The Beijing of today looks nothing like the Beijing real estate developer Zhang Xin grew up in during Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution.
She remembers it as a drab place of gray buildings where everyone wore the same clothes, ate the same food, and hard work and poverty were a way of life. By the time she was 14, she and her mother had moved to a tiny room in Hong Kong, and Zhang went to work in the factories, saving whatever she could and looking for a way to make a better life for herself.
Today, Zhang looks out on a vibrant and futuristic Beijing cityscape that she helped shape. She’s worth an estimated $3.6 billion and her company, SOHO China, has developed 18 buildings in the city, many so innovative in design, they’ve been designated landmarks. All of this success flows from access to opportunity. Zhang managed to saved enough money as a teenager to buy a plane ticket to London, where she could work and study, eventually earning a master’s degree in economics at Cambridge University.
Why This Matters
Zhang’s hard work has made her one of the richest self-made women in the world. But she and her family aren’t the only beneficiaries. Her success has helped create thousands of jobs, and has contributed to economic growth in Beijing and China. And her example serves as an inspiration to young girls who dream of building something big.
But in much of the world--and not that long ago in China-- a rise like Zhang’s would be impossible for a woman. Women still have less access to traditionally male fields and the industries that are open to them typically pay less. Worse, in many cultures, rigid gender roles and entrenched cultural narratives leave women with few paths to economic opportunity.
Around The World
Some cultures value girls so little, they aren’t even allowed to go to school. The only role for someone of their gender is to marry young and do the unpaid work at home. Any deviation from this cultural norm and they risk being targets of violence – or worse. Some may be allowed an education if their parents can afford it – that is after they’ve paid for their sons’ educations first. Those that do get some kind of education, often don’t get the knowledge and skills they need to compete in the 21st century job market.
One field open to women in many developing countries is farming, but they are still at a disadvantage. While women produce more than 50 percent of the world’s food, they are often denied by law the right to own land. They also tend to have less access to credit. This can leave women dependent on the men in their lives for basic economic survival. If you end up being widowed and you don’t have a father or a brother to help – well, good luck.
Trocaire / Enestina's Story
Access to an education dramatically improves a girl’s chance of having a better, more secure future. First, an educated girl is less likely to marry young or against her will, and less likely to die in childbirth. Her children are also likely to be healthier and have access to an education as well. That means educated women have a better shot at breaking the cycle of poverty.
When women have the right to own land, they gain more power in their families and their communities and they become more self-sufficient. They are also better able to protect themselves from violence. Owning land also improves a woman’s likelihood of participating in public life.
The United States
Even in places like the US where girls are required by law to have an education, and gender-based discrimination is illegal in the workplace, women still aren’t on par with men. They are likely to earn only 60 to 75 percent of what their male counterparts make. Since they also bear more responsibility for work at home, they can have a tougher time balancing competing demands, leaving them stuck in the “Mommy Track.” If they don’t get guaranteed sick days or family leave, a family health crisis can put their job at risk. Women are 15 percent less likely to be promoted than men, less likely to get critical assignments that lead to advancement, and their projects on average are allotted half the budget that men’s are.
Cybrabian77 / Teacher at Chalkboard
As far as a woman becoming the CEO of her own company like Zhang Xin – well, let’s just say she may have as much of a shot at winning the lottery. Although women make up close to half of the workforce, they hold only 4 percent of the CEO positions at S&P 500 companies,and only 16% of the senior management roles. Fewer women calling the shots at the top means fewer role models and mentors for those on the lower rungs of the ladder. As for politics, academia, and high tech, glass ceilings still abound, leaving women vastly under-represented in the upper echelons of rank and salary.
Some companies are actively trying to change the status quo by connecting women with top leadership and offering them ways to increase their visibility within a company. Another strategy is to push women towards roles that have a direct impact on a company’s bottom line, rather than positions like human resources, communications or legal affairs. Typically, these roles offer more opportunity to reach the C-suite. Initiatives that allow for a better work/life balance can also positively impact the number of women in executive positions.
Our Approach
Women aren’t the only ones paying the price for economic disparities--so are their countries’ economies. When more women work, economies grow. If the job participation gap and the wage gap between men and women were closed, women would add $17 trillion dollars of economic value to the globe. If you want your company to improve its organizational effectiveness, research suggests one of the best ways is to put more women in leadership roles. One of those leaders may just be a trailblazer like Zhang Xin.
Our plan to improve economic access and advancement in the world is to advance programs that promote equal rights for women to determine their own futures, to reap the rewards of their labors, and to have the ability to care and provide for their families.
Rights and Representation- Promote laws that protect women’s land and property rights
- Train community watchdog groups and paralegals to protect women’s rights at the local level
- Promote gender-inclusive economic policies
- Advocate for fair labor, and employment standards
- Advance policies that ensure pay equity and fair compensation
- Push for a federal mandate for paid parental leave
- Promote effective policies to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace
- Advocate for girls’ and women’s rights to a safe and inclusive education
- Provide funding for educational stipends and scholarships
- Advocate for sustainable livelihoods
- Macro-Entrepreneurship and micro-entrepreneurship
- Promote women’s entrepreneurship
- Promote creative programs to increase the presence of women in top leadership and executive roles
- Develop mentorship programs
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RESOURCES
Adamczyk, Alicia. "What You Need to Know About Women's Workplace Equality."
Harvard Business Review. "Women in the Workplace: A Research Roundup."
Open Society Foundations. "Securing Women’s Land and Property Rights."
Root Capital. "Women in Agriculture Initiative."
UN Women. "Facts and Figures: Economic Empowerment."
UNICEF. "Girls' Education and Gender Equality."
Waller, Nikki. WSJ. "What's Holding Women Back in the Workplace?"
PHOTO CREDIT
Department of Foreign Affairs. "Ngatho Mugo an AYAD."