The trajectory of women in the job market is marked by major challenges and significant social changes, such as the achievement of labor laws that guarantee women’s rights and society’s critical look at a culture that limits women’s presence in the job market. However, it is still a struggle in women’s lives to achieve space and equality in the job market. In this article, you’ll learn more about this trajectory and what the current scenario is like for women.
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The beginnings of women in the job market
In order to better understand the beginnings of women in the job market, we need to analyze the reality of women in society before the start of this trajectory. Take a look:
Women only performed domestic duties
In Brazil during the 20th century, job opportunities for women were extremely limited. At this time, women were considered only fit to perform domestic duties, such as looking after the family and the home. In addition, access to formal education was also restricted, which also left women at a disadvantage.
The beginnings of women in the job market
This reality changed with the beginning of the country’s industrialization. Women began to enter the labor market when they acquired their first labor rights and began to work in factories and industries. Even so, working conditions were precarious and their pay was lower than that of men.
Consolidation of Labor Laws: women’s rights
It was only after the Consolidation of Labor Laws and the 1988 Constitution that rules protecting the female workforce were guaranteed. Discrimination in salaries and jobs on the grounds of gender was banned, as were regulations on domestic work and rules guaranteeing the right to maternity leave.
This was the beginning of women’s journey to gain a foothold in the labor market.
The current scenario for women in the job market
This history brings us to the current scenario, where women have gained a more significant foothold in the job market and are actively participating in the economy. But even so, there are studies that prove that there is still inequality in positions and salaries between men and women. Here’s some data:
Women earn 21% less than men in Brazil
A study by Dieese, the Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socio-Economic Studies, shows that women have an average monthly income 21% lower than that of men. The data is based on a survey carried out by the IBGE in the third quarter of 2022.
In 2021, women earned 37% less than men worldwide
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Inequality Report, in 2021 women globally were paid 37% less than men in comparable positions.
Women occupy only 30% of leadership positions globally
Grant Thornton International’s research into gender equity in leadership positions around the world revealed that women have progressed by only 13% since 2004. Currently, at a global level, women still represent around 30% of leadership positions.
These are some of the figures that reflect the current reality of women in the job market. Despite their many achievements, women still deal with the remnants of a society that limited their participation in the economy. When we analyze these figures, we understand that there is still a long way to go in the quest for equity.
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What has already been achieved?
As we have seen so far, from the beginning of the struggle for space in the job market to the present day, women have made significant achievements. See some of them below:
Access to education
Access to education was forbidden for women in the period before women entered the labor market. Society understood that women’s role was limited to carrying out domestic chores, and therefore having access to education was considered unnecessary.
Education was only won after the Second World War, following a growing women’s movement to secure this right. Thus, many countries adopted universal education policies, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948, included the right to education for all people.
Right to paid work
After gaining access to education, women also won the right to paid work. With industrialization, demand in factories and industries increased, which meant that women also began to receive job opportunities. At the time, the feminist movement played a key role in the fight for equal opportunities in the marketplace between the sexes. But even so, women faced poorer working conditions and lower wages than men.
Labor laws in favor of women
Many labor laws were enacted to ensure women’s rights in the labor market. These include regulations on equal pay, paid maternity leave and protection against gender discrimination.
In Brazil, the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT), which includes specific clauses to protect the rights of female workers, was enacted in 1943. In addition, the 1988 Constitution reinforced the right to gender equality in the workplace and guaranteed, among other things, job stability during pregnancy and maternity leave.
What are the main professional challenges faced by women?
In reality, despite the rights and spaces that have already been won, women still face challenges in the job market.
Some of these challenges can be seen when we analyze the data we have already mentioned here, which reflects the pay gap that still exists between the genders and the lack of female representation in leadership positions. Another challenge often faced by women is sexual and moral harassment in the workplace.
In addition, women still face a hidden inequality in job opportunities. There is still a huge shortage of flexible working hours and companies with policies that take into account the additional obstacles that women face during the working day. This challenge is very present in the lives of women who have opted for motherhood but don’t want to give up their professional careers.
How can companies help overcome these challenges?
The company’s commitment to helping overcome these challenges faced by women has an impact on the retention and productivity of female employees, which is directly related to the company’s success. In addition, the issues of pay equity and gender opportunities in the labor market are increasingly coming to the attention of investors and consumers.
In this sense, there are a number of actions that can be taken to help overcome these challenges, such as security policies for women, gender-exclusive opportunities, among others. Here are a few more:
Build a safe working environment
In addition to safety policies that preserve women’s integrity, building a safe working environment also involves a sense of belonging and representation in the company. In this sense, creating spaces and meetings exclusively for women is a great way of giving a voice to the gender agenda and helping to overcome the challenges faced by women in the job market.
Offer opportunities for growth and development
Women should have the same opportunities for growth and development within the company. In order to promote this equality of opportunity, it is necessary to adopt processes with selection criteria that eliminate the possibility of prejudices and biases. This means managing hiring processes, salaries and feedback based on fair criteria and thus making room for the growth of women in the company.
Encourage flexibility and self-management
The double burden of reconciling motherhood and career is a reality for many women. As we’ve already mentioned, this is a challenge that is very present and still minimized in the job market, since opportunities don’t take into account the additional obstacles that women face.
In this sense, making schedules and working hours more flexible through self-management of activities and time helps to reconcile double shifts. This way, women can keep their deliveries up to date without giving up their commitments to motherhood.
Work in an inclusive and welcoming culture
Finally, working on an inclusive and welcoming culture for women means recognizing the challenges they face and transforming the beliefs that limit their development in the corporate environment.
The belief that motherhood is an impediment to professional development is an example that limits the presence of women in the job market and accentuates the challenges they face. So work in a culture that deconstructs beliefs like this.
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How Scooto’s culture helps improve the reality of women in the job market
Scooto is a customer relationship center staffed exclusively by women that transforms the relationship between people and companies through humanization.
Here, we have adopted a culture focused on promoting a safe working environment for women, with an officeless work model, pay above the market average, an anti-racism policy, legal and psychological support for service providers, among other actions. In this way, we contribute to the reintegration of women into the job market and help to reduce the gender gap.
When we build a 100% female work environment, when men leave the scene, we see a blossoming of women who sometimes feel intimidated in a mostly male environment. You can see the professional and human security that each of them is gaining as they feel free and that they are really solving problems. – Marina Vaz, CEO of Scooto.
Here, we believe that the true humanization of the customer relationship begins with the human responsible for making this relationship happen. For this reason, humanization is present in each of Scooto’s actions and in the daily work of the Scooteiras.
If you also want to transform your company’s customer relations through humanization, get in touch with Scooto and bet on the innovation of having a 100% female call center!
