Asia Needs More Women in Its Labor Force

Shivaji Bagchi, Senior Contributing Editor for BRINK Asia

Siddharth Poddar, Senior Contributing Editor for BRINK Asia

This is the final article in a special series on women in the workforce.

It is imperative for Asian governments to put in place initiatives-and potentially even legislation- so women will have the same opportunities as men in the labor force . For those women already in the workforce, policymakers in Asia must endeavor to create conditions conducive to their professional growth, which ultimately reflects in the greater representation of women in senior corporate positions.

Asia performs particularly poorly on both these counts. There are some changes afoot, but given the scale of the challenge, they only address the proverbial tip of the iceberg.

Addressing Gender Disparity in the Workplace

Most Asian societies have traditionally perceived women as being central to the family unit. Consequently, women have been unable to devote their undivided focus and efforts toward their own career growth, as they have been seen as responsible for managing households and being the primary caregivers-both to children and to their aging family members. This continues to inhibit their ability to join the labor force and poses many barriers to growth for women who are in the workforce, chief among which is their growth into senior roles.

Many Asian governments are aware of the issue and have taken steps to facilitate equal opportunities for women in the labor force and parity in the workplace.

In India, for example, women make up less than a quarter of the workforce -among the lowest globally. Additionally, its gender pay gap is the highest globally, with Indian women making 34 percent less than men in hourly wage. The Indian government has introduced several initiatives to address this. India’s Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017 increased the maternity leave period to 26 weeks from an earlier 12 weeks. However, while this law is well-intentioned, it is likely to deliver unintended consequences. A recent report estimates that 1.1 to 1.8 million women stand to lose their jobs by March 2019 due to this law. This illustrates the complexity involved in policymaking. For the policy to be widely successful, companies would need to restructure the foundations of their operations and budgets to ensure they are built not only for male employees but for all employees.

If the full contribution of women to economies and societies isn’t realized, it’s not only women who won’t reach their full potential-whole countries won’t reach their full potential.

Lessons from Down Under

Across the Tasman, New Zealand has also actively addressed issues of gender discrimination in the workplace. It has a legal framework that provides protection against many kinds of discrimination. It also has frameworks in place for equal pay for women, for the prevention of discrimination based on sex and has plans for regulations for equal employment opportunities.

Moreover, New Zealand has also seen significant success in the increase in the share of women working in the public sector. Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand, has said in the past that she would like the public service sector to be a catalyst for greater gender parity . “Our view is that if we can’t demonstrate that level of leadership at the center and heart of government, then how can we call on the private sector to do the same? We want to send a message to our CEs [chief executives] that we see it as a priority,” she said.

A Long Way To Go

Collaborative efforts by governments and employers must therefore be undertaken to ensure workplace diversity and skills development for women. This and more must be done for the equal opportunities for and contribution of women to economic growth and sustainability.

For this to happen, Asia’s governments must lead.

Originally published at http://www.brinknews.com on March 14, 2019.