Women in Work Index - how's Poland doing?
Looking for a country that supports gender equality and resents wage gaps? Poland should be on your radar. According to PwC’s Women in Work Index, the country is following suit the Nordic states, which have been occupying top positions in such ranking for years.
We are used to thinking of Iceland, Sweden on Norway leading in all rankings on gender equality, but how about adding Poland to this equation? PwC’s fifth update to the Women in Work Index provides the assessment of female empowerment across 33 OECD countries and according to it Polish women have experienced quite an improvement in this matter.
In the ranking, Poland stands out for achieving the largest annual improvement among European countries. The country rose from 12th to 9th position due to a fall in female unemployment and an increase in the full-time employment rate. The place right after Finland does seem to translate into quite a success, and reportedly, it is only going to get better.
Poland is said to converge gender pay gaps within the next 20 years, presumably by 2021. Since the Polish gap is already quite low (only 6.7 percent), it may possibly take even less time to close than in other countries.
If you are a woman interested in pursuing a career in Poland, please remember that there is still someplace for improvement. The biggest challenge is increasing the number of women on company boards – right now female boardroom representation amounts to only 19 percent in Polish organizations and could definitely use some improvement.
The benefits of the evening the opportunities for men and women are innumerable; one of the reasons for fighting in favor of even more rapid changes in female empowerment is the boost of the economy of a given country in general. Judging by the results delivered this year by PwC, women working in Poland can rest assured that their work contribution is appreciated and valued. The next survey will hopefully bring even more success on Poland's part.
