Many high-level positions in companies are filled by men even though the workforce in many developed countries is more than 50 per cent female. Companies should be required to allocate a certain percentage of these positions to women. To what...

In many developed countries, the workforce often consists of more women than men. However, most senior-level positions are filled by men. Hence, some people argue that a certain number of these positions should be reserved for women. Personally, I do not agree with this statement.
Firstly, what the companies truly need are the most qualified employees, and good qualifications can not be affected by gender. Allocating high-level positions to women will benefit neither the company nor female workers. Taking on people who can not adapt to working condition will make the company confront many difficulties, affect profit, productivity and public image. The point is, a company should only choose the best people to develop its operation. No matter what the employees’ gender is, provided that they have excellent capabilities, experience and skills, there can not be any problem in promoting them. For instance, Western Europe is one of the most developed regions, which includes many leading countries in the concept of gender equality such as Germany, the United Kingdom or France. Nevertheless, according to the “People Matters”, women only made up for about a third of the government’s officers as well as senior-level positions.
Secondly, most women tend to need quite an amount of time off to have children and take care of their families. As a matter of fact, women bear a great responsibility for childbearing. Even though this is not a serious issue in every nation, but it does happen in most countries of the world, especially in Asian Region. For example, maternity leave normally given under Russian labour law is 140 days at 100% of salary. This can increase to 194 days in the event of multiple pregnancies or complications. Taking maternity leave while working in high-level positions can have a negative impact on both women and the firm. It could be an obstacle for female workers to get back to employment after a long period of being off work, as they could lose track of the company’s developing progress. Besides, women can hardly leave behind all the worries about their children to devote themselves to work. If women are put under too much pressure, they could eventually suffer from postpartum depression. The companies also have to face a lot of difficulties in replacing and reorganizing the human resources with a view to operating properly while the female leaders are absent.
In conclusion, I strongly believe that allocating women to high–level positions just to obtain gender equality can only cause more harm than good. Employees should be recruited based on expertise and high qualifications, not on gender.