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