Is the fight for gender is an old story? Busting some myths

“I didn’t realise women were having it hard these days (sardonic smile)”

“Once when I was a manager I was told to promote only a woman”

“You work in gender inclusion? (Eyes rolling) cool.”

If I had a cent for every time I’ve been told the the fight for gender is an old story, that nowadays women have it easier than men, that all board positions are now for women only etc… I would be able to dive into my personal money pool like Scrooge McDuck.

Instead let’s look at some numbers:

Women are 50% of the world’s population, and gave birth to 100% of the world’s population.

And yet:
As at March 2023, women only occupy 28.9% of board positions (and 78% of the seats gained by women are new seats, not a replacement of men or retired men)


As of 2020, women accounted for approximately 28.3 percent of all managerial positions worldwide 

Just in case you think that after all this is not so bad, imagine buying a bottle of wine with a friend, you split the bill 50% but you only get less than 1/3 of the bottle. Would it be fair?

Across all regions of the world, women spend on average between three and six hours on unpaid care activities, while men spend between half an hour and two hours

Approximately 1 in 3 women will experience sexual violence in their lifetime, with 7% of those women having experienced rape or attempted rape.

40% of managers avoid hiring younger women to get around maternity leave 

So, yeah, the journey is still long and if at times it feels that women get it easier it’s only because they are getting it easier, easier that 50 years ago.

One final thought when people say: I don’t care about gender, I just want the best person for the job… Agree 100% but does every person have the same opportunities to be the best person? Because if we keep supporting only the same type of people, those who don’t fit the bill will never get a shot at showing that they can be the best person.

Time to change the narrative! If you need help driving change in your organization, or if you invest in companies and want to help them change, please contact us KnowThyBrand has an increasing portfolio of happy customers who have decided to be the change they want to see.