Gender equity at the bottom of firms’ priority list–ibm

DESPITE the advantages of promoting gender equity in a corporate setting, IBM Philippines Country Manager Aileen Judan-jiao said the majority of companies still do not consider this as a priority.

Judan-jiao, citing the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) study in 2021, said 70 percent of the respondents across the globe had indicated that gender equity is at the bottom of their priority list.

“They are not seeing yet the correlation. You will see it over time. You just have to watch whether there is also relation to your business as well,” the IBM official said in a virtual event on Thursday. According to the report, businesses that prioritize gender equity registered revenue growth of as much as 61 percent higher compared to that of other organizations. Majority of the companies with gender equity initiatives also claimed they lead in customer satisfaction and are more innovative than rival firms.

However, Judan-jiao noted that organizations have been working on initiatives to improve gender equity and inclusion. Among the measures include gender-blind job candidate screening, parental leave for women, gender equity pay information, education and re-skilling opportunities and diversity training.

Still, the report noted that “too many organizations continue to pursue gender equity and diversity using broad-based programs that don’t address underlying mindsets and lack a measurable path to value.”

Judan-jiao said more still needs to be done, noting that the root cause of gender inequity should be addressed.

For example, in the local information and communication sector, females only comprise 35 percent of the work force, according to the International Labor Organization.

Among the considerations for this situation is the number of female graduates of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses in the country. Citing data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the IBM official said only 36 percent of the STEM graduates are female.

In IBM Philippines, she said women representation in the company is at 55 percent. One in two middle and top managers is a woman; some 32 percent of technical personnel and managers are also women.

Judan-jiao, in an earlier interview with the Businessmirror, reminded company executives to protect customer data, especially those stored in a device used for remote working with hybrid workforce as a new norm during the pandemic.

The IBM official said cyberhackers have been taking advantage of the accelerated shift to digital. Phishing activities, she noted, have even targeted employees’ laptops and other devices used outside of the workplace.