According to the research „Women in Business 2015” conducted by Grant Thornton International, 22 per cent of people worldwide who hold high management posts are women. The percentage amounts 37 in the country. There are a lot of women in small enterprises in Poland. The more bigger the enterprises are, the less women are employed in them. I think that it has a cultural background, however, this situation is slowly changing. On the other hand, it may be changing too slowly – says Maciej Jamka, Managing Partner in the Warsaw K&L Gates office.
The greatest number of women in business among 34 surveyed countries may be recorded in Russia and Georgia, whereas the smallest number – in Japan. In my opinion, the problem of promotion and participation of women in social life is the problem of the whole world. Some countries are trying to fight against it, manage it, and others are definitely less active – judges Maciej Jamka.
Only 5 per cent of women at the level of senior management hold the highest posts (Chairman of the Board). They more frequently work as chiefs of controlling (53 per cent of the respondents), HR Departments (47 per cent) or finances (24 per cent). The main reason for dominance of men over women in big companies is a cultural issue because the former role performed by women consisted in care about their household. This traditional family model still results in the fact that there are less women in some industries on certain posts than they should be – emphasized Maciej Jamka. If there is a tendency in the society that a woman should stay at home, many advantages may be suggested but it will not help much. If women do not feel support from the closest surrounding, they will not try to apply for higher posts and greater participation in economic life – adds Jamka.
It is worth mentioning that participation of women in business has a positive impact on effectiveness of work. The creativity drives business, and it occurs when different point of views are confronted – not only when people with the same views work together. Women introduce different point of view and this is the most important factor – explains Maciej Jamka.
A small percentage of women is especially noticeable in the case of law corporations. Next to cultural barriers, domination of men in this industry mainly results from the structure of customers of a legal office where men prevail. Legal offices try to promote women, however, it is a long-lasting process. Some legal offices have more achievements in this area, others less, but I think that it is a duty for all of us – sums up Managing Partner, K&L Gates.
K&L Gates launched a global initiative called Women in the Profession, which is aimed at support of occupational and social activity of women who want to develop on many fields.