EXPERT SPEAK
CULTIVATING INCLUSION : GROWING FEMALE TALENT IN THE WORKFORCE
Natasha Reuben , Head , Transformation , Dell Technologies South Africa , explains why promoting a culture of inclusion and growing female talent in the workforce is the beginning of making gender equality a priority .
Last month , March 8 , 2021 marked International Women ’ s Day . Recognising women for over a century , International Women ’ s Day is a celebration of progress and a recognition of work that still needs to be done to advance women in business and society .
In an annual study produced by the World Bank titled Women , Business and the Law
2021 the gender inequality amidst the global COVID-19 Pandemic is explored looking at eight key pillars . The pillars are mobility , workplace , pay , marriage , parenthood , entrepreneurship , assets and pension . The report analyses laws and regulations affecting women ’ s economic opportunities in 190 countries and shows promising results .
Results show that despite the difficulties of the global pandemic , many economies have made gender equality a priority . The results are encouraging with every region surveyed improving its average score .
Looking at the scoring in the index , countries ranked at 100 out of 100 show true gender parity across all eight pillars . Looking to the Sub-Saharan region over the past 50 years the region has seen a gain in more than 30 points . The countries in Sub Saharan Africa with the highest scores are , Mauritius scoring 91.9 out of 100 , South Africa scoring 88.1 out of 100 and Zimbabwe scoring 86.9 out of 100 . However , the region shows huge variations in scores , with Sudan being ranked last with a score of 29.4 out of 100 .
Accountable goals : 2030 progress made real
Dell Technologies ’ 2030 Progress Made Real report is built on ‘ advancing sustainability ’, ‘ cultivating inclusion ’ and ‘ transforming lives ’. As part of our Progress Made Real plan to drive societal change by the year 2030 , we have set ambitious measurement targets for gender representation , pledging that by 2030 , 50 % of our global workforce and 40 % of our global people leaders will be those who identify as female .
Also , by 2030 , our goal is to ensure that 95 % of employees receive training on crucial topics such as unconscious biases , harassment , microaggressions and privilege .
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