SCHOOL Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) Business School GOOD EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES AT HEART OF NEW PROGRAMME
COUNTRY UK
anchester Metropolitan University (MMU) Business School has launched a new
M
DEPTH OF DISCRIMINATION IN CHILE’S CONSTRUCTION SECTOR REVEALED
part-time MBA programme aimed at developing responsible leaders who are not only equipped to navigate complex corporate landscapes, but also committed to fostering a positive employment environment. The programme draws on the university’s board-level involvement with the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter (GMGEC), an initiative dedicated to promoting fair and inclusive employment practices as a means of contributing positively to the wider community and setting standards for ethical business conduct. The new MBA incorporates practical insights and real-world applications of good employment practices from speakers and researchers involved in the initiative, with several ongoing projects involving MMU faculty feeding into the programme. These include the Greater Manchester Good Employment Learning Lab, a platform for collaboration between researchers, policymakers, practitioners and managers. Students also benefit from access to GMGEC’s network of more than 1,000 businesses, from small enterprises to large corporations, through networking and knowledge-sharing events. TBD
of harassment and discrimination, alongside wage gaps and a lack of adequate infrastructure as obstacles to women’s entry and retention in the sector. To address these barriers, many female employees opt for strategies such as over-qualifying themselves academically or ‘masculinising’ their behaviour. Another key finding of the study is the precariousness of workplace infrastructure, with 63 per cent of women reporting that there are no lactation rooms and 43 per cent indicating that there is no access to nurseries or childcare arrangements. The results of the study were presented at an event attended by Chile’s Minister of Women and Gender Equality, Antonia Orellana, along with public and private sector leaders. “It’s not just about opening up spaces for women in construction, but also about ensuring decent and safe conditions. Without bathrooms or changing rooms and with a 30 per cent wage gap, there is no real equality,” declared Orellana. CD
C onstruction remains one of the most exclusionary industries for women in Chile, with females making up only nine per cent of the workforce, according to a report led by Carla Rojas Neculhual, gender and inclusion co-ordinator of FEN UChile’s People Management Observatory. The report details the discrimination and harassment faced by the construction sector’s female minority: some 60 per cent of workers perceive gender discrimination and 50 per cent have been subjected to derogatory comments, while 44 per cent have feared being harassed. Indeed, the study highlights normalisation SCHOOL Facultad de Economía y Negocios Universidad de Chile (FEN UChile) COUNTRY Chile
Business Impact • ISSUE 3 • 2025 8
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