{"id":81260,"date":"2016-03-04T10:36:07","date_gmt":"2016-03-04T15:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=81260"},"modified":"2017-04-07T19:37:56","modified_gmt":"2017-04-08T00:37:56","slug":"unspoken-paradox-women-workplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2016\/03\/unspoken-paradox-women-workplace\/","title":{"rendered":"The unspoken paradox of women in the workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"
In recognition of International Women\u2019s Day, which is commemorated on 8 March, we highlight some of the still unaddressed issues why women may not be as well represented in the workplace.<\/em> There are those who are quick to point out that females are well represented in our halls of learning. However, males have been underperforming and their enrolment numbers have been declining, which is exacerbating many of the social challenges our countries have been experiencing, and so deserve our attention.<\/p>\n Whilst the issues associated with males and education ought to be addressed, it is interesting to note that post-school, and in the world of work, men still tend to fare better than women:<\/p>\n Why is this still happening?\u00a0 There are several reasons, ranging from the latent biases that still exist that favour men in certain positions and the more submissive behaviour women may demonstrate in the workplace, to the choices women sometimes make, or the expectation that is thrust upon them, that their families and relationships will be their number one priority. However, another longstanding and known issue, which increasingly is receiving attention, is the fact that generally women do considerably more unpaid work as men. Hence, can women truly excel in the workplace \u2013 if they wanted to \u2013 when they already so overburdened at home?<\/p>\n According to data from the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which was recently highlighted by Melinda Gates, Co-Founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation<\/a>, women do up to five times more unpaid work than men, as shown in Figure 1. In Latin America and the Caribbean, they tend to fare better but still do about two and a half times more work than their male counterparts.<\/p>\n
\nFor Caribbean girls and women who have the opportunity, academic excellence is generally encouraged. As a result, there tends to be a larger proportion of females to male students at both the secondary and tertiary levels of our education system, and across most disciplines, including the STEM subjects – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. For example, for the regional institution, the University of the West Indies and across the three main campuses (in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago), total female student enrolment ranges between 60% and 70%.<\/p>\n\n