership in the struggle for social justice and human rights.

Women who opted out are increasingly opting back in during the recession

More and more stay-at-home moms are returning to work in the current downturn, according to a new Forbes article. For some women the economic crisis is an opportunity to reassess their professional goals, but for others it is a matter of survival.

A new gender diversity benchmark for Asia

Compiled by Community Business, this new benchmark focuses on gender diversity in the workplace in China, India, Japan, and Singapore.