Sweden, Iceland, Finland and Norway have recently been named as the best four countries in which to work if you’re a woman––with Japan and South Korea being named as the worst.
The research, which was gathered across 29 countries among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), forms The Glass Ceiling Index from The Economist and shows the similarities between the leading countries.
While we know that women in the workplace continue to face issues such as the broken rung, and a slow to close gender pay gap, the Glass Ceiling Index demonstrates on a slightly more macro level that by supporting fathers in their desire to take parental leave, and encouraging men and women to share childcare, the gender pay gap will decrease.
The key to encouraging equality in the workplace is a robust and equitable attitude to childcare, something the four leading countries share via a progressive approach to parental leave, with shared parental leave, smaller gender pay gaps and stronger support for women in the workplace.
Lack of equality
In comparison, countries ranked further down the list are known for their lack of equality across the workplace and family life. While employment law varies from country to country, Unicef recommends at least six months leave for each parent––not just for mothers.
Women in today’s workplace are often told to simply “lean in” or learn how to juggle, but The Economist’s research shows that women need structural change if they are to enjoy equal opportunities.
Until that happens on a grand scale, those who want to progress their careers and earn similar salaries to their male counterparts can look to working for an employer which promotes strong parental policies for both sexes.
Since 2016, the average gender pay gap across the OECD has hovered at the 16% mark, except in countries which offer generous paternity leave such as Sweden, which boasts an 8.6% gap and Belgium, which is lower again at 7%.
It’s worth noting that under Swedish employment law both parents get 480 days’ parental leave per child, while earlier this year Belgian employment law was changed to provide additional days of paternity leave for fathers.
From a company point of view, research from Great Place To Work shows that offering strong parental support not only keeps employee satisfaction at a high rate, it also helps companies with employee retention, a constant concern in the current market.
The Silicon Canals Job Board is full of progressive companies for women. Below are three exciting roles which showcase the breadth of opportunities currently available.
Senior Accounting Manager, Trade Republic, Berlin
As Senior Accounting Manager you will be the contact person for the development and implementation of the company’s accounting guidelines. You will be responsible for conducting discussions with internal and external auditors and ensure compliance with legal regulations, including our consolidated financial statement audit. At least five years’ of professional experience in the fields of accounting, financial services, auditing and excellent knowledge of technical accounting, including experience with group reporting/consolidation, are required.
Apply for the Senior Accounting Manager role or see more opportunities at Trade Republic.
Project & Talent Development Manager, Zalando, Berlin
As Project & Talent Development Manager with Zalando you will play a decisive role in shaping an agile, fast-growing, international company. Working hand-in-hand with the biggest players in ecommerce, you will act as an interface, and be their counterpart to drive implementation of the company’s new HCM system. You should have three years’ experience in people development and be experienced in driving projects. You’ll also have excellent written, verbal and non-verbal communication skills, plus a high level of fluency in English.
See more on the Project & Talent Development Manager role, or browse jobs at Zalando.
Senior Full Stack Developer, Shift Technology, Paris
As a Senior Full Stack Developer your technical knowledge and autonomy will see you build complete designs for the company’s applications and features. You will be responsible for contributing to a UI to collect and review information and to APIs that automate decision making and build to corresponding framework. You’ll have at least five years’ of experience in software development with solid OOP skills and great experience with any JS framework (ideally React).
Apply for this Senior Full Stack Developer job, check out more jobs at Shift Technology.