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Women in Business
women” to increase the 32% in its top three layers to reach a 50% gender split through support in leadership development and offer- ing working flexibility. Currently, 84% of the 117-strong local workforce is female, but Eccleston says gender is not considered an issue for employment.
Paternity time lagging
One factor – equal opportunity for men to have paternity leave – is considered by all women to be desirable. At present, males can have two weeks leave and one is paid, but no right to shared leave.
Heidi Bocarisa, the FSC’s director of strategy & planning, joined aged 23 some 18 years ago when “the bulk of women were in administrative or secretarial roles.” The mother of three young girls, Bocarisa says: “Women go off on maternity leave, but most fathers are involved in family life as well.
“I think Gibraltar is fairly behind the times when it comes to that approach, in terms of flexible hours, working from home, friend- ly hours, even things like paternity leave arrangements.”
Thirty years old Hannah Strain, FSC
Head of Operations, is on maternity leave with let their guard down - and that shouldn’t be the her five month old daughter, Elise, and case,” she asserts. believes that “until [shared parental leave] The Gadhia report found younger happens women are always going to be at a people, especially women, do not want disadvantage at work, because they are the positive discrimination. However, as women ones who have to take time off, and there is get older views alter. “They realise that if they this mentality, ‘well women can always go want to see meaningful change in gender back after having children’. If the man had the equality, businesses need to measure it; same opportunity, it might be different.” because what gets measured gets done”,
emphasises Gadhia. Young are more knowing As Vazquez notes: “What has to change
The younger generation, “believe in their is understanding – there has to be better qualities and have grown up in a society understanding of the position on both sides. where there is more equality even in their own [Only] women will have children – that has to relationships”, perceives Tonia Brooks, chair- be the case - and they cannot be prejudiced in woman of the 30 year old Women in Business their workplace for doing so. But at the same Gibraltar networking group. “The Internet and time, we have to understand the costs (and not communications generally have created a just financial costs) which maternity leave better awareness of the world and of the brings to small employers in particular.” potential”, she says. But other aspects of increased maternity
A passionate advocate of women in benefits and shared paternity leave are not business, Brooks retired two years ago as early candidates for action, with Sacramento Gibraltar’s first female principal of the Further admitting: “Those are discussions I have to Education College. “I know women who are have. They are not in the [government’s] constantly trying to prove themselves - that Manifesto, which means it obviously is not a they are worthy in their post - and that they priority over other things. There is nothing work harder than men; they feel they cannot certainly that will take place soon.”
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