Companies across the world often report that they are committed to gender diversity. In reality, this commitment hasn’t yet translated into meaningful progress. Female workers are still paid less than their male counterparts (about 78% of male employees’ earnings) and are still underrepresented in senior management positions (just 5% of Fortune 500 CEOs are female). Over a typical 40-year career, the average working woman in the U.S. earns almost half a million dollars less in wages compared to men in parallel job roles.
A workplace should be an environment where men and women feel cared for and rewarded for their work in equal ways. To focus on creating gender equality in the workplace, consider some of these approaches.
1. Work-Life Balance Prioritization
Due to the lack of childcare support facilities in companies, women often find it difficult to progress in their careers. That leads to a drop in female workforce participation rates. According to an International Labor Organization report, women perform 76% of the total hours of unpaid care work (three times as much as men). Companies can relieve the stress of working mothers by providing paternal leaves for fathers so that mothers can focus on their work. Coming up with flexible work arrangements positively affects the overall work-life balance.
2. Diversity in Hiring Practices
Enterprises with better diversity ratios (including gender diversity) outperform companies with a homogenous workforce. Begin by evaluating your company culture to see whether it is an inclusive place to work. Alter your hiring practices to build a diverse network of people of different genders, as well as ages, work experiences, and backgrounds. It will introduce you to the right people and help you generate new ideas. Have a diverse interview panel, have fair compensation practices, proactively source a gender-diverse pipeline, and change your job descriptions to promote gender equality.
3. Equal Pay
Another important element to consider in a company is equal pay. To eliminate discriminatory pay rate issues and improve transparency, you need to introduce a regular pay structure. Pay needs to be reliant on job roles. Be sure to conduct regular pay audits to evaluate whether or not gender bias is taking place in the company.
4. Consider Leadership Positions for both Men and Women
The stereotype that women are more apt for support-oriented roles and that only men thrive as leaders is the base for gender discrimination in the workplace. Every capable individual with the right knowledge, skills, and experience deserves a leadership role. With a higher number of females in leadership roles, you will see more female employees entering your company because of the opportunities for mentorship and career advancement.
5. Creating an Open-Minded Environment
Having an open-minded policy helps achieve gender equality in the workplace. If most of the departments in your company are gender-biased, it will negatively affect the growth of your enterprise in the long term. Lead by example and appreciate employees based on their performance and talent.
Companies need to institute new family-friendly policies and enlightened compensation – adequate maternity leave, fair promotion practices, and equal pay for equal work. Building a company culture that respects and honors women is important, just as establishing support services that meet their needs.
To learn more about the state of gender equality and get help on finding the best practices of changing your corporate culture into one that supports women more, call me for some complimentary advice. Book an appointment at https://go.oncehub.com/GregNichvalodoff or call me at +1 (604) 943-0800.
