5 Ways To Empower Women In The Workplace
We shouldn’t have to wait until International Women’s Day to think about ways to empower women in the workplace. To be able to grow as a company it is critical to be thinking of various aspects throughout the year. In the case of women, it’s thinking about how businesses can be more diversified, inclusive, and fair or at the very least discuss the business’s position on women’s equality.
The following strategies below can help not only in those areas but empower women in the workplace overall.
Connecting Women With Female Mentors
When you’re sharing stories and experiences it allows people to change their minds or take action. This only accelerates the development of women and their careers. It essentially creates a shortcut to success in the workplace. You can see that when you pair a new female recruit with one with years of seniority. They can show them the ropes of the industry amongst many other things.
Reminding Women They’re Valued
Male-dominated workplaces are a standard across many industries and so reminding women who dive into those workplaces can help. Often in those situations, they could be intimidated to raise their opinions. Or they may try to become someone they’re not in order to “fit in”.
This reminder is a way to show that a company appreciates their own unique perspective, skills, dedication, and work ethic. And while this might be obvious, you don’t know fully what it feels like to be in their position.
There are many ways to show women they’re valued. Some examples are bias training and awareness, promoting a safe environment where questions and concerns and challenges are addressed regardless of who brings them up, and lastly having dedicated activities or training for women. Overall, having a vested interest in the growth of female employees will show they are valued and are an important part of the team.
Accommodate The Needs Of All Workers
Beyond work, employees have lives outside it. And with that, they have various problems to deal with. Sure the money from working does help a bit, but it’s not going to ensure they show up to their kid’s extracurricular activities, get to the gym, or have the time to take extra courses or schooling.
Accommodating the needs of employees beyond work can show you care. Things like allowing parents to leave an hour or two earlier, offering parental or maternal leave, and supporting employees’ overall work-life balance. This is especially crucial for managers as employee work-life balance often starts with the manager’s contributions according to Harvard Business Review.
When you enable this across the board, this only improves loyalty and productivity. It’s good to know that when an employee goes to work, they’re being taken care of and respected.
Volunteering For Women-Related Causes
As mentioned, women are vastly underrepresented in many sectors. For example, the tech industry’s jobs have women covering only 20% of the jobs. Now not every woman wants to be in a tech position, it’s still important for companies to diversify and shouldn’t stick to what is comfortable or the industry standard.
One way to empower women at large is to be showing up to various events - especially those targeting women. Make a point of talking to people in your network to get an idea of volunteer opportunities at various events. It’s a good starting point to being more involved.
Supporting International Women’s Day
Empowering women in the workplace is an everyday effort. However, you can show additional support on this particular day once each year. It’s a day where you can give a more dedicated push for women’s rights and this push benefits everyone, not just women.
With that in mind, encourage and allow employees to participate. Better yet, give away branded items - ideally something worth more than just a good PR stunt.
Conclusion
In the end, supporting women is supporting the company and the world at large. We’ve seen time and time again how diversity and inclusion can help grow a company and make a positive impact in the world. And in order to make the most of it, it begins on the ground level with those who are keeping the company functional - the employees. Making their lives better in every fashion regardless of gender is a good step forward.
