Three tips to support women in the workplace
It’s 2022. You wouldn’t think we would need to keep talking about gender equity in the workplace. Though incredible gains have happened for women in all sectors of society, business included, there’s still a long way to go.
One of the best things your company can do moving into 2022 is reaffirming its commitment to women. Even if your company has strong female leadership, it’s essential to learn how to support other women in the workplace for all levels of the workforce. Here are three handy tips to get you started.
1) Create a microlearning program on gender equity
Microlearning is a popular new trend sweeping the business world. Companies like LearnToWin have revolutionized company education by utilizing a new style of learning. Microlearning presents easy-to-digest, quick bites of information rather than offering lessons in a traditional way, with blocks of time dedicated to new concepts.
Program a series of sessions on gender equity in the workplace. You can create microlessons around women’s fight to achieve equal pay for equal work, microaggressions, and other forms of invisible discrimination.
The research shows that women still receive less competitive hiring rates, less competitive salaries, and less space to contribute in meeting contexts. They overachieve compared to their male coworkers but are under-rewarded.
Steps toward gender equity are still much-needed, and it won’t happen by just wishing for it. Implementing programs to address it in the workplace through micro-learning to make equity a reality.
2) Work to address the childcare burden working women face
One of the most significant ways women face discrimination in the workplace is through the casual acceptance of anti-parent policies.
Recent research has shown that women are 1.5 times as likely to be laid off than men when companies hit hard financial times. A huge reason for that is the special accommodations mothers require.
The best course of action is to make parental accommodations something women don’t have to ask for, but something planned for and offered as a matter of course. Then, everyone wins. Parents are pivotal for the ongoing functioning of our society, and working moms are often the best assets any team has.
3) Pay attention to the gender breakdown of speaking time
It’s a widely observed phenomenon that in mixed social settings, men tend to dominate the conversation, and women tend to be shoved into the corner. Men often speak from a place of entitlement, assuming that everyone will want to hear their thoughts on a given matter.
But women often speak from a place of careful observation. Is my comment necessary? Will it advance the conversation? These considerations make for a healthier, more humane discourse. But if absent-minded men dominate the discourse, only women lose.
Pay attention to who speaks and how often, and work to get women more involved in speaking and strategizing.
Work for women
Everybody shines when you put in the extra work for your female employees. It’s easy to take for granted the members of your team who silently carry out their tasks with few complaints.
But women’s efforts are often underappreciated, as a matter of course. Reverse the trend in your company, and see how it flourishes.
