Equbusiness book VERSION 28SEPT2023 - Flipbook - Page 64
5. PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY THROUGH HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
By Selcen Kilicaslan-Gokoglu
5.1. INTRODUCTION
This chapter aims to explore the critical role of Human Resources Management (HRM) in advancing gender
diversity and equality within organizations, with a particular focus on corporate boardrooms. This chapter aims to
comprehensively address the imperative of advancing gender diversity and equality within organizations by
investigating key HRM areas such as recruitment and placement, performance management, career
development, training, and remuneration. By examining these aspects of HRM, this chapter aims to identify
actionable insights for companies to repair any gender-based disparities and promote inclusivity effectively,
particularly in corporate boardrooms. The role of organizations to prevent and eliminate the disadvantages
created by gender roles that prevent women from rising to senior management positions will be evaluated from
the perspective of human resources management. For instance, concepts such as the 'glass ceiling' and the 'glass
cliff' have gained importance in gender equality literature, shedding light on the persistent challenges and
obstacles women face when seeking advancement in corporate careers in addition to the precarious positions
they often find themselves in when they reach leadership roles. While the concepts have garnered considerable
attention and analysis, it is worth noting that a lack of comprehensive assessment of Human Resource
Management (HRM) literature in the context of gender equality in business remains.
In the field of HRM, there are academic studies ranging from recruitment to various human resource processes
that address issues such as gender diversity or inequality towards female employees. There are numerous studies
on how human resource practices can both pose obstacles to gender equality and play a role in achieving it. This
chapter particularly focuses on strategies derived from literature on how HR can play a role in promoting equality
and inclusion for women. Therefore, a comprehensive review of the HRM literature requires a rigorous
exploration of these areas, and a detailed examination of the strategies, practices, and policies that promote or
perpetuate gender equality.
Human Resource Management, being a function dealing with everyday problems of employees and organizations
and the relationship between these two, is one of the most important roles in organizations. To comprehend its
role in providing diverse work environments and increasing women9s inclusion in work systems, this chapter will
delineate the human resource management process starting from recruitment.
5.2 RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION
Recruitment and selection practices can be considered the first and most important step in ensuring gender
equality in organizations (Clavero & Galligan, 2021). The recruitment process typically commences when a
department or organization identifies the need for a new employee. During this initial phase, considering the
current gender ratio within the department can benefit the organization. Proactively striving to maintain an
equitable balance between hires of all genders from the outset serves as an essential precursor to fostering
gender diversity, especially in upper management echelons. By prioritizing gender parity from the outset,
organizations lay a foundational step towards cultivating an environment conducive to the advancement of
women into senior leadership roles. Increasing the number of female employees can potentially expand the pool
of female candidates eligible for managerial roles. In this regard, the laws enacted by countries and the policies
and rules determined by organizations have been put forward as facilitating factors for women to take part in
certain sectors and positions. Affirmative action can be another way of ensuring women's representation in
certain sectors and positions. Main opposition for affirmative action is the idea that the main reason for
organizational selection and promotion should be merit-based. Reverse-discrimination and beliefs about
affirmative action damages meritocracy and fairness is causing the opposition (Hing et al., 2002). Although there
