Women at the Helm - Planters Development Bank

SME FocusCase StudyGender-fairnessvs. gender equalityin the workplaceBy Art IlanoPolemic Enterprises* has enjoyeddecades of peaceful labor relations,which was an unusual feat inthe often tumultuous electricalsubcontracting industry. OwnerThelma Wenceslao,* known as LolaThelma, attributes this to a genuinesensitivity to the needs of theiremployees. “Sometimes it takes amother’s touch,” says the 70-year-oldfounder who adds that she treats allof her employees like family. Becauseof this, their employee turnover ratewas among the lowest in the industry,and many of their original employeeswere still with them.But what Lola Thelma considers as thecompany’s crowning achievement wasits pursuit of gender-fair policies inthe workplace.“Gender fairness, not genderequality,” emphasizes Thelma.“Gender equality assumes that bothmen and women can do the samejobs. That’s not realistic.”In fact, at Polemic Enterprises, jobsare categorized as being eithermasculine or feminine—somethingthat initially horrifies visitors whoinstantly assume that the company ispromoting a sexist culture.“On the contrary, awareness of theessential differences between menand women is what makes genderfairness possible,” explains LolaThelma. “If this means acknowledgingthat men are better suited forphysically rigorous tasks while womenare better suited for detail-work, thenso be it.”This can be seen in their workflow charts, where tasks such as“Electrical Inspection” and “VisualInspection” actually have gendersymbols for Female on them, whilemore physical tasks such as “WireStripping” and “Packing” havegender symbols for Male.Having said that, however, LolaThelma quickly emphasizes thatnothing is stopping men and womenfrom trying out the others’ jobs.“Empirically, women are better atdetail work. But every so often,we find a man who happens toexcel here as well. So we definitelyencourage him to work at the detailorientedtasks. And the same goesfor women. Sometimes we getwomen who are stronger than themen, and they’re happy doing morephysically taxing work.“The symbols on our charts actuallydenote dominance rather thanbeing strict rules. Inspection work iswomen-dominated, while physicalwork is men-dominated.”Perhaps the gender-fair system canbest be seen in their maternity-leavepolicies. The company gives pregnantemployees the option to take a fullmaternity leave of nine months toa year while still receiving twentypercent of their pay.At first glance, it looks likea formidable cost item for amanufacturing firm. But LolaThelma sees it otherwise. “Theleave is an option, and it makessense because when a woman ispregnant, there are days when sheis unable to perform optimally,which is not good for a qualityorientedbusiness,” she says.“It’s also possible that she wouldsuddenly become absent, whichwreaks havoc on our scheduling.“However, by making the leaveoptional, we put the burden ofrisk on the employee’s hands. Ifshe chooses not to take the leave,then the responsibility for beingpresent and performing well ishers. She better perform or not atall. Either way, employee presenceand performance is now morepredictable, leading to better qualityscheduling and shifts management.”It is this awareness of genderdifferences that make PolemicEnterprises an example of howgender fairness is different fromgender equality, and why it can begood for business.*All names of characters and businesseshave been disguised to ensure privacy.SME | 12