ESG is a Key Weapon in the Fight for Women’s Equality

Over time, they decided to stop hiding at home, with family or family business, and became workers, employees, women who earn for themselves and their loved ones. Their lives have dramatically changed, but the labor market and government policies do not support them at all. With these words, in her speech at Harvard, economic historian and Nobel Prize winner in economics, Claudia Goldin, pointed out that there has indeed been a shift in the position of women in the labor market over the last few decades. However, these changes are not sufficient for women to fully achieve equality with their male colleagues, especially regarding wages, and as revealed by the long-standing dedicated work of the Nobel laureate, there is no evidence that this gap will be bridged anytime soon.

Thus, for example, the gender gap is influenced not only by direct discrimination and entrenched patriarchal beliefs that favor male value but also by a phenomenon that Goldin called ‘greedy work’, which explains jobs that pay more per hour when someone works longer or when they have no control over those hours, which, according to the expert, harms women who need flexibility in work.

Positive Impact of Women

According to the European Commission, women in Europe earned, on average, 13 percent less per hour than men, and in the U.S., they earned 82 percent of what men earned. ESG practices could positively influence the correction of such statistics, as well as the position of women in the labor market and thus in society as a whole.

Namely, ESG plays a key role in improving business culture, employee rights and wages, inclusivity, safety, and conducting business in accordance with ecological and sustainable standards. ‘Social’ strategies aimed at women can thus include the introduction of practices and policies that help in working, such as flexible schedules, family and menstrual leave, and strict policies prohibiting sexual harassment. Satisfied and productive employees, research has shown, not only improve the competitiveness of companies but also stimulate economic growth.

How ESG regulation will improve the position of women and also influence the creation of a sustainable working environment will be discussed at the 13th Lider Conference Women in Business which will be held on December 7, 2023. During the panel discussion ‘Leaders of a Sustainable Future‘, thoughts and experiences on this topic will be shared by Marijana Bačić, a member of the Management Board and Chief Operating Officer for Business Customers at Hrvatski Telekom, Zdravka Demeter Bubalo, Chief Operating Officer of Customer Services and Retail at Ina, Ana Dorić Škeva, a member of the Management Board of Addiko Bank, responsible for risk control sectors, credit risk management, and support for Addiko Group risk management, and Diana Kobas Dešković, a business consultant and coach in the fields of business development, organizational development, leadership, communications, marketing, diversity, and inclusion, founder of Mamforce and director of Spona Code.

This topic will also be addressed at the conference by Ekaterina Egorova, Chairwoman of the Management Board and Chief Sustainability Officer (Chief Sustainability Officer, CSO) at IKEA for the South and Eastern Europe region, which includes Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, and Ukraine.

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