Women who want to advance in business still have to overcome obstacles and break down prejudices that do not exist when it comes to their male colleagues.
Of course, these obstacles are not the same everywhere, nor are the ways in which women overcome them. However, at a macro level, the obstacles arise from most corporate cultures that are at odds with the direction in which the surrounding society is developing, emphasizes Dorothy Dalton, co-founder of 3Plus International from Brussels and keynote speaker at the upcoming 2nd meeting ‘Women in Business 2012’ in Zagreb. She particularly highlights the increasingly pressing issue of an aging population and women’s indecision to have children
– It is necessary to balance the growing number of highly qualified women entering the labor market with the economic challenges caused by an aging population. The global population is becoming increasingly older, but with a declining birth rate trend. Women are increasingly deciding not to have children, which will ultimately lead to fewer young people to support older generations. Advanced economies need women who give birth and corporations that support this. – says Dorothy.
Croatia is certainly not an exception when it comes to the fact that often women give up on pregnancy for fear that it will jeopardize their careers.
– 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. I know of cases where women in high positions in companies remained pregnant and the company did not collapse. – believes Gordana Frgačić, HR manager and author of ‘Why We Are Paid Less’, who is also a panelist at the conference. She believes that pregnancy is not a women’s issue, but a result of a joint decision between a man and a woman and a shared responsibility of society as a whole, and not something that women should deal with alone and for which they should be discriminated against.
It is easier for women who run their own business and who can rely on their husband’s help when they find themselves in that situation, says Nataša Golik Klanac, who, together with her husband, opened the company as2con and participates in the panel ‘Is There a Non-Feminine Job’. .
– In the last year, due to pregnancy and childbirth, I have been less present in everyday work, so my husband (along with other colleagues) has taken on many more business obligations. – says Nataša. After completing her doctoral studies and working at a university in Finland, she decided to return to Croatia with her husband and open a company in a business that could be called ‘non-feminine’. She is engaged in research, development, and application of new technologies in the shipping and shipbuilding industry. When asked what motivated her to return to Croatia and work in a field dominated by men and whether she sees this as a disadvantage, she responds:
– When a person is driven by results and performs their job professionally, they do not burden themselves with whether they are working with a woman or a man. I would say that, as in any other job, being one or the other gender can sometimes be a disadvantage but sometimes an advantage. – although she says: – It is true that there are situations in business where it would be easier to be a man, especially in informal occasions like going for drinks, going to the sauna (e.g., in Finland), but those are situations that do not occur every day.
Gordana Frgačić agrees that it is easier to be a man, especially when it comes to common prejudices such as the belief that women are too emotional to manage serious business systems and make correct decisions.
– 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 true masculine 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` – emphasizes Gordana.
There is sometimes also prejudice due to styling choices. This prejudice had to be broken down by the well-known politician and member of parliament Mirela Holy, who says that due to her unconventional style, makeup, and high heels, she had to exert herself greatly to prove that she performs her job more professionally, better, and more responsibly than many male colleagues.
