The fight for gender equality has been waged for well over a century. And while there may well have
been strides made in that time, with greater representation of women at all levels in business and
government and signs of progress towards wage equality in certain corporates and sectors, there are still
significant barriers that prevent true equality from becoming a reality.
Research from the World Economic Forum underlines this, with the ![]()
Global Gender Gap Report 2021
showing that another entire generation of women will have to wait for gender parity. The report
calculated that closing the global gender gap has increased from 99.5 years to 135.6 years. In
Sub-Saharan Africa, where gender parity sits at 67.2 percent, that gap can be closed slightly quicker: in
121.7 years.
The ability to close this gap has been hampered by the impact of the pandemic. Evidence outlined in the
report suggests that the health emergency and the ensuing economic downturn have impacted women
more severely than men, amplifying existing gender gaps and partially re-opening gaps that had already
been closed.
This is because the sectors hardest hit by lockdowns and rapid digitalisation are those where women are
more frequently employed – such as the Consumer sector, Non-profits, and Media and Communication. ![]()
Forecasts from ILO suggest five percent of all employed women lost their jobs, compared to 3.9 percent
of employed men. ![]()
LinkedIn data further shows a marked decline of women’s hiring into leadership roles,
creating a reversal of between one and two years of progress across multiple industries.
According to the WEF report, the gender gap in Economic Participation and Opportunity is expected to
take 267.6 years to close.
This is driven by a dichotomy: because even as the proportion of skilled women professionals continues
to increase and wage equality improves at a slow pace, there is a persistent lack of women in leadership
positions – with women representing just 27 percent of all manager positions worldwide – and overall
income disparities remaining an ongoing challenge. The ![]()
Gender Pay Gap Report 2021 by the National
Business Initiative (NBI) in South Africa found that the pay gap across firms ranges from nine to 35
percent, which results in a quantifiable amount of R72.44 to every R100.00 earned by men.
Taking action to drive equality
However, despite the seemingly bleak picture of advancements being made in driving gender equality
and women empowerment, there is a silver lining. Many organisations in the private and public sectors
are proactively working to bring more women to the boardroom table, and create workplaces and
environments that are diverse, equitable and inclusive.
For many, this means putting in place policies and tangible targets as part of their diversity and inclusion
(D&I) efforts.
But increasingly, it also means celebrating women’s achievements and increasing visibility, while calling
out inequality, to help forge a more gender equal world. Organisations are taking action and raising
awareness through ![]()
International Women’s Day – which is commemorated globally on March 8 – to
celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and take a stand for
accelerating women’s equality.
This year’s theme is ‘Break the Bias’ and calls on individuals and public and private sector organisations
and partners alike to pledge to break the bias in communities, workplaces, and schools, colleges and
universities.
A growing groundswell of people and organisations are doing exactly that. They are combining this
pledge with concrete action, such as D&I policies and targets, to help forge a world that is diverse,
equitable and inclusive and free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.
Mondelēz, for instance, as a global organisation has made women empowerment and greater
representation of women in leadership one of its three diversity and inclusion (D&I) focus areas between
2019 and 2022. It is also part of a four-year strategic roadmap target.
Shattering the glass ceiling
And the company has already made progress in these areas, exceeding industry benchmarks for women
in leadership: with 43 percent of women in senior director and senior manager roles globally against the
food and beverages industry benchmark of 33 percent, and 31 percent of our board of directors made
up of women.
Mondelēz’s Sub-Saharan African business has also achieved notable success in this area, with 62 percent
of the senior leadership team comprised of women – exceeding the target of 50 percent. We are also
doing well in bringing different types of talent into the business, specifically through investment in our
early careers programme which enables a pipeline that is diverse and equitable.
Women are also well represented on the organisation’s SSA D&I Council: of 12 people on council, seven
are women. The Sub-Saharan African business does not have a gender pay gap, either.
As part of the policies the company has put in place to create an enabling and inclusive environment free
of bias, there are flexibility and maternity leave policies, and mentoring and leadership development
programmes tailored for locally relevant underrepresented groups.
Inclusivity and equality are part of the fabric that has made up the DNA of the business for many years:
the company ![]()
signed the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles in 2013 to express support for advancing
equality between women and men. And in line with showing this support, Mondelēz ![]()
committed to
spending $1 billion with minority and women-owned businesses by 2024.
These efforts are ongoing and widespread – but true gender equality can only be possible if ever-more
companies and people commit to being part of the change, and actively work towards breaking the bias
and creating transformed workplaces underpinned by diversity, equity and inclusivity.
