Psychosocial Risk Management in Businesses and Global Development Goals: Gender Equality

Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, it is a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. In 18 countries around the world, men can legally prevent their wives from working; in 39 countries, boys and girls do not have equal inheritance rights; in 49 countries there are no laws protecting women against domestic violence. Although women have made significant strides in political office around the world, the 23.7 percent of women serving in national parliaments is still far from equality. The 5th of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals aims to achieve gender equality and empower women.

Women continue to lag behind in access to management positions due to visible and invisible discrimination in the workplace. One of the main roots of this discrimination is gender-based stereotypes. Many women managers face difficulties in balancing work and personal life responsibilities, which can be psychologically challenging for women, as they are constantly striving to fulfill their personal life responsibilities, especially their roles as mothers and caregivers.

Gender inequality in the workplace is an important issue to consider as you grow and develop your business. To address gender inequality, your business should take steps to make your workplace as equal, inclusive and diverse as possible. The goal of gender equality in the workplace is to achieve broadly equal opportunities and outcomes for women and men, not outcomes that are exactly the same for everyone.

Gender equality at work can be achieved when people, regardless of gender, can access and enjoy equal rewards, resources and opportunities. These conditions essentially include the following:

• Organizations that provide equal pay for work of equal or comparable value,
• Removing barriers to women's full and equal participation in the labor force
• Access to all professions and sectors, including leadership roles, regardless of gender
• Eliminating gender-based discrimination, particularly in relation to family and care responsibilities.

Given the conditions, there are numerous benefits for businesses aiming to promote gender equality in the workplace:

A positive organizational culture. A gender-equal work environment where all employees feel respected and valued creates an overall more positive workplace for all your employees. When you have a gender-equal environment, your employees are likely to see that their coworkers have talents and strengths that they don't have. Recognizing these differences will help foster an atmosphere of respect among the team.

More innovation and creativity. People of different genders bring unique talents, strengths and skills that can foster collaboration and result in a stimulating, creative environment. Businesses are finding that gender equality policies can lead to more innovation in the workplace.

A strong reputation. Being conscious of promoting gender equality in the workplace leads to developing a great business reputation with the outside world. People with similar values may want to work for you, increasing the likelihood of a positive and productive workforce.

Improved conflict resolution. Strong communication skills among employees is an important factor for business-wide success. People of different genders naturally communicate differently. When you combine these different communication styles in a single work environment, quality conflict resolution is more easily achieved.

Psychosocial Risk Management for Gender Equality

As the number of women participating in the workforce increases, the presence of a gender dimension in occupational health and safety has become more important. However, there is a lack of gender inclusion in Occupational Health and Safety research or practice, much of which is still based on androcentrism, which only considers men as the measure. Therefore, there is a clear need to consider gender effects in the assessment of psychosocial risks in Occupational Health and Safety.

Some research specifically addressing this issue shows that working women experience worse psychosocial working conditions (in terms of low job control and poor career opportunities) compared to men, and that such risks can lead to greater strain on the health and well-being of female workers. Men experience greater job demands, more effort, more commitment and lower social support at work, while women work with lower job control and lower rewards.

Men and women are strongly segmented into different business sectors and occupy different positions in the business hierarchy. Women are more likely than men to be in low-paid jobs and less likely to be in managerial positions. In addition, women still do most of the unpaid work in the home, and when paid and unpaid work is combined, women work longer hours than men.

Women are more likely to experience work-related stress and health problems such as musculoskeletal disorders and dermatitis, while men are more likely to experience accidents and health problems due to exposure to physical factors such as noise. It is observed that safety and health problems experienced by men are more visible. The fact that Occupational Health and Safety has historically focused on male workers and the traditional industries in which they work is among the main reasons why risks to male workers are more prominently addressed than risks affecting the health and safety of female workers.

International, multifactorial, interdisciplinary studies are important to understand how different aspects of work life affect psychosocial health in different genders. The first international standard on Psychological Health and Safety and Psychosocial Risk Management published by ISO in 2021 included gendered risk factors. Considering gender equality in the development of occupational health and safety policies and prevention strategies is an important step to ensure that psychosocial risk factors specific to male and female workers are made visible in order to identify OHS risks and implement effective solutions.

References

Castaño, A. M., Fontanil, Y., & García-Izquierdo, A. L. (2019). “Why can’t I become a manager?”—A systematic review of gender stereotypes and organizational discrimination. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(10), 1813.

Hamouche, S., & Marchand, A. (2022). Occupational identity, work, psychological distress and gender in management: results from SALVEO study. Gender in Management: An International Journal, (ahead-of-print).

Cifre, E., & Vera, M. (2019). Psychosocial Risks and Health at Work From a Gender Perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1392.

Masike, R., Mwanza, B., & Masiyazi, L. (2014). A gender sensitive framework to safety and health at work. European Scientific Journal, 10(11).

ISO 45003:2021. ISO. (2021, June 8). Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://www.iso.org/standard/64283.html

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United Nations. (n.d.). Gender equality and women's empowerment. United Nations. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/

United Nations. (n.d.). Sustainable development goal 5: Toplumsal Cinsiyet eşitliği | türkiye'de Birleşmiş Milletler. United Nations. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://turkey.un.org/tr/sdgs/5

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