LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / February 10, 2022 / In 2019, the number of women worldwide who were in senior management roles rose to 29%, the highest on record. This increase raises an interesting question: while we can assume this was a welcomed development for females and likely for a significant number of men as well, was it really a celebration for women's rights advocates? After all, women make up nearly half of the global population, so the fact that roughly 71% of senior roles were still held by men suggests that the rise might not have been the advancement some thought it was. With 195 countries, 7.9B people, and countless cultures, it is clearly impossible to generalize about why women continue to not occupy so many leadership roles or about ways to increase the percentage. However, MirrorWater Entertainment, creator of EMPOWERED: Women Shaping the Future and led by its CEO Christina Rose, believes that by making documentaries about women in that 29%, pathways can potentially be opened for more to follow in their footsteps.
The Problem Many Women Around the World Face in Their Nations' Workforces
One issue that can contribute to women being barred from higher roles at work is gender bias. In many countries, including the United States, men have traditionally filled executive positions, a pattern that, while evolving, has helped contribute to the idea that leadership traits are exhibited by males, not females.
Sexual harassment is also an issue, with 37% of women saying that it has interfered with the advancement of their careers. If a woman feels uncomfortable or threatened at her position, she may resign and face the problem of having to find a new job, one that could pay less and cause her to lose the career momentum she had been building.
Sometimes women are kept out of senior management roles due to cultural issues. Some jobs, including in STEM fields, are seen as unsuitable for women, who may also find themselves locked out because of cultural expectations that they will stay home to have children and take care of their families.
"One of the important things to differentiate between is a woman who wants to rise in the workplace and one who does not," says MirrorWater Entertainment. "We support a woman's right to stay at home with her family, of course. However, in our talks with women around the world, we have often found that many would like to have good jobs that are challenging, and they are frustrated that for different reasons, they are unable to do that."
How MirrorWater Entertainment Is Working to Help More Women Rise in the Workforce
"We wanted to help more women go as far in their careers as they dreamed of doing and to do our part to counter the idea that women are limited in what they can do," says the company. "We ultimately decided to make EMPOWERED: Women Shaping the Future for two reasons: film is a wonderful medium for connecting with large populations, and we could really focus on the stories of six women, allowing their courage and ambition to resonate with audiences."
MirrorWater Entertainment continues, "In looking around the world at the situation for women, we found no shortage of stories we could tell. We were inspired by how women are working hard to push forward in their fields. We finally settled on six incredible women, including an Alaskan fisherwoman, a Chinese orchestra conductor, a German astronaut-trainee, a Hungarian race car driver, a Puerto Rican baseball player, and an Indian pilot of a Boeing 777."
The company says that by going into the story of each woman in depth, including her hardships, journey, success, and dreams, they hope that more men and women will realize that women can hold leadership positions. "The situation will not change overnight, of course," MirrorWater Entertainment states. "However, it can, and will, evolve. We want to empower every woman on the planet even if we do it one at a time."
The Future for Women in the Workplace
As MirrorWater Entertainment says, it will take time for women who want to occupy senior job roles to do so. However, if more documentaries like EMPOWERED: Women Shaping the Future are made, we will likely uncover more stories of inspirational women, perhaps leading to the day when everyone - male or female - is capable of going as far as they dream.
