IWD2020: Meltem Ozker Gunduz
We proud to be supporting International Women’s Day 2020. International Women’s Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Whilst we all know that gender parity within the workplace has improved over the past decades, we all also know that there is still a long way to go.
We interviewed Meltem Ozker Gunduz, Head of Human Resources- Asia | Group Head Capability & Learning Strategies at QBE.
#IWD2020 #EachforEqual
What does equality in the workplace look like for you? Imagine a workplace where employees, regardless of their gender, can contribute and challenge each other. There is transparency on career opportunities and no glass ceiling when it comes to senior management positions. Not only the data shows that there is no gender pay gap, but also employees feel that this is the case. Here, colleagues, when they make a point, do not need to be oversimplified by the others, no mansplaining. That’s the workplace where you have equality, in my definition. How do you think parental leave should be approached in 2020? I strongly believe in the gender-neutral parental leave. When we discuss parental leave, we usually focus on how the current maternity leave terms provided in different jurisdictions are short and how to improve that. However, in order to improve female workforce to enjoy equality, we need to ensure they have enough support at home. And this will not happen by only extending the maternity leave terms: we need to provide paternity leave for the fathers too, so that they can firstly enjoy the most precious times of their family and secondly give breath, relief and space for the mothers so that they can also be ready to return to work. I am so happy to see that a number of companies already started providing gender neutral parental leave and I hope this will be a trend that other employers will follow.
Please note that all commentary and opinions provided are those of the individual, and not the organisation/company they are employed by.