5 Ways to Improve Gender Equality at Work

The best work is done in environments where employees feel they are valued and treated fairly. By focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion to bridge the gender gap, you can make the necessary steps to attract, retain, and develop your top talent.

1. Focus on Diversity During your Recruitment Process

It all starts with your recruitment process.

• The hiring process should be free of internal biases (there are creative ways to do this!)

• Create accurate and inclusive job descriptions for every level of seniority within your organization, source a gender-diverse candidate pipeline, and conduct fair interviews.

2. Create Fair Compensation and Promotion Procedures

• Create an employee compensation program that is fair, equitable, and transparent; include a variety of direct and indirect types of compensation.

• Offer equal pay for equal work.

• Offer competitive and fair pay to attract and retain top talent.

• Enable transparent evaluation and promotion procedures: ensure women and men are put up for promotions at similar rates, monitor outcomes to make sure they are equitable, and root out biased aspects of their evaluation processes.

3.     Offer Flexible and Supportive Employee Benefits 

Since the pandemic, some studies have shown women may be disproportionally affected by burnout, stress, and exhaustion compared to their male counterparts. In one study, 1 in 3 women said they considered downshifting their career or leaving the workforce (Krivkovich et al., 2022). 

 How to reduce burnout: 

• Consider offering comprehensive benefits and opportunities for better work-life balance like better access to childcare and greater acceptance of flexible work arrangements (remote, hybrid, and flexible scheduling). Gather input from your employee base to help in meaningful decision making.

4.     Create an Inclusion and Diversity Program  

• Offer high-quality inclusion and diversity programs customized to your business to address any potential biases and educate managers on the “why” behind inclusion.

5.     Teach Managers What It Means to Be Accountable

• Managers should understand the fundamentals of the importance of gender diversity and treat it as an integral part of their business strategy.

• Managers should be equipped to support their teams -- this includes more specific and actionable training such as how to minimize burnout and ensure promotions are equitable. 

• Reward managers that excel. Companies should take steps to signal their expectations and reward results clearly, such as sharing well-being and diversity metrics with all employees and publicly acknowledging managers who stand out for their efforts to support employees and foster inclusion on their teams.

Your Human Capital Consultant at The Encompass Group can assist you in completing a Fair Pay compensation analysis, implementing surveys, and developing managers on topics around Inclusion and Diversity. In addition, your Talent Strategist is well-versed in hiring practices that promote diversity. Please reach out with any questions.

Sources:

Krivkovich et al. (2022). Women in the Workplace 2022. McKinsey & Company. 
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace  

Schooley, Skye. (2023). Facing the Gender Gap in the Workplace. Business News Daily. 
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4178-gender-gap-workplace.html