The idea of gender equality has not yet fully materialized in the business world. Women, as numerous studies show, are still paid less than men, encounter various stereotypes more frequently, progress more slowly, and there are still more men than women in leadership positions.
This prompted Gordana Frgačić, an experienced HR manager, to explore the background of the problem and write a book titled ‘Why We Are Paid Less’.
She is also one of the panelists at the upcoming 2nd meeting ‘Women in Business 2012’ which will be held on December 6 at the Westin Hotel in Zagreb. In light of this, we posed several questions to her.
1. What is the biggest prejudice that women have to deal with in the business world and why?
– That women are too emotional to manage serious business systems and make sound decisions. First of all, I do not think that emotions are a bad thing, as they are what drive us to act, and the only important thing is how we manage them. Men are no less emotional than women, but we apply double standards here – for example, Obama’s emotionality and shedding a tear will be considered a ‘real man’s act’ and viewed positively, while if this happens to a woman, the comments are usually that ‘she cannot take it like a man’. Whatever that means.
2. Can women who want to reach top positions afford to get pregnant? Is there a positive example in Croatia like the case of Marissa Mayer who was appointed CEO of Yahoo while six months pregnant?
– I do not know of any case in Croatia where a woman was promoted to such a high position during pregnancy, but I know that others remained pregnant when they were already in high positions and that the company did not fail. If you ask me, there is certainly room for pregnant women in top positions, but the question is what those who decide on their promotion think about it. Most of them have forgotten that someone had to bring them into the world. Pregnancy is not a women’s issue, but the result of a joint decision between a man and a woman and a shared responsibility of society as a whole, not something that women should deal with alone and for which they should be discriminated against.
