Empowering women in the workplace allow them to retain more control over their careers. Selecting to invest in mentoring, promotions to senior positions, ongoing training, and providing education grants ensure their career growth.
All this is essential to creating long-term employees. Thankfully, most companies have begun implementing workplace policies that encourage and empower career women to find success at work. For those that are starting out, below are tips to improve workplaces for women.
1. Retain the Lessons Learned from the Pandemic – Flexible Work Increases Inclusivity
One of the top lessons from the pandemic is that hybrid and remote work has enabled employees to better balance work, family, and personal responsibilities. As companies begin bringing personnel back to the office, they should understand what this means for women.
While appropriate, this move will likely lead to an increased risk of the company reverting to outdated biases. In this scenario, in-person workers are more likely to experience career growth and enjoy better compensation packages.
The pandemic taught the importance of flexibility in the workplace, and failure to heed this lesson will likely trigger a negative reaction from women. You need to allow them to work sensible hours that don’t interfere with their lives outside work.
2. Promote Work-Life Balance
Besides providing flexible work options, management should encourage its people to prioritize their work-life balance. If you look at the Mckinsey Women in the Workforce 2022 survey, you’ll note that most women have reported being more burned out than they were at the start of the pandemic.
The report notes that “one in three women” have at some point considered leaving the workforce or downshifting their careers. Furthermore, “four in ten women” have contemplated leaving their jobs or switching industries.
All these point to the need for a strong work-life balance.
3. Help Your People Find Meaningfulness and Enjoyment in Their Work
Employers should take the time to learn about their employees’ personal values, life goals, strengths, and life passions. Try to brainstorm with the women in your workplace on how you can integrate what they love and are passionate about into their careers.
Small changes touching on how they frame and execute their work can go a long way towards encouraging them to turn an everyday job into a life calling.
4. Provide a Fair Parental Leave Policy
As a company, you must understand that it’s your duty to enable mothers and fathers to find a work-life balance that works for them, even when working remotely. Providing an equitable parental leave policy helps eliminate the complexity of women returning to work.
Ensuring respect and a shared vision for the parents working for you will let all employees know that the company values them. They will see that they have a place in the firm, regardless of the decisions they make, family-wise.
Make it a point to empower women at the company who decide to start a family.
Conclusion
The data available is unmistakable. Career women still face systemic obstacles in the workplace, making them feel less empowered. Employers who want to change this need to work with Eagle headhunting firm to help them reinvent the wheel.
The current data shows that both genders value the same attributes in the workplace. However, women face biases that make them feel left out. You can change this by implementing the four points discussed above on improving workplaces for women.
