Why Are Gender Quotas So Controversial?

Have you ever discussed gender quotas at work, school, or even with your friends? In my experience, verbal and non-verbal expressions of disapproval tend to prevail in these conversations. Such a categorical position captured my attention and made me think about the reasons behind these opinions.

I have heard both men and women complain about this measure that seeks to promote equal opportunities, mainly because it seems "unfair" to choose a woman for a position or a leadership role “just to meet a quota.” For men, in particular, the person who best meets the profile should be selected; women, on the other hand, consider that being chosen “because of a quota” undermines their achievements, minimizes their abilities, and even seems somewhat discriminatory.

However, as a defender of gender quotas –specifically in the workplace– I believe that the unease they stir is related to a distorted perception of their function.

Let's start by defining the word “quota”: a fixed, proportional share or portion of something. In this case, the “something” refers to gender. Therefore, gender quotas are a strategy, a mechanism that seeks to strengthen the equal representation of women.

The phrase “what gets measured gets improved” is well known, and a gender quota is just that: an indicator that helps us visualize a goal in order to define actions that will bring us closer to accomplishing it. If we check some of the figures on the current employment situation of women in our country, we will certainly become more aware of the magnitude of the challenge and understand the need to continue with this effort.

Here are some data to help us understand the size of the challenge:

• 75% of women who graduate from university in Mexico do not have a paid job.
• Mexico has the second lowest labor force participation rate for women in Latin America.
• Women’s representation on Executive Committees and Boards of Directors is just 10% and 6.5%, respectively.
• 1 in 200,000 women hired at the entry level go on to hold management-level positions.

These extremely discouraging figures –retrieved from the McKinsey report Women Matter México (2018)– contrast with other very rosy ones included in the same report:

• The profitability of companies with more women at the top levels of their organization is 55% higher.
• Closing the gender gap would add up to 0.8 trillion dollars to our country’s GDP, i.e., a growth of 70%.
• Compared to men at the same level, women are doing more to support their teams and advance diversity, equality, and inclusion efforts.

Now you're probably wondering: Why don't we hire, develop, and promote more women? Given these categorical benefits, why do we still need quotas? The answer lies in the prejudices, stereotypes, and errors in the implementation of inclusion strategies.

The phenomenon called “tokenism” emerges when a company hires women solely to boost its image, without a genuine vision of creating opportunities and valuing the benefits of women’s outlooks and talents. This generates misgivings and disagreement, and even the rejection and unpopularity of gender quotas, which is another sign that the advantages of an inclusive environment have not been fully understood.

Additionally, some of the achievements of the past few years will have been affected by the pandemic and these setbacks will require renewed efforts to maintain female representation, meaning that we will continue to need quotas for several more years.

Gender quotas are NOT the goal, but are part of the process to achieve equality. More and more women are better prepared, and we need their increased presence in every sphere, especially in leadership positions, because today's world demands more consciousness, empathy, collaboration, alliances, creativity, and innovation... Women inspire greater awareness towards new and more inclusive organizational cultures. We need each other in order to build a future where equality is a reality and not simply symbolism.

The author is Adjunct Professor, EGADE Business School Guadalajara.

Article originally published in Expansión.