Women in developing countries find it easier to break through the so-called glass ceiling than their colleagues in the West, according to a global study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
The firm interviewed more than a hundred business people in eight countries, including China, India and Germany, for the report on women’s economic participation for the Women’s Forum held in Deauville, France, last week.
It said: “Our discussions with interviewees suggest that in developed countries cultural stereotypes and perceptions represent greater barriers to full economic participation by women than in many of the developing countries.”
There was “considerable optimism” expressed by interviewees in developing countries regarding the growth of women’s participation in the workplace, in the numbers entering the workforce and entry into middle and senior management.
Samuel DiPiazza, global head of PwC, said: “In some countries, such as Germany and Switzerland, there are cultural and social perceptions of women that make advancement more challenging. In the developing world, where there is a huge cry for talent, where there is enormous growth, you must be able to adjust to these norms faster.”
The study finds that certain government policies have played a positive role in increasing women’s participation in business.
In China, the controversial one-child policy was established to control population growth, but Chinese interviewees saw it as having had a positive effect on women’s participation in the workforce.
Families with a daughter, for example, have been active in promoting gender equality, which has brought a shift in perceptions. They have also lavished on education for their single child, male or female. In addition, daughters do not have to compete with male siblings for parental recognition, which has translated into higher self-esteem.
The report finds that the impact of societal perceptions is still considerable in some developed countries.
German Elisabeth Kelan, head of research at the Lehman Brothers Centre for Women in Business at the London Business School, pointed out that her country might be led by Angela Merkel, but women are still seen in a bad light if they work for the first six years of their child’s life. As a result, less than 16% of women with children below six work full-time.
The study finds that businesses in developing and developed countries are trying to introduce policies to increase women’s participation. But some companies still maintain business models for “middle-class men with stay-at-home wives”.
In Spain, for example, long lunch hours and late leaving times persist, despite evidence that these are nearly impossible to reconcile with the lives of working mothers.
The report highlighted some business responses that had helped the inclusion of women in the workplace. Some interviewees in Brazil, France, India and the United States pointed to the establishment of a diversity committee in a company as a great help to eliminate bias.
Others mentioned women-only networks as a good measure. An interviewee in India said that such networks in hi-tech industries were doing extremely well. — Â