Why business needs herstory?

In 1919 most of women in Europe gained the right to vote. The same year Ethel Ayres Purdie^[1] joined ACCA as the first female member of the finance professional body. Looking back 103 years, it’s amazing to see how far we’ve come. Women are present now in all kinds of public and business activities. They are running countries and companies and are listed as the most influential persons. However, there is still work to be done.

According to World Economic Forum, due to the impact of Covid-19, the global gender gap has increased from 99 to 135 years. The global pandemic further adversely affected woman in terms of health, an upsurge in domestic violence and social factors. The OECD^[2] shows women were the first victims of the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.

82% of women asked by Deloitte^[3] said that the pandemic has negatively impacted their lives. 77% of respondents reported having had an increase in their workload in paid employment, while 59% are carrying out more domestic tasks. Looking at the image below, I cannot resist the feeling how perfectly it mirrors my experience and that of my female colleagues over the last two years.

There is no doubt we need to tackle the challenges brought by Covid-19. However, these issues were present before Covid. For example, a 20% average salary gap, the glass ceiling in terms of executive and C-roles, and the social and psychological impact of the gender stereotypes existed before 2020.

It is proven by business analysis and university research that a 30% share of women in management increases a company’s profitability. There is no doubt improving the parity of women in business is the way forward, so let’s look at the data in our region and consider the paths that we might undertake.

Increasing the effort to close the gender gap in Central and Eastern Europe could unlock 146 billion euros in annual GDP by 2030 and considerably solve CEE’s labour shortage as the region currently has 630,000 vacancies. That could put the region squarely back on a path to dynamic growth after the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic - according to the McKinsey report: Win-win: How empowering women can benefit Central and Eastern Europe.^[4]

The report also provides an in-depth analysis of the benefits of gender parity in business as: increased productivity, bigger market share, fostering cross-functional cooperation between the teams, empowering employees to make important decisions and being accountable for them, building business partnerships.

The main question remains “how?”. It should be a joint effort by policymakers and business - and individuals too. When it come to business, McKinsey recommends actions in areas of shared vision, career support schemes, work-life balance, social norms and attitudes. Examples of key actions are presented below:

The Center for Research on Women and Diversity in Organizations at the Kozminski University (Poland) provided very interesting tips for individuals on how to create a career path and being successful in business. It is very important for women to have a strong role model, either back in childhood or later when they enter the job market. This isn’t surprising if we think about the impact of gender stereotypes on self-confidence. Having good examples and having a supportive mentor play a crucial role in further professional development. Research also mentions factors, such as: education especially university studies, working abroad and having international exposure and finally networking and building relations. Successful women know how to build on their social capital and use the power of networking. Last but not least, the importance of having family support in terms of splitting the household duties as well as strengthening business ambitions should not be underestimated.

Who would have thought that after 103 years we are less than half way to equality between men and women? Despite having strong evidence on the positive impact of gender parity, we still cannot find an efficient way to unlock this potential. This is a multilateral responsibility that each party should feel accountable for. It is always worth starting with ourselves and our impact on the community.

ACCA is in a strong position when it comes to gender balance – our membership has a 50/50 gender split, and our Council and executive team are also balanced in terms of men and women. But there is still work to be done, for us – as the professional organization – and globally within the business.  

That is the reason why ACCA shares the stories of its female members. One person’s story can help others to boost their self-confidence and motivation to succeed. Reflecting on our own lives is a valuable exercise and hindsight is a wonderful thing, where we may see our decisions in a different light and consider how things have developed.

In upcoming months, we will share interviews with finance professionals; successful women from Ukraine, Poland and other CEE countries. We hope it will provide inspiration and inform your own moment of reflection.

You can start now by reading the report: Leading inclusion: simple steps significant leaps and registering for the ACCA CEE International Women’s Day Conference (details soon). Look around, maybe you can be an inspiration for others, or you could start an in-depth discussion among your community on gender parity.

Author: Agnieszka Jarosz, Head of ACCA Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic Countries