Identidades in English No 1, February 2014 | Page 30

Challenges of Female Leadership Race, class and gender in Cuba and the world Yaremis Flores Attorney and journalist Havana, Cuba T he future projection of each woman should be triumphant. In addition to this, they need to procreate, create and work, not only for sustenance, but also for a feeling of personal accomplishment. According to the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), 62.7% (2011) of the people who graduated from institutions of higher education are women. The abilities of women are undeniable. Yet, they constitute only 37.4% of the people employed in the official economy. Logically, one can conclude that if they are the majority as regards their education, so it should be for highlevel, responsible and better-paid positions throughout their lives. However, that is not the case. According to the ONEI, only 34.4% of employed women are leaders or managers. What are the factors that keep women from fair access to leadership positions? Are they offered positions they then reject? If this is the case, why is it? Given their double duty (at work and at home), not all of them can actually show off their skills and intelligence. “We are the ones who have to try harder. I live with my adolescent daughter and husband. He helps me out with simple house chores. I have to leave dinner ready by morning, so I can complete my 8 hours of work,” Iris tells me. She works at a store that collects currency. Patriarchal models of coexistence still exist. In most cases, the woman is the one most responsible for domestic chores and rearing children. Even when they are workplace leaders, they may not be leaders at home. The model of male leadership still persists, too. Labor laws and practices nourish that myth. The State must urgently implement concrete measures to change this situation. I was going for a position as Head of Accounting at my center, but they gave it to a colleague. I cannot be sure that I was set apart because I was a woman with three small children,” recounted Estrella García, a worker at the capitol city polyclinic. According to Isabel Mora Richard, Director of the Editorial de la Mujer [a publishing house] and member of the official delegation that in July of this last year participated in a review of Cuba by the Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, if an equally qualified man and woman apply for a position, women are prioritized. Estrella’s experience, when added to that of the other women, does not corroborate Mora Richard’s affirmation. Labor practice at almost al