Dear Readers,
The concept of the "glass ceiling" was first highlighted in 1978 by Marilyn Loden during her speech at a women's fair in New York. She used it to underscore the entrenched and often invisible barriers preventing women from advancing into senior management positions. The term gained widespread recognition after it was featured in the Wall Street Journal in 1986, expanding to include the barriers faced by minorities as well. Despite significant progress in women's rights and representation, the "glass ceiling" syndrome remains a critical issue requiring our concerted efforts. In recent years, advocacy, progressive policies, and gender equality initiatives have begun to shift societal attitudes. However, women continue to face disproportionately challenges in reaching top-level positions. Nevertheless, the increasing representation of women in senior management is breaking gender stereotypes and inspiring younger women to aspire to leadership roles.
The Gender Equality in Public Administration (GEPA) report revealt that gender equality gaps persist in 170 countries with women continuing encounter glass ceilings and glass walls that hinder their advancement to senior positions. Although progress has been made in many countries, regarding women’s representation in public administration, women are still lag significantly behind men in leadership and decision-making positions globally. On average, women constitute 46% of public administrators, 31% of senior leadership roles, and 30% of top executives in public management. The practices and legal reforms of international governments are crucial in removing obstacles in the business world and promoting gender equality. We need legal regulations and reforms through temporary special measures like affirmative quotas to strengthen gender equality policies and allocate budgets for gender issues. We must revisit corporate culture in workplaces and develop more inclusive regulations that address sexism and punish harassment.
While the representation of women in senior management varies across sectors, enhancing their presence in management roles within the banking sector—historically dominated by men—is particularly crucial, given the sector's high female employment. Therefore, creating advocacy groups, professional networks and initiatives that will encourage the advancement of women leaders in senior management in the banking sector, and implementing strategies and programs to reinforce diversity and inclusion are important steps to be taken in this field.
At QNB, we demonstrate our commitment to gender equality through concrete actions. Our dedication is evident through our endorsement of the United Nations Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and our inclusion in the 2023 Bloomberg Gender Equality Index due to our pioneering work in the field of gender equality. This year, we also released our Gender Equality Guide, outlining our principles for gender-sensitive banking and our action plan. These initiatives underscore our ambitious and robust strides towards gender equality in the banking sector. We declares "Our Goal is a World of Equality!" and pledged to empower women to play active roles in management. Our goal is to narrow the salary gap to 3.57% this year and 7.40% next year, based on the current average; one of our priorities is to regularly balance this ratio in the following years. We have incorporated efforts to achieve gender balance in our recruitment processes and to boost the enrollment of female graduates from engineering and technology faculties among our initiatives. We will enhance awareness among our employees and stakeholders through our trainings on Unconscious Bias, Sexual Violence, and Harassment Prevention. We have initiated programs to establish discount agreements aimed at supporting the preschool education of our employees' children. Accompanying our Gender Equality Guide developed in collaboration with Kadir Has University, we are committed to promoting more equal rights for women and ensuring that they take their rightful place in management positions.
I believe that as each institution transforms its internal culture, women's participation in employment will become more effective and dynamic across all aspects. Creating supportive work environments, implementing mentoring programs, having women leaders share their experiences with new generations of employees and job candidates, and offering strategic management training and programs will reduce the impact of glass ceilings. Women leaders bring unique strengths and qualities to their roles, and effective leadership cannot be confined by gender. With female leaders who bring collaboration and inclusivity, competence in networking, visionary leadership, and effective emotional intelligence to the organizations they lead, we can create more inclusive and successful institutions that thrive with a dynamic, adaptable internal cult, regardless of gender.
Cenk Akıncılar
Executive Vice President, Human Resources
