Could gender diversity be the secret tool to improve productivity and boost your bottom line? Increased gender diversity and equality can be the key to your company’s future success.
Despite growing awareness of the importance of gender equality in the workplace, organisations are still falling short in terms of recruitment, retention and development of female employees. Many organisations still fail to devote time, effort and attention into building a culture that harnesses the potential of both men and women.
Many industries are heavily unbalanced - some having a high proportion of men and others a high proportion of women. More often than not, women have borne the brunt of biased treatment and been stuck in lower-paying jobs.
Gender diversity does not mean the company needs to have strict ratios or quotas; it simply means leaders should ensure fair representation of both sexes at every level.
How Gender Equality Can Benefit Your Company
Gender diversity not only empowers women but also impacts productivity and success in significant ways. Research shows workplaces with a broad spectrum of employee representation generate more new ideas and consequently productivity is increased across the whole organisation.
Failing to increase women’s representation results in missing out on unique skills, talents and attributes that a valuable employee brings to the table. Gender diversity should be an objective to be attained at all levels of your organisation, especially at board and executive level where frequently fewer women are to be found.
When potential candidates see a gender-balanced culture, they are more likely to want to work for your company.
How Can Leaders Cultivate, Manage and Reinforce Gender-Diversity
As your company embarks upon a new initiative to increase diversity and inclusion, it is vital you incorporate systemic changes that helps attract, retain and develop diverse candidates. It’s not enough to proclaim that you plan to hire more female employees. Discuss the topic frequently with your teams and explore the benefits of gender-balanced workforces. Hire experts who can train your staff in addressing and resolving unconscious bias issues. This will pave the way for easier acceptance and onboarding of new staff.
Challenge traditional recruiting practices that are no longer producing the results you want. Rewrite your job adverts and postings to reflect your company’s vision by including gender-neutral language to attract the right candidates. Take a closer look at company pay scales and offer fair compensation regardless of gender. Consider increasing flexitime, telecommuting and part-time work options to accommodate the needs of employees with families.
Most importantly, reinforce stringent rules regarding respectful, appropriate and courteous behaviour in the workplace.
Contact Symmetra today to learn how your organisation could benefit from unconscious bias awareness training. We customise diversity and inclusion training courses for a lasting impact in terms of awareness, performance and productivity. Our experienced D & I team will help your leaders drive the narrative for gender diversity (and other forms of diversity) and inclusion.
