“Almost universally, women have failed to reach leading positions

in major corporations and private sector organizations, respective 【M1】__________

of their abilities,” said the author Linda Wirth.“The higher the

position, the glaring the gender gap.” The ILO said men traditionally 【M2】__________

rely in “old boy” networks to climb up the ladder. Women are more 【M3】__________

“invisible” in the corporate world but they are less keen on informal 【M4】__________

gatherings. They are also fighting a losing battle for sexual harassment. 【M5】__________

A British study found that women in one company subjecting to 【M6】__________

continuing sexual harassment and bullying failed to achieve promotion

whatever strategy they used. “Protesting and complaining earned them a 【M7】__________

label of ’ feminist’ and ’ whining’, while trying to be one of the men

invited further harassment,” the ILO report said.

A survey of 300 companies in Britain last year found that just

3 percent of board members are women. In the FTSE top 100 companies 【M8】__________

listed in Britain, women held just 4 percent of directors’ posts, while

female managers earned just 71 percent of the salary of their male

counterpart, the ILO report said. 【M9】__________

British female managers as a whole earned 83 percent of the salaries

of their male counterparts—putting them ahead of their counterparts in

most other countries.

The situation in Germany was no better. A survey of 70,000 largest

companies found that women there held just 1 to 3 percent of the top

executive and boardroom positions. The ILO also reported that the

comparative high proportion of women executives in large French 【M10】_________

companies—13 percent—was now falling again from the 1980s levels.

【M4】