Page 33 - Women in Rail

Quotas – do they work? Do we need them?
Quotas for women (or other groups) are controversial. So what are they?
“Quotas! Si of wai ng for equal representa on (par cularly
at a leadership level) to happen organically. Even the most
progressive male supporters still don’t understand how hard it is.
Quotas are used to promote positive action in relation to the employment of women or other groups, who are poorly represented in particular areas. This may mean specific roles, or the setting aside of a number of roles specifically for that group. It may mean that
an organisation commits to a target – for example an organisation may commit that, by a specified date, the Board will have equal female/male representation.
“ ere is a big focus in rail on merit but it’s not true – who is testing the ‘merit’ in the decisions being made when it’s a man... it’s not true that decisions are made on merit. If you have the same CV as a guy, the guy will get the job as he knows the recruiter or decision maker. Power speaks to power – just get rid of the statements on merit as it is not true.
The Verdict
Quotas often promote a discussion regarding merit. The myth of meritocracy is best addressed by this quote from one of our respondents:
The issue is complex and, as some women also suggested, some organisations committing to female representative targets are doing so because it is relatively easy and ‘ticks a box’. Again, the words of our respondents capture this sentiment best:
Whatever an organisation decides regarding quotas or targets – this should only be one aspect of a broader strategy. As one of our respondents pointed out, this is a relatively easy achievement when whole-of-cultural change is needed.
“ e question for the rail industry is not why there are so few excep onal women at the top. e real question is how so many average men get so far...
“Recrui ng women in leadership roles is easy – it doesn’t impress me – it’s the everyday cul re that is the important thing. We talk about how good our numbers are in leadership roles but that is easy – you just recruit them.
In other words, questions of merit (aptitude, competence, experience) are not applied to men in the same way they are raised in relation to women. This is often the case in relation to ‘traditionally’ male dominated industries or areas.
“When I first started, my manager asked me if I was te nical enough for the role. We both had the same qualifica ons and I had worked as long in the industry. I wonder if he’d ask the same of a guy. He’s like ‘do you believe you are te nical enough’. It was a one-to-one mee ng – so where can I go om there.
Targets may be useful to promote women into leadership roles.
However, an awareness of other misconceptions regarding targets (or quotas) is needed, with appropriate strategies to address them.
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