10 Ways to Make Your Workplace Better for Women
In this article, you will find out ways to make your workplace better for women. Running a successful business means that you must have the best and most qualified individuals working for you. Many companies can go even further if they look for skilled people in a diverse talent pool.
In today’s corporate world, having a group of decision makers who are women on board with your company can benefit your group’s direction.
Table of Contents
Here are 10 ways to help encourage women at your workplace to find success.
- Offer Better Pay
The first thing to change within the industry is pay rates. Women typically make less than men for the same type of work, so be sure that you have fair compensation packages available for all of your employees.
If your company has trouble attracting qualified women, make sure your pay is something that can bring in new possible hires.
- Find New Talent
Once you have hired individuals for your company, be on the lookout for women who could be leaders.
Some women may be quieter in their demonstration of competence and skill, so it’s important for supervisors to look beyond just the person with the loudest voice.
Look at the people who really are getting everything done, and spend some time with your employees to get a clearer picture.
- Recognize Bias
Unfortunately, sometimes there is still residual bias towards men lingering in the workplace. Certain types of jobs may be affected by this bias more than others.
Review your own thoughts about promoting a female with the same or better qualities than a male counterpart. Avoid making generalizations about each individual.
- Hire Female Supervisors
In order to promote more opportunities for women in your business, it’s vital to have strong female role models as leaders in your current corporate structure.
Having several female managers can help your other female employees feel like they could advance within the company as well. This also sends a message that your workplace and management team are more representative of your employees.
- Understand Different Work Styles
A female friendly workplace is also open to different types of work styles.
In many situations, you may have to bring your employees together to work as a team.
With the different work styles, this could be helpful if you’re looking for new ideas and methodologies. Some workers are more logical, while others are more focused on the emotional impact of things.
Additionally, some people are great at understanding the big picture of an idea, and other workers do much better with the smallest details.
- End Male-Dominated Culture
If you are truly committed to creating a workplace that values people of both genders, it’s vital to eliminate the male-dominated culture of a workplace.
This type of work environment is intimidating to women and can make advancement difficult for them. A male dominated workplace may hold business meetings on golf courses or other sports events.
It may also value aggressive discussion techniques that many women don’t feel as comfortable participating in.
7. Promote Family-Friendly Policies
A female friendly office is also one that has more policies that benefit families.
Since women are usually the ones that take parental leave, it’s important to provide paid leave during this time period. Women with small children often feel left behind, and employers can do more to help them feel more encouraged.
Offering flexible schedules and incentives for childcare could help keep these talented women on board with your company.
8. Encourage Diversity Across the Board
Many leaders have found that by encouraging diversity of all groups of people in a company can help women feel more comfortable with an organization.
When companies make it a point to recruit people from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences, it makes for a much more comfortable working environment for everyone.
Then, it’s essential to ensure that everyone is able to share their ideas and feel supported by each other.
9. Get Outside Help
Sometimes, if you really want to make your workplace the best it can be when it comes to diversity, you’ll need outside help.
Many companies invest in diversity training, consultants like Luke Visconti, or cultural proficiency courses. These resources can help you and your staff be more open to new opportunities and ways to define success at your company.
10. Celebrate Differences
Finally, whatever you do, be sure to celebrate the differences of people at your company, not just ignore them. Too many company presidents are worried about bringing up the differences among their employees, in fear of offending someone.
Some people feel that it is more offensive to pretend that everyone is the same. When you have a diverse group of people working together to create something successful, it’s a wonderful thing.
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