Want To Empower Women In The Workplace? Start By Addressing These Common Challenges.
Source: Reworked, Sarah Deane
Photo: ThisisEngineering RAEng
Supporting women in the workplace is not just a matter of fairness or equality; it’s a strategic imperative for organizations aiming to thrive in today’s global economy. A diverse workforce, inclusive of women at all levels, fosters creativity, innovation and a broader understanding of customer needs. In fact, research shows that organizations in the top quartile for gender diversity have a 25% greater likelihood of financially outperforming their peers. Despite this, women continue to face unique challenges in the workplace, including gender bias, wage gaps, workplace safety issues and underrepresentation in leadership roles. Let’s delve into common obstacles and measures to foster a more inclusive environment!
Common Challenges Faced
Gender Stereotyping
Gender stereotypes and unconscious bias, such as perceptions of women being less assertive, ambitious or fit for leadership, significantly impact their career progression. Biases like the “likability bias” and “prove-it-again” bias affect women’s promotion prospects and require them to repeatedly prove their competence. This not only restricts women’s opportunities but also hinders organizational growth by limiting diverse leadership and perspectives.
Work-Life Balance
Many women grapple with balancing professional duties and caregiving responsibilities, a challenge exacerbated by traditional work models lacking in flexibility or remote options. This dilemma can force women into choosing between career advancement and caregiving, impeding their progression and widening the leadership gender gap. The inflexibility of standard work settings overlooks the changing nature of family dynamics and the necessity for workplace adaptation, affecting women’s career paths and continuing systemic inequalities.
The Lack of Female Representation in Leadership
Data indicates that women are significantly underrepresented in executive roles and on boards. Women can frequently encounter challenges in accessing the same level of guidance, sponsorship, and professional networks that can propel careers forward. This highlights the need for deliberate efforts to ensure they have equal chances at these factors that are instrumental in reaching executive levels.
Internal Challenges
Reizel Larrea-Alvarez, a certified facilitator, coach and trainer who guides women in reframing their internal challenges, notes that a significant challenge she sees, “is the struggle with self-confidence and imposter syndrome.”
As she said: “Despite demonstrating exceptional dedication and making significant contributions to their organizations, women often struggle with feelings of doubt and inadequacy, tending to downplay their achievements and overlook celebrating their successes, regardless of their roles within the company.” Tackling this can require personalized development, however it is worth it, as celebrating wins can nurture self-confidence and support future success.
Ways Organizations Can Support Women
There are many ways to support women in the workplace, here’s some to get you started!
Implementing Comprehensive Diversity and Inclusion Policies
Adopting comprehensive D&I policies is essential. Clear policies, like a Non-Discrimination Policy, should explicitly prohibit discrimination on various grounds and detail accessible mechanisms for reporting discrimination, the investigative process, and the consequences for those found in violation. Implementing these policies demonstrates an organization’s commitment to a fair and equitable work environment, setting the foundation for a diverse and productive workforce.
Ask yourself: Are your policies clear, transparent and upheld? Do they enable employees to feel safe and supported?
Creating Flexible Work Arrangements
Flexible hours, remote work and adequate parental leave helps support work-life integration, catering to the varied needs of employees including parents, caregivers and those with disabilities. This creates an inclusive workplace that respects different lifestyles. Companies adopting these practices see benefits like higher satisfaction, retention and productivity, setting a standard for diversity and inclusion in today’s work environment.
Ask yourself: Are you considering the diverse needs of your employees to enable them to be their best selves? Or are you in one of those rarely-successful one size fits most strategies?
Closing the Gender Pay Gap
Conducting pay equity audits means examining compensation data by role, demographics, effort and impact to spot disparities. It’s about establishing clear, transparent pay scales and criteria for performance reviews, based on concrete metrics rather than subjective judgment. This approach reduces biases, clarifies how pay decisions are made, and promotes a culture of fairness and trust, crucial for correcting pay inequities and creating a more equitable workplace.
Fostering Female Leadership
Creating programs to identify and develop women leaders is key to enhancing gender diversity at the top levels of business. Such initiatives might include leadership programs and personalized development plans to prepare women to advance and remove any internal blockers. Mentorship offers valuable insights and advice, while sponsorship involves active advocacy for women, helping them secure opportunities and recognition. Start right at the beginning by addressing any hiring biases. Anonymized resumes, diverse panels and partnering with diverse recruitment sources all ensure a qualified candidate pool. These efforts collectively support women’s rise to leadership roles, bringing diverse perspectives and styles to enrich organizational culture.
Creating opportunities for women to showcase their talents and contributions within the organization is also essential. “By actively recognizing and celebrating the achievements of women, organizations can inspire them to recognize their strengths, overcome self-doubt and pave the way to reach their full potential,” Larrea -Alvarez noted.
Ask yourself: Do you have qualified women candidates on the slate to begin with? Once they are in, do you have the mechanisms in place to support their progression and celebrate their achievements?
Building a Safe and Supportive Work Environment
Raising awareness to minimize unconscious bias and prevent harassment is crucial. Training and development opportunities can help employees understand their own biases and the effects of their actions, promoting a culture of respect. It’s also vital to have a clear process for reporting grievances, ensuring confidentiality, fair investigations, and appropriate actions against misconduct.
Ask yourself: How do you know your training is effective? Anyone can sit through a 1-hour training, but how do you apply the learnings and transform it into action?
Supporting Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
Encouraging ERGs for diverse demographics and experiences enhances community, support, and inclusion within a company. These groups offer a platform for employees to share experiences and address common challenges. Recognizing and financially supporting these ERGs enables them to plan events, professional development activities, and other initiatives that benefit not just the group members but the entire organization.
Ask yourself: Do you actually invest in these groups as needed to support them being powerful vehicles of support and meaningful change?
Transparency and Accountability
Regularly report on DEI progress towards measurable goals, such as hiring diversity (at all stages of the process), promotion of underrepresented groups and pay equity. Hold leaders accountable for DEI achievements by incorporating these targets into performance reviews and decision-making processes.
Ask yourself: What do you expect of your leaders when it comes to DEI? How do you know what creates meaningful change and how do you hold them accountable?
The Role of Male Allies
Male allies play a crucial role in supporting women. For starters, they can avoid assumptions about women’s capabilities and emotions. They can champion women’s advancement by sponsoring and advocating for them, especially in their absence, and seizing opportunities to promote their visibility and leadership. When witnessing any form of injustice, from inappropriate comments to exclusion from opportunities, they can also advocate for fairness. By embodying supportive behaviors, transparency and accountability, and focusing on what can be controlled and changed within their sphere of influence, men can significantly contribute to fostering an equitable and inclusive environment.
“Male allies also play a crucial role in fostering a culture of celebration and recognition in the workplace, especially for women,” Larrea -Alvarez said. “This includes acknowledging both small victories and major milestones, offering sincere praise, and providing opportunities for women to showcase their talents. As creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to celebrate their achievements is vital for organizational creativity and success.”
Ask yourself: What action can you take today within your sphere of influence to support the success and advancement of women?
Going Beyond Policies
Is your organization suffering from check-box-itis? Have you taken actions, but can demonstrate little meaningful progress? Cultivating a truly inclusive culture goes beyond policy creation and enactment; it requires embedding DEI values within organizational behavior and attitudes. It means fostering an environment where diverse perspectives are genuinely valued, employees feel they belong and equity is visible in everyday interactions and decision-making processes. It involves continuous education, challenging unconscious biases and encouraging inclusive behaviors, ensuring that DEI principles are lived experiences, not just written mandates.
Cultivating such a culture demands commitment and action throughout an organization, especially from leadership, to reflect these values in every facet of workplace life. Policies without a supporting culture may lead to checkbox exercises that don’t bring real change, while attempts to foster an inclusive culture without policies can lack direction and consistency. The most successful organizations integrate both, using policies to set the standards and culture to inspire and sustain meaningful change.
About the Author
Sarah Deane is the CEO and founder of MEvolution. As an expert in human energy and capacity, and an innovator working at the intersection of behavioral and cognitive science and AI, Sarah is focused on helping people and organizations relinquish their blockers, restore their energy, reclaim their mental capacity, and redefine their potential.