Putting men and women on equal corporate ground

Having equal opportunities for men and women is imperative for justice and equality, but it is also now a condition for economic progress. Companies wishing to recruit and retain talent must put men and women on equal corporate ground. Today, women are now earning qualifications that equal or better those of their male counterparts, yet their presence is still disproportionate to their merits in the professional and corporate world.

The authors of "Guía para la igualdad de oportunidades entre mujeres y hombres en la empresa" ("Guide to Equal Opportunity for Women and Men within a Company"), Professors Nuria Chinchilla (IESE), Margarita Mayo (IE) and Esther Sánchez (ESADE), have designed the publication to be a useful and practical tool for leading organizations through the process of implementing the normative measures included in Spain's Equality Law. This organic law was passed on March 22, 2007 and is meant to guarantee men and women the same opportunities for development and participation in every realm of society.

Project Phases

An "equality plan" is a strategic tool encompassing measures that are favorable for hiring, retaining and developing people in order to achieve a balanced participation of men and women at all levels of the company.

Once a company's management decides to launch such a plan, it must be announced companywide, and the commitment should be recorded in a written document. Additionally, the company should designate someone as responsible for driving the project and seeing that it is carried out. The equality plan, according to Spain's new Equality Law, is a requirement for any company whose staff exceeds 250.

Before implementing the plan, an initial diagnosis is needed in order to understand the fundamental realities, needs and objectives of the staff, so as to improve the situation for the employees. This phase entails a series of activities, namely: information gathering, analysis, participatory consultation with staff and, lastly, formulation of proposals to be included in the company?s equality plan.

When drafting equality policies, each company will have to define its own specific goals that are quantifiable, designed for the short and medium term. They should factor in the information obtained during the preliminary diagnosis. Once the plan has been defined, this must be communicated to the entire employee base, via informational meetings, internal newsletters, etc.

To monitor the plan, a person or team should be named responsible for the project and should perform periodic evaluations. Such control is only possible when assigning a budget (or other resources) and defining the type of evaluation, and the instruments and the methods to be implemented.

Areas of Equality

When preparing both the diagnosis and the company's equality plan, it is important to consider the characteristics of the staff and the company itself, as well as the different areas where discrimination could exist between women and men. Such areas include: access to jobs and forms of hiring; professional qualification; training, compensation and promotion of employees; regulation of working time; while not overlooking the various forms of harassment that can occur within a company.

Regarding access to jobs and hiring, companies should avoid discrimination when recruiting personnel. They should develop instead a culture that values equality and they should train individuals in management positions to communicate the culture of equal opportunity.

In terms of personal qualification, training and promotion, women still do not attain positions of responsibility at the same rate as men. To help integrate women, companies can use a variety of tools, such as specific career plans for women; companywide