COACHING FOR FEMALE EMPLOYMENT IN THE DIGITAL SECTOR IN ORDER TO PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY IN THE LABOUR MARKET

4.1. Different methods to meet the individual needs of female learners

When working with any group in general, the personal situation of the participants has to be taken into account to make it possible for them to attend the training and get the most out of it. In the case of groups of women, this is even more important. Historically, women are the ones taking care of most -if not all- of the housework and, if there are children/older people/people in need of care, it is also most likely that women will take the role of caregivers. This is very important when deciding on the schedule of the activity: during school months, it is easier for mothers to attend training sessions that take place in the morning. However, in school holidays or summer breaks, it will be more difficult for women to attend these trainings if the organization does not provide inexpensive or (preferable) free childcare.

In the same way, Londoño et al (2017) highlight other aspects to take into account when working with rural women, although this can apply to any group in general in broad terms, such as the journey learners have to make to go to the place in which the training takes place. To be concise, the needs of learners have to be taken into account even before the training starts: the training program schedule and (whenever possible) location has to be adapted in a way that suits the learners better. In our training, we have to be aware that some learners will not have a computer at home, or at least they will have to share it with other family members. In some cases, they may not even have an Internet connection. This means that educators will have to assess if these women will be able to practice at home and, if not, find a way to overcome the difficulties attached.

During the training, the individual needs and expectations of learners have to be known by the adult educator, who will take them into account when delivering the training. Some learners may lack some basic knowledge needed to benefit from the training, so the educator has to be able to identify and amend that lack. While adult learners seek the educator to assist them in adapting to change (a changing society, a changing labour market, a changing educational model, etc.), the adult educator should seek not only to comply with this expectation, but to empower the learners in order to create learning sustainability. If the adult educator is successful in doing so, after the training, learners will be able to continue enlarging their knowledge on their own, being autonomous. This sustainability created on an individual level during the training process will also permeate to other aspects of life, with the ultimate goal of the learner becoming more autonomous and empowered in every aspect of their lives.

 

4.2 Empower women in career change towards digital sectors

According to the European Institute for Gender Equality - EIGE (2020), the empowerment of women is the “process by which women gain power and control over their own lives and acquire the ability to make strategic choices”. There are five components that lead to women’s empowerment (EIGE, 2020):

• Their sense of self-worth.
• Their rights to have and to determine their choices.
• Their right to have access to opportunities and resources.
• The right to have power to control their own lives.
• Their ability to influence the direction of social change to create more just social and economic order.

 

In order for them to be empowered and feel confident enough to change their lives and engage in the digital sector, the adult educator has to make sure that they acquire and/or develop the first component, which will probably be the easiest one for them to deal with. The others have a strong social core, and it will depend on their family situation and cultural background. According to Tartakovsky (2015), the adult educator can help women develop and boost their self-worth by focusing on these four components that form a pyramid:

• Self-awareness: the adult educator has to make sure that women see themselves as they are, without sugar-coating their situation nor being too negative about it. Only this way, seeing their reality, with their weaknesses and strengths, they will be able to set their goals and progress towards them.
• Self-acceptance: as in the previous point, the educator has to help women in their acceptance process, understanding that they are that way and that they can improve those parts that they are not happy with.
• Self-love: of course, it is essential for the educator to focus and highlight the importance of appreciating ourselves, as these women may tend to diminish themselves. The adult educator has to make sure that women treat themselves as kindly as they would treat others.

Finally, at the top of the pyramid, we would find self-worth, which is a lifelong process, but the adult educator needs to highlight the importance of following all the previous steps to reach it. Before directing women into developing a career in the digital sector, they must be aware of the connotations this will have to their personal life. As it has been already mentioned, many of these women have families, and one of the main barriers that women have to face in the digital field are related with the reconciliation of the “housewife duties” that having a family carries to women, among other barriers that this field has for them (Gil-juarez, 2011). Even though we want them to break barriers and develop their careers, we must be aware of the cost and efforts they may have to make. The adult educator has to guide these women to make sure the path they follow will suit their needs.

4.3 Evaluating weak and strong points and discussing the individual needs of female learners towards achieving the aims

Rogers (1972 in Knowles 1973, 33) says learners will be more interested in learning what they think is related to them and their shelf improvement. This means that talking to the women about their future goals and aspirations will encourage them to follow the path of the training, as they would want to achieve those goals. Because of this, it is also necessary for educators to help them evaluate their skills before setting their goals, as an unrealistic aspiration may have consequences contrary to those desired.  For this reason, it is recommended that the adult educator addresses the strong points of the learners, to guide them into a direction that allows them to exploit their full potential. In the same way, addressing weak points will help the learners know what they have to practice or improve and, if needed, pursue more realistic aims.

Maslow (1972 in Knowles 1973, 31) explains that learners must be safe and self-accepting enough to prefer choosing the growth process instead of being frightened by it. One way to overcome the fear of failure and low self-esteem that learners may have is to talk about them. Acknowledgment is the first step to finding a solution, as there is not any insurmountable problem; and if the acknowledgment comes not only from the women but from the educator, learners will feel more confident about their capacities, despite their personal situations. Being transparent about learners’ weaknesses and strengths will also increase the trust in the educator.

Also, as mentioned by Lakey (2010), when working with groups from an oppressed or disadvantaged background, educators have to be particularly alert not to fall into the bootstrap’s hero or poor victim mind-sets. As Lakey explains, the adult educator who portrays the bootstraps hero image on their group acknowledge the existence of forces and institutions hurting/oppressing them, but they also reinforce the idea that every individual has the potential to change radically their lives through effort, disregarding the role environment plays on the individual’s life. Under this perspective, the individual is to blame for their situation, for not breaking the illusion of oppression and pursuing a better life. On the other hand, educators who have ingrained the poor victim perspective cannot but pity the individuals in front of them who, after perpetuated oppression and discrimination, are no longer able to stand for themselves if it is not through the help of an ally who confronts and fights against that oppression.