Creating a workplace that is collaborative, respectful, and encouraging is simply not enough – to truly support and empower women, it is necessary to create a culture that presents them with equal opportunities.

It is now so much more than just a business decision or checklist excersise to meet workplace diversity, inclusion and equality, it’s a moral imperative and will play a key role in the future of work. Companies that fail to take this into account are no longer reaching their full potential.

Despite women making greater strides in the workplace in the last decade, they still face significant challenges, such as fewer promotion and leadership opportunities, pay gaps, bias and stereotypes, and struggles in striking a good work-life balance. The Mckinsey Women in the Workplace Report (October 2022) found for every 100 men who are promoted from entry-level roles to manager positions, only 87 women are promoted.

We need to take action to prevent more women from leaving the workplace, in order to ensure the next generation of leaders is well-represented rather than compromised.

 

 

So, how can we support women in the workplace better and build an environment in which they can thrive?

Pay Equity

There is still a pay gap between men and women, and this gap only widens as you move up the ladder of seniority. In April 2022 pay for full time employees was 8.3% less for women than men, and as we moved into senior leader and executive territory the gap worsens to 18.6% (ONS). It’s important to create a culture that encourages women to negotiate their pay comfortably, and for you as an organisation to be transparent and honest about pay policies, processes, decision making, promotions and rewards. This can all help towards reducing the pay gap and the inequalities that exist.

Flexible Working Arrangements

Women may struggle to balance their work and personal lives due to having greater caregiving responsibilities, which can sometimes lead to burnout and stress. This can have a negative effect on their careers, as well as their ability to stay in work. 21% of women feel their career progression has been negatively impacted by lack of flexible working, whilst 25% have taken a career break as a result (Personnel Today, 2022). Promoting different ways of working and providing resources that can support work-life integration, such as remote working, flexible hours, and mental health / wellbeing support, can help women to balance their responsibilities better and stay productive in the workplace. This in turn can help them to thrive in their roles and meet objectives better, meaning you get more back from your employees and are more likely to retain them in the long run.

Creating A Supportive Culture

Creating an inclusive workplace is one thing, but creating an environment that is supportive and respectful is also important. Both have challenges within themselves, but when combined they can go a long way towards making work for women more comfortable and successful. When it comes to supporting women in the workplace, open communication, zero tolerance for discrimination, and helping women to progress are all important in creating feelings of safety and security. However, it’s also important to remember that creating a supportive workplace for women doesn’t just mean paying them equally and fairly, and giving them the same opportunities as their male employees. It’s important to celebrate their achievements, make them part of the decision-making process, and allow their voices to be heard. Alongside having empathy, organisations should have the right policies, procedures, and resources in place to support women in more personal challenges they experience, such as maternity, returning to work, and the menopause.

Leadership Opportunities

It’s no secret that there is a global problem with women being underrepresented in leadership roles. As of January 2023, only 5% of CEOs were women, and women make up fewer than 1 in 5 corporate leadership team members (World Economic Forum). This means that women face a constant battle of having to work harder than ever to advance further in their careers in comparison to their male counterparts, despite having strong leadership potential. There are strong misconceptions that women are not cut out for leadership roles because they have caregiving responsibilities, whereas in fact we live in a world where women can and do balance the demands of both working life and their families. It is essential that organisations offer women more leadership opportunities, and recognise their strengths and the value they bring in order to build a workplace where women can thrive. Alongside reducing comparison with male peers. This will all play a part in building a more equitable and gender diverse workforce especially in senior positions, as well as bringing a more purpose driven and people centred approach.

Equal Access To Resources

Many women in many industries don’t have access to role models and mentors of the female gender like males do. This can lead to them missing out on further progression opportunities due to less networking and lack of access to resources. Despite women wanting to support other women and many believing that mentoring is essential to their career growth, the lack of women in leadership positions is having a counter effect on this. The more women that progress into leadership and senior positions, the more female mentorship opportunities there will be available and the more leaders to serve as role models for the next generation of female employees. As an organisation, helping to break down these barriers that exist and providing access to these resources for women, can stimulate an even more supportive culture and a workplace in which females can thrive.

Challenge Bias & Stereotypes

There are many assumptions and beliefs about females in the workplace, that need to be challenged. The common assumptions made tend to be that women are less committed to their careers than males, they don’t want to take on senior roles, and are less suited to leadership than men. Out of 100 senior executive women surveyed, all women reported levels of gender bias to be three times as high as what they ever anticipated (Harvard Business Review 2022). Women would be able to thrive more in the workplace if society didn’t feed into these bias and stereotypes. Organisations need to take a stand to challenge these assumptions within the workplace.

Many organisations now realise that building a workplace environment where women can succeed and thrive is essential for their culture and success. Promoting pay equity, offering flexible working options, creating a supportive culture, providing leadership opportunities, and making it easier to access resources, will go along way towards challenging the bias and stereotypes that exist. As well as promoting a empowering, supportive and inclusive workplace for women both now and in the future.

At Tessiant we are committed to celebrating and recognising our women and continue to strive to build a workplace where they can grow, succeed and thrive. We achieve this through fully flexible working options, providing a supportive culture, offering access to resources through our own mentoring circle and external mentoring programmes, providing equal opportunities to all, achieving pay equity, helping women through more personal challenges in their lives through our enhanced policies and procedures, and finally having our very own role model in one of our founders Anna Barsby, who breaks down the barriers on roles typically dominated by men through leading the way; being one of the very few female CIO’S as well as being within the small handful of females to have founded a management consultancy. Find our more here.