Peter
There are more CEOs named Peter than female CEOs.
My name is Peter
Women are strongly underrepresented in decision-making positions: of the 94 CEOs in the Netherlands, 5 are women. Women have much less influence than men.
It’s time to change this!
That’s why BrandedU and WOMEN Inc. are asking all women to change their first name to Peter on LinkedIn between January 24 and January 28, to draw attention to the unequal gender distribution in the workplace.
About WOMEN Inc.
WOMEN Inc. has been committed to equal opportunities for women and men in the Netherlands for more than 15 years, including equal opportunities in the labor market. We aim for 50% women in decision-making positions. Of all the domains examined in the Gender Equality Index (2020), the Netherlands currently scores worst on the representation of women in decision-making positions. That must change!
About BrandedU
Since 2014 BrandedU has been equipping women with personal branding tools, insights and inspiration to accelerate their career journey to the top. We’re here to change the game by closing the visibility gap and ensure the work of female professionals is amplified and recognized. We believe in a workplace, where there is equal women’s representation in executive leadership and pipeline.
About The Family
The Family Amsterdam is an independent creative agency, founded in 2019. At The Family we like to work closely with our clients, that’s why we prefer to call them our family. Together we create integrated campaigns for the Netherlands and abroad. We contributed selflessly to this campaign.
Causes of unequal representation
The causes of this inequality are both cultural and systemic. For example, the unequal distribution of work and care duties between men and women has a major impact on their employment opportunities. But gender stereotyping (prejudice based on someone’s gender) also stands in the way of women reaching the top positions in business. Fewer women at the top also means there are fewer role models, and visible role models play a vital role in helping more women reach decision-making positions.
Importance of representation
Representation in the workplace is important, you can’t be what you can’t see. It works like a chain reaction: as more women move into decision-making positions, role models are created who can support others with similar ambitions. For an inclusive workplace it is important that people see themselves in different layers of the organization.
50% of women in decision-making positions and a more equal distribution has many advantages:
- Multiple perspectives ensure more balanced decisions.
- Organizations that reflect society contribute to combating social inequality and reducing prejudice against certain groups in society.
- Feminine values play an increasingly important role in effective leadership. Leaders with feminine qualities such as empathy, collaboration and risk avoidance are indispensable for teams that want to function well in today’s society.
- Paying attention to representation and promotion yields financial benefits: companies with more gender diversity in leadership positions make more profit than companies with less gender diversity.
Facts and figures
And the other numbers don’t lie either:
12%
Only 12% of the board of directors of listed companies is female.
Less than 25%
Less than a quarter of professors in universities are women.
37%
Only 37% of the Dutch parliament consists of women.
100
In the 100 largest companies in the Netherlands, only 14% of the general managers are women.
28%
The mid-management of large companies consists of 28% of women.
What can you do?
In the week of January 24 to 28, we call on all women to change their name on LinkedIn to Peter. With this we draw attention to the unequal gender distribution in the (mid)management of companies.