A Comparative Assessment on How Gender Sensitive

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Reservations Center-Baguio and Courtesy Point

Technologies Are.

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In Partial Fulfillment of the Course Requirements in

MM 298 (Gender and Management)
2nd Semester, SY 2011-2012

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Submitted By

Aliw del Rosario

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July 2012
I. INTRODUCTION

Through the years, in all time periods, women have been marginalized. Women
have always been a pillar of strength for societies through the years even at the
time when women were only perceived to be weak, timid, second class citizens
and only functioned as laborers and homemakers.

Men do play an important role in the society, but as with men, women play an
equally important role as well. Women play multiple roles, women work to
contribute support to their families, some women play the role of head of the
family, women manage homes, women play the role of partner to their spouses,
women bare children and raise them, and with these multiple roles women need
to incorporate time for themselves for rest, recreation and sports.

Through the years, women have raised and molded individuals of continuously
improving societies, and yet in the past they were not eligible to own properties or
to lead, and were not even entitled to the right of suffrage. And although, times
have changed and women these days have more rights, women’s rights are still not
equal to that of men. Also, apart from the ideal of having equal rights, with the
complexity of the several roles of women, women must also be given extra
benefits accordingly based on the health, economic and social circumstances of
the majority of women in the country.

I am very grateful for being born into a time period with relatively significant
improvement when it comes to women’s rights and provisions for necessary
benefits for women. But I still believe we have yet a very long way to go to for the
state-our government to implement laws for equal rights and provisions for
benefits and privileges for women (including marginalized children) to enable
women to function with an equal stance as men.

With the current improvements implemented by the state, I believe there is still
hope, especially now that there are women in power, philanthropy and
governance who recognize the needs and issues of the majority of women in the
country. Women’s issues and needs are very pressing because of the vital roles
women play in the society. Negative outcomes from unaddressed issues and needs
have ripple effects on the overall welfare of the society and to the overall
development of a country.

In 1979, the United Nations launched the Convention of the Elimination of all
forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). CEDAW aims to eradicate any
form of discrimination by convicting or holding any citizen of a participant country
punishable by law for any act of discrimination. The Philippines has adopted the
provisions of CEDAW which include but are not limited to the modification or
abolition of all existing laws and practices that discriminate against women, any
form of exploitation and suppression, women trafficking and prostitution, the right
to suffrage, access to education and ample healthcare, equal rights to properties
and financial transactions.
“The State condemns discrimination against women in all its forms and pursues by
all appropriate means and without delay the policy of eliminating discrimination
against women in keeping with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and other international instruments
consistent with Philippine law. The State shall accord women the rights, protection,
and opportunities available to every member of society.”

Despite the comfort found in the statement above, majority of Filipino women are
still marginalized especially those who stay at home-helpers and housewives or
homemakers, and for these cases there is very little to absolutely no way to
monitor, assist and protect these women from being marginalized. There would
be a long way to go to alleviate or control such issue. Perhaps there should be a
government unit monitoring the welfare of helpers and housewives/homemakers
in order to monitor their access to healthcare, benefits and wages. In line with the
Millennium Development Goal#3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower
Women, these women who stay at home should not be left out and should be
equally protected. These women should be equally reached by the National
Commission on the Role of Filipino women (NCRFW) or Philippine Commission on
Women (PCW).

In compliance to the CEDAW, the state has implemented the Magna Carta of
Women in 2009. The Magna Carta of Women is formerly known as the Magna
Carta for Women and was originally called the Magna Carta of Rural Workers. The
legislative and principal sponsors of such law are Former Sen. Jamby Madrigal,
former chairperson of the Senate Committee on Youth, Women and Family
Relations and Sen. Pia Cayetano-president of the Women Legislator-Members of
the Inter-Parliamentary Union, sponsor of laws that dealt with renewable energy;
crimes against humanitarian law, genocide, and other crimes against humanity;
cheaper medicines; breastfeeding;immunization of children;creation of offices in
local governements for persons with disabilities and the Reproductive Health Bill.

The Magna Carta of Women, includes monitoring of the progress and

implementation of Gender Sensitivity and Equality both in the public and private
sectors, wherein penal provisions shall be implemented and incentives and awards
systems for abiding organizations shall established.

The author of this study has been part of the workforce for five years prior to
committing to motherhood and home management for four years. Courtesy Point
Technologies, a hotel technologies provider has been one of her former employers
prior to leaving the workforce to stay at home to be a full-time mother and part-
time graduate school student of the Institute of Management in UP Baguio. The
author has been a witness herself to the marginalization of women who stay at
home despite of high productivity in such private unit, and has decided to come
back to the workforce for the reason of avoiding marginalization. The author is
now an employee of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).
II. OBJECTIVE

The author of the study has chosen Courtesy Point Technologies’ overall gender
sensitivity in its management to be compared to that of her current employer. The
author recalls her best work and most gratifying experiences with Courtesy Point
Technologies prior to working in IHG and wishes to assess the different strengths
and weaknesses of both firms in order to apply best gender sensitive management
practices in her work capacity.

III. Methodology

The study shall employ the use of the gender sensitivity assessment tool that was
introduced in the MM298 class that has been filled out by the point person in the
Human Resources Department of CPTI and her direct supervisor in IHG. The tool
contains questions under nine strategic criteria that include: 1.) Policies and
Action; 2.) Policy Influence; 3.) Organizational Culture; 4.) Task and Responsibilities;
5.) Decision Making; 6.) Cooperation and Learning; 7.) Expertise; 8.) Room for
Maneuver; and 9.) Attitude. Answers to the questions are answered in scores as to
how strong or weak the categories or the company’s point of views are under the
different organizational functions as practiced in the firm. The scores are tallied
and computed into scores that correspond to specific assessments of how gender
sensitive the firm is, based on gender sensitivity weaknesses and strengths under
each function.

IV. GENDER ANALYSIS

a. Data Collection
The analysis has been based solely on the gathered responses from the 2
identified organizations. The responses are tallied and are averaged. The weighted
averages were rated as Weak (1.0 – 1.75), Needs Improvement (1.76 – 2.3), or
Strong (2.4 – 3). Below is a table showing the rated results.

b. Data Presentation

Table 1: Rated Result

Criteria Organization
Courtesy Point InterContinental Hotels
Technologies Group
Policies and Action Needs Improvement Needs Improvement
Policy Influence Weak Weak
Organizational Culture Strong Strong
Task and Responsibilities Needs Improvement Needs Improvement
Decision Making Strong Needs Improvement
Cooperation and Learning Strong Strong
Expertise Strong Strong
Room for Maneuver Strong Strong
Attitude Strong Strong
 Overall Rating STRONG STRONG
Table 2: Rated Result
(As per Weighted Average)

Criteria Organization
Courtesy Point InterContinental Hotels
Technologies Group
Policies and Action 1.8 1.8
Policy Influence 1.75 1.5
Organizational Culture 2.6 2.5
Task and Responsibilities 2.2 1.8
Decision Making 2.5 2.0
Cooperation and Learning 2.6 2.6
Expertise 2.4 2.8
Room for Maneuver 2.75 2.75
Attitude 2.6 2.4
Overall Rating 2.35 2.23

a. Data Interpretation

Based on Tables 1 and 2, the overall results show that Courtesy Point Technologies
is, although not by far, more gender sensitive compared to InterContinental Hotels
Group. CPTI got an overall rating of “Strong” with a weighted average of 2.35,
while IHG got an overall rating of “Strong” as well with a weighted average of 2.23
only.

Among the 9 categories, CPTI was able to get six “Strong” ratings for
Organizational Culture, Decision Making, Cooperation and Learning, Expertise,
Room for Maneuver, and Attitude. The organization got one “Weak” rating for
Policy Influence got the rate of “Needs Improvement for Policies and Action and
Task and Responsibilities.

On the other hand, IHG only got five “Strong” ratings for Organizational Culture,
Cooperation and Learning, Expertise, Room for Maneuver and Attitude. IHG got
three “Needs Improvement” ratings for Policies and Action, Decision Making and
Task and Responsibilities. And the company is similarly weak in Policy Influence.

The gaps between the two organizations per category did not result to huge
differences; in fact for most categories even with different averages both firms had
the same ratings except for the “Decision Making” category. Under the “Decision
Making” category, CPTI had a “strong” rating and IHG got a “needs improvement”
rating.

Under question number 1 of block 5, “are decisions on gender policy being made
on the basis of monitoring and evaluation exercises,” CPTI answered somewhat
with a corresponding score of 2 while IHG answered no with a corresponding score
of 1. And under question number 3 of block 5, “are gender decisions made in a
timely manner,” CPTI answered yes with a corresponding score of 3 while IHG
answered somewhat with a corresponding score of 2.
 Decision Making, Block 5: CPTI

Block 5: Decision Making YES=3 SOMEWHAT NO=1

=2

Are decisions on gender policy being made on the basis of X

monitoring and evaluation exercises?

Are all staff/officers/members, including gender specialists, X

participating in decision-making processes?

Are gender decisions made in a timely manner? X

Are conflicts in the workplace/organization dealt with adequately? X

(e.g. issues of sexual harassment, or dealing with people who are

resisting change based on gender policies?)

Block 5 10

Decision Making, Block 5: IHG

Block 5: Decision Making YES=3 SOMEWHAT= NO=1

2

Are decisions on gender policy being made on the basis of 

monitoring and evaluation exercises?

Are all staff/officers/members, including gender specialists, 

participating in decision-making processes?

Are gender decisions made in a timely manner? 

Are conflicts in the workplace/organization dealt with adequately? 

(e.g. issues of sexual harassment, or dealing with people who are

resisting change based on gender policies?)

Block 5 8
 Table 3: CPTI- Rated Result
(As per Matrix Form)

INSIGHTS INTO
FUNCTIONS FUNCTIONS OF ORGANIZATION

Mission/Vision, Organizations Human

Goals and Structure, Flow Resources Staff
Strategies of Information Recruitment,
and Development and
Communication Performance

Technical Point
of View: Social NEEDS NEEDS STRONG
Technical and IMPROVEMENT IMPROVEMENT
Resources

Political Point of
View: Power and WEAK STRONG STRONG
Resource
Allocation

Cultural Point of
View: Values, STRONG STRONG STRONG
Standards and
Beliefs

Based on the above matrix, shown in Table 3, CPTI shows to be ”Strong” in gender
sensitivity on its Cultural Point of View (Social Technical and Resources) and Needs
Improvement in most of its areas of Technical Point of View (Social Technical and
Resources). Table 3 also shows that CPTI rates relatively strong in the areas of Political
Point of View (Power and Resource Allocation). Apparently, although CPTI is very strong
in Human Resources Staff Recruitment, Development and Performance, CPTI would
“need improvement in its Mission/Vision, Goals and Strategies as well as in its relatively
strong Organizational Structure, Flow of Information and Communication.
 Table 4: IHG - Rated Result
(As per Matrix Form)

INSIGHTS INTO
FUNCTIONS FUNCTIONS OF ORGANIZATION

Mission/Vision, Organizations Human

Goals and Structure, Flow Resources Staff
Strategies of Information Recruitment,
and Development and
Communication Performance

Technical Point NEEDS

of View: Social NEEDS IMPROVEMENT STRONG
Technical and IMPROVEMENT
Resources

Political Point of
View: Power and WEAK NEEDS STRONG
Resource IMPROVEMENT
Allocation

Cultural Point of
View: Values, STRONG STRONG STRONG
Standards and
Beliefs

Based on the above matrix, shown in Table 3, IHG shows to be ”Strong” in gender
sensitivity when it comes to its Cultural Point of View (Social Technical and Resources)
and would need major improvement in most of its areas of Technical Point of View
(Social Technical and Resources). Table 3 also shows that IHG rates weak and would
need improvement in the areas of Political Point of View (Power and Resource
Allocation). Apparently, although IHG is very strong in Human Resources Staff
Recruitment, Development and Performance, IHG would “need improvement in its
Mission/Vision, Goals and Strategies as well as in its Organizational Structure, Flow of
Information and Communication.
V. CONCLUSION

Both Courtesy Point Technologies Inc (CPTI) and InterContinental Hotels Group
(IHG) are both relatively strong when it comes to gender sensitivity in their
policies, systems and culture.

Both Courtesy Point Technologies Inc (CPTI) and InterContinental Hotels Group
(IHG) need improvement in Policies and Actions, Tasks and Responsibilities that
have to do with gender sensitivity, especially in the areas of Policy Influence
wherein both organizations have scored “weak.”

I had most of my gratifying experiences in my career life as an Operations Manager

for CPTI. I had directly reported to a female superior but majority of the
employees in the company were males including the managing director, although
the firm is owned by a woman. As an Operations Manager, my work was tedious
and very challenging and I was on call 24/7, but I was able to excel and earn the
respect of my colleagues and subordinates, including my superiors who were
mostly male and were older.

Having left the corporate world for four years and having decided to live in Baguio
City left me somewhat insecure about my career competencies. I have missed out
on new management trends and new practices especially in the call center
environment. I am one of IHGs newly hired employees and I am barely on my sixth
month, I cannot deny that working for IHG has been a huge adjustment for me.
And although, IHG is in the hospitality industry, its operations (here) in Baguio City
is relatively similar to that of the BPO industry, providing hotel reservations on the
phone and on-line to off-shore clients.

Finding that IHG has similar practices and policies as CPTI at least in gender
sensitivity when it comes to its Cultural Point of View (Social Technical and
Resources), Technical Point of View (Social Technical and Resources) and Political
Point of View (Power and Resource Allocation) as well as in Human Resources Staff
Recruitment, Development and Performance, and Mission/Vision, Goals and
Strategies and Organizational Structure, Flow of Information and Communication,
is a relief to me. I am more hopeful that as with my experience with CPTI, I would
also grow to love working in IHG and I would similarly have gratifying work
experiences.

IHG has incorporated in its culture and policies the concept of “Room to Grow”-
wherein employees are supported and developed to excel in their careers and the
concept of “Room to be You”-wherein employees are supported in their personal
endeavors and advocacies outside their careers such as family life, travel
endeavors and involvement in sports and arts etc…

IHG scored a few points lower than CPTI in decision making. Perhaps, an
explanation for the difference in “decision making” would be that CPTI is a much
smaller firm than IHG and it has a very organic nature and so decisions on rare and
subjective matters are made much faster. However, the assessment does not
 indicate that IHG, which employ satisfied and raving employees, fail in decision
making or has poor decision making policies. This only indicates that CPTI has
quicker decision making responses as to gender sensitive matters.

VI. RECOMMENDATION

The GAD Plan or Gender and Development Plan has been introduced in the
MM298- Gender and Management Course of the Institute of Management in UP
Baguio. The GAD Plan has been implemented in all government units to
standardize the gender sensitivity in the Policies and Culture of all the government
offices targeted to government employees.

Having no work experience in the government or the public sector I would not be
able to say whether the public sector is more gender sensitive because of the
implementation of the GAD Plan. However, through the Organizational Gender
Sensitivity Assessment tool which was introduced in the same course, shows that
many private organizations have gender sensitive cultures and policies as well.
Perhaps, this is because of their adherence to the mandates of the Magna Carta of
Women even without the implementation of the GAD Plan.

I therefore recommend that there should be a standardized employee

understanding of the basic concepts of gender mainstreaming across both private
and public sectors mandated and monitored by the government through
compulsory seminars and individual employee assessment forms to ensure
understanding, as well as an annual report on the incorporation of gender
sensitive policies and practices in the organization.

Perhaps through strict implementation of increasing awareness and incorporation

of gender mainstreaming concepts in both public and private sectors,
organizations such as IHG and CPTI would be able to improve policies and action
items/areas and tasks and responsibilities in their respective organizations. Also,
through the implementation of increasing awareness and incorporation of gender
mainstreaming concepts, organizations such as IHG and CPTI would be able to
immensely improve weak Policy Influences in gender sensitive areas.

I would also recommend that the GAD Plan would be strictly implemented,
monitored and evaluated in the private sector as well. This will enable
organizations such as CPTI and IHG to incorporate gender sensitive operational
goals and strategies, organizational structures, flow of communication and
information in their respective organizations. This shall increase employee
commitment, loyalty, satisfaction and security. And this is also to achieve and
provide equally gender sensitive working environments for all Filipino workers in
the country-both in the public and private sectors.
 References:

Lengermann and Niebrugge-Brantley,CONTEMPORARY FEMINIST THEORY In

RITZER, George. Sociological Theory pp. 447-493

www.un.org
pcw.gov.ph