Most Jamaican men and women feel that persons of the opposite sex have a better chance of rising to the top than they do, according to the latest Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson poll.
According to the poll conducted by Johnson and his team on June 18 and 19 among 1,008 residents in 84 communities islandwide, 59 per cent of men believed that women have a better chance of rising to the top, as opposed to 36 per cent who felt that men had a better chance. On the contrary, 56 per cent of women believed that men have a better chance of rising to the top, while 39 per cent said women have a better chance.
Historical perspective
Hilary Nicholson, training coordinator at Women's Media Watch, said women may believe that men have a better chance of rising to the top because historically, more men have been in leadership positions than females.
"If you look at all the major institutions, board rooms in corporate Jamaica, trade unions ... you will see that it is approximately 85 per cent men and 15 per cent women," she toldThe Gleaner.
However, Ms. Nicholson said this is now changing, and men are noticing the difference, adding that more women are now entering middle-management positions.
Ms. Nicholson also pointed out that Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller's ascendancy to the highest level of decision making has come as a shock to some men, and this could be one of the reasons why they are now of the view that women have a better chance of rising to the top.
Women working harder
Dr. Leahcim Semaj, chief executive officer of Job Bank, said men are of the view that more women are rising to the top because the last time more men graduated from the University of the West Indies was 1981.
"(And in) almost every industry, women are holding their own and in many ways, outperforming men," he said.
Meanwhile, the poll results also showed that more women (71 per cent) believe that women have to work harder than men who have the same job because they have to prove themselves, compared to 47 per cent of men.
However, Dr. Semaj said the notion of women having to work harder than their male counterparts is an old phenomenon, adding that women only have to prove themselves to their own sex, as they are their greatest enemies in the labour force.
