Female Equality –

For the past decade, there has been an extensive dialogue on female equality and inclusion. Many activists have raised their voices to safeguard women’s rights in all institutions and aspects of life. This gives way to the dialogue about female equality in the workplace. History has shown that workplaces have been predominantly male, but things are changing, and more and more women are taking on important roles and positions in the workplace.

To accommodate these women, employers must take notice of the challenges women face and come up with different ways to promote female equality in the workplace. If you are an employer, there are several ways to improve female equality in your company. Let’s look at some of these ways:

This article follows on from our article published 3 years ago today – see how far we have come in female equality– here is the link https://freshhrinsights.com.au/women-in-the-workplace/

Ways to Promote Female Equality in the Workplace

These tips can be valuable in promoting female equality in the workplace.

Create a Gender Inclusive Workplace

A workplace is not gender-inclusive if your employees are predominantly male. To ensure equality, you must hire a subsequent amount of employees that are not just males. When recruiting more employees, make sure that you give equal opportunity to both genders and make a conscious effort to hire more female workers.

This will not only improve female equality in your company but also improve your company culture. Many workplaces fail to reach gender equality. For example, the tech industry is full of male workers, and that closes doors on women.

To make the place friendlier for women, companies must hire women and create a gender-inclusive workplace. These jobs are not exclusive for either gender, which explains that there is no reason to be limited to a specific gender.

Minimize Pay Gap

The pay gap is a very concerning phenomenon as it directly differentiates between employees. It serves no purpose to pay men and women differently for the same role. The pay should not rely on employees’ gender; however, many different factors illustrate what the pay should be. According to statistics, there is an average pay gap of 14.2%, which is extremely high.

Initially, women were considered the weak gender, so they were paid significantly lesser than their male counterparts. However, things are not the same now as a decade ago. Women are taking the corporate world with a storm and breaking the glass ceiling. There is no reason why they need to be paid lesser than what their male colleagues get for similar roles.

Many companies have addressed the gender pay gap issue and have revised their strategies. If you are looking to eradicate the gender pay gap, you must revise the salaries of all your female employees to match their male colleagues.

Strict Harassment Policies

Harassment concerns are one of the biggest reasons women hesitate to join a company. To make women feel more comfortable, you must make sure that you have strong harassment policies in place.

Workplace harassment is one of the most common forms of harassment, and there are an alarming number of people who have suffered. Employers are responsible for safeguarding female employees from being subjected to workplace harassment.

To put this into practice, they must be very prompt with their help in such cases and take immediate action against any such complaints.

They must also punish the perpetrator as strictly as possible for making an example. Strict policies and consequences will effectively curb harassment in the workplace. If companies show ignorance towards harassment claims, it will give rise to such activities. It will also make it difficult for women to survive in such an environment.

Unbiased Hiring

It is common for employers to be biased when hiring employees. And you might not even acknowledge this, but you might lean toward male applicants over female candidates. This is why it is best to hide the gender and name of a candidate when looking at their resume so that you can make an unbiased decision.

Showing bias when hiring can have a detrimental effect on the mental health of women applicants. They might start believing that they are not proficient enough to get the job. Moreover, when coming up with a job description, you must be gender-neutral. This will encourage applicants of both genders to submit their resumes.

Flexible Operations

A good company provides flexible operations and schedules for all its employees. Many women hesitate to join a company that does not show flexibility as there are many things they need to consider.

For instance, a company that does not have a flexible maternity leave policy will not get the attention of women applicants. This is why you must be very flexible to accommodate female employees and make them feel at ease.

Create an enabling environment, so it is not just the women who want to work with you but also the men.

Learning for All

A company provides lots of learning opportunities for its employees. To ensure female equality, you must introduce learning programs that are not specific to any gender. Learning is not limited to a certain gender, and you should keep that in mind.

Introduce different learning programs that cater to both male and female employees.

Equal Treatment for All

Promoting female equality does not mean that you behave poorly with your male employees. Instead, it is crucial to give equal treatment to all your employees to create a culture of mutual care and understanding. Preferring one gender over the other will always lead to conflict.

Conclusion

Female equality is a big concern all over the world. With workplaces evolving, there is an evident need for female equality, and we must all work towards an inclusive workplace that gives equal importance to male and female employees.

Sources

How to Promote Female Equality in the Workplace