There was a real sense of urgency recently as senior leaders discussed actionable solutions for gender inclusion at a roundtable organized around the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly. Participants in the meeting, hosted by the Oliver Wyman Forum and the Reykjavik Global Forum, emphasized that gender inclusion correlates with stronger financial performance and appeals to many younger workers and consumers. Increasing women’s labor force participation also can provide much-needed stimulus to the global economy at a time of slowing demography. Yet progress has stalled in recent years in the face of, if not pushback, a sense that the issue isn’t a top priority in a world of economic and political uncertainty.
Here are some of our key takeaways:
• We cannot meet the many challenges our world faces today without mobilizing all talent. Leaders have to acknowledge the erosion of support for gender equality and find new narratives, allies, and wider audiences to regain the momentum. Progress has stalled in the past four years in the Reykjavik Global Index, which measures public attitudes to women in leadership roles. In G7 countries, gender equality seems firmly embedded in Canada, France, and the United Kingdom but hasn’t become normalized in Germany, Japan, and Italy, while the United States may be in flux, said Michelle Harrison, president of Verian Group, which compiles the index. Particularly worrying is the fact that people aged 18 to 34 are more biased against women leaders than their parents. “It feels like the international narrative is working against inclusion,” Harrison said.
• Start by reframing the narrative to underscore that gender equity benefits everyone, not just women. Fertility rates in the majority of countries have fallen below the levels needed to maintain the population, contributing to slower worldwide growth. Greater economic activity among women is arguably the biggest lever policymakers can pull, with the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law project estimating the full female participation in the workforce could boost global GDP by nearly 20%. “This is not a zero-sum game,” said S. Mona Sinha, global director of advocacy group Equality Now. “The world stands to benefit greatly from including 51% of the population.” Or as Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir, chair of the Reykjavik Global Forum, put it, “Gender equality is not just a nice thing to do. It is the most sensible thing to do.”
• Be proactive in making men and boys part of the solution, not the problem. There was a sense among participants that the narrative needs to change. “We’ve been very good at creating a script for girls and women; not so for boys,” said José Campi Portaluppi, director of advocacy and communications at Equimundo, a Washington-based nonprofit that aims to promote healthy manhood and prevent violence. What’s needed are concerted efforts to meet men where they are and engage them in debate, not complaining about the toxicity of the manosphere. Young men are particularly vulnerable, said Campi Portaluppi, with two-thirds of American men aged 18-23 saying they feel disconnected; they search the internet with questions like how do I find love, how do I make friends, how do I achieve economic security. “We need to make a better case why gender equality makes sense, not just for women but for boys and men,” said Campi Portaluppi.
• It’s crucial to continue to increase women’s legal rights and protections and provide support measures like accessible day care and parental leave. That requires patient ground-level work to build coalitions for change and engage in debate with policymakers on granular issues in various countries’ legal and regulatory frameworks. Equality Now works in some 30 countries, including Kyrgyzstan, which passed a law opening up 400 occupations to women. “This is a solvable problem,” said Sinha. “Unequal laws were created by humans, so we can uncreate them.”
• Business today is a crucial ally but still has work to do to cultivate more women leaders. While it’s broadly accepted in senior managements and boards that gender diverse teams consistently outperform financially, only 6.6% of Fortune Global 500 CEOs are women. Expanding mentorship programs across companies can develop broader pipelines of female talent for C-suite or boardroom positions. Leaders need to play a visible role in pushing such initiatives and sponsoring women’s events to demonstrate their importance for the business. “It really reverberates through the organization,” said Jennifer Barker, global chair of the 30% Club. It’s just as important to measure and report the results, she said, adding, “You should inspect what you expect.”
We want to thank everyone who participated in a very active discussion and provided practical ideas for renewing the drive for gender equality. Our voices are stronger together, and we need to recruit new allies to our cause. In the words of Obiageli “Oby” Katryn Ezekwesili, chair of Women Political Leaders, “We really need a big tent.”