Working conditions and gender equality

At the latest since our latest blog article, you know: Sustainability is very close to our hearts. That's why we base our actions and our attitude on the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals: because what the United Nations General Assembly adopted in September 2015 we consider to be extremely sensible. We are already actively addressing some of these issues, and many other plans relating to sustainability have at least already been placed firmly on our agenda. Among other things, we report on sustainable issues such as gender equality and the use of clean and affordable energy, or uncover. In today's blog article, we take an overarching look at working conditions and (gender) equality in Europe.

The poster of the 17 goals shows: Decent work and the elimination of inequalities are issues that are also in the context of sustainability. In addition to secondary goals such as better economic structures, the main goals pursued are. Fair and decent working conditions promote social justice and equal opportunities. This in turn has a positive effect on employee satisfaction.

The satisfaction of employees is generally becoming a greater focus. Fair working conditions can improve this and thus also contribute to the general welfare. Among other things, because they have a positive impact on health promotion and can serve to reduce inequalities. Eurofound comes to the same conclusions. As the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, it is concerned with knowledge for the development of better working and social psychology. Teams of Eurofound experts have been intensively analyzing working conditions in the EU. One of their conclusions: Improving the quality of work contributes to the positive benefits of the work done over a lifetime, as well as to the health and well-being of the individual. The latter in particular is currently gaining a lot of importance, especially in the occupational context. For example, there are detailed warnings about the health consequences of burnout and other mental illnesses for employees, companies and society. According to the DAK Psychoreport from 2020, the number of days of absence among employees is at a record high, as is the duration of mental illness. Concepts on how to design a workplace that promotes health more sustainably and thus better for the common good have been fine-tuned for years.

Let's look at another issue from the UN's 17 goals: gender equality. It is relevant in every country on the globe. One example is equal pay for women and men. This is because, in theory, it is one of the central, legally enshrined principles of the EU. Since in practice there are still many discrepancies and wage discrimination often goes undetected due to a lack of transparent communication, for example, the European Commission recently developed a regulation to combat this. This means that in the future, information on the salary structure in organizations must be disclosed. The aim is to ensure transparency and prevent gender-based discrimination.

The fact that "women earn significantly less than men" is confirmed by other studies, for example by the ILO, the UN's International Labor Organization, and Eurofound. The works of U.S. economist and communications scholar Linda M. Scott also address the issue: In her studies, the emeritus professor at the British University of Oxford found that female inclusion combats poverty, especially in developing and emerging countries. The consequences: greater global prosperity, peace, stable and thus sustainable societies. Recognition of increasing diversity and cultural diversity in all areas of life also contributes to this.

We think so: Both fair working conditions and equality are important topics - and should definitely be considered in terms of sustainable living. For example, employers can create an employee-friendly atmosphere in their company with a relaxed, open and respectful corporate culture, appropriate pay or flexible working hours.

And for us, these aspects are also among the cornerstones of our company. That's why we're such a diverse bunch. Other values such as mutual respect and communication at eye level are also important to us - both here in Germany and among our teams in Romania, India and Pakistan. In the future, we will continue to dedicate ourselves to strengthening employee rights, for example with regard to flexibility in the workplace - be curious and follow more news on LinkedIn!