The Importance of Equal Opportunities at Work: Why should we care about it?

Modern societies recognize gender inequalities as a significant social problem and implement human resource policies intended to reduce such issues. Gender equality in labour market is an important issue of development effectiveness since societies that discriminate have a negative effect in their economic growth, weaker governance and a lower overall quality of life. The purpose of this paper is to present the critical parameters for an effective Human Resources Management policy and to highlight the importance of gender equality at work in modern economy and the implications for work and social practices. Data on micro and macro economic indicators, employment rate and gender equality were gathered from published works, national and international databases. The results indicate that gender inequality varies among countries but the problem exists irrespective of the wealth of the society as expressed by the Gross National Income. The challenge for modern societies, countries, European and international institutions is to protect the minorities and prevent gender inequalities at work, particularly when societies experience financial hardship.