Management and Organisation Assessment

GENDER IN ORGANISATIONS - BARCLAYS BANK PLC Student’s Name Course Professor’s Name University City (State) Date Gender in Organisations - Barclays Bank PLC Introduction The current generation business environment presents organisations as being answerable for their organisational monetary gains and positive influences on the social/physical environment. This paper considers the implementation of gender equality at Barclays Bank PLC, a large company in the UK. Consequently, based on their experience and geographical presence, Barclays Bank PLC is a global organisation. Over the years, the bank has embarked on several policies to enhance sustainability and gender diversity (Barclays, 2023b). But it also encompasses significant criticism and difficulties in these spheres. The following report seeks to critically evaluate Barclays' gender equality policies, using fitting organisational behaviour theories by outlining some of the best practices and opportunities for improvement. Gender and Organisation Although women make up 50% of the workforce population in capitalist countries since the 1980s, the wage disparity between males and females has not disappeared. A 2020 survey of S&P 500 organisations showed that females represent 5.8 per cent of CEOs and 11 per cent of highest-paid executives (O’Neill​, n.d.). Moreover, according to the Human Rights Watch report issued in 2018, 19% of the job ads for the civil service in China contained the phrase 'men only' or 'prefer male'. Economic disparities remain strong, with special reference to the disparities in wealth per capita as well as income between women and men (O'Neill​, n.d.). These issues are made worse by power imbalances, outcomes of glass ceilings and sticky floors, and gender harassment. Moreover, this point that children have negative effects on women, mainly when these women are employed, shows that there is still gender imbalance in the workplace. Organisational gender disparity remains a prevalent issue as women continue to occupy a considerable percentage of the labour market. There is a dearth of promotions and leadership roles among women, and most of them experience a kind of discrimination, all of which affects their job experiences (Hing et al., 2023). The glass ceiling effect is among the most widely used concepts that aim to explain this situation. This concept can be described as the factors and obstacles that militate against the promotion of women to the top leadership of an organisation or corporation (Babic and Hansez, 2021). Such barriers are, many a time, implicit and structural, part of organisational dynamics that either unconsciously or consciously perpetuate patriarchy. Another area of gender inequality in organisations involves what is commonly referred to as gender harassment and involves behaviours that make the work environment hostile to women. It may include verbal harassment, including comments and jokes; non-verbal harassment, including gestures and visual display; and physical harassment, which entails abuse. Gender harassment impacts the quality of work and life for women and organisational performance and turnover rates for all. Nevertheless, organisational structure and policies also contribute to gender disparities (Malatjie and Mbajiorgu, 2024). Preferential hiring, poor policies for the work-family interface, and rigid working conditions are factors that make up a work environment that is working to the disadvantage of women. Consistent with the critical approach to gender in organisations, several essential considerations are worth a closer look at. Many traditional theories about organisations do not consider gender or assume that it is not a factor at all. This silence can merely maintain the established power relations, which do not fully promote gender equality. In addition, the idea of intersectionality emphasises the fact that gender cannot be adequately discussed without looking into the interaction of race or class. Female minorities thus experience doubly or triply erased as the intersectional nature of discrimination also comes into play. Managing gender inequalities in organisations, therefore, should be done by considering the variety of women's experiences and needs that stem from their intersecting status (Hing et al., 2023). This apparent structure approach is crucial for developing universally inclusive and equal working cultures. Case Study Background Barclays Bank PLC Overview Barclays Bank PLC was established in 1690. It is one of the oldest MNEs in the UK and offers various financial services to other countries. Barclays now has a long-standing history and significant presence in many countries; it provides various services, such as retail banking, corporate banking, investment banking, and wealth management (Barclays, 2023a). The bank has launched different gender inclusive programs focused on employee empowerment, inclusiveness, and teamwork (Barclays, 2023b). These initiatives demonstrate specifics of Barclays' Corporate Responsibility Strategies in terms of its focus on being socially responsible and concerning the company's environmental impact. Additionally, Barclays has not lagged in the call for women's talent development and gender parity. Barclays is a dedicated financial services company committed to supportin...