Women in business are making great strides but the battle for equality in the workplace is far from over. In the United States, the number of women in senior roles increased by only 1 percent in the last 10 years. Another statistic showing the immense gap that still exists: more than 95 percent of the most powerful companies in the United States are led by men.
If you want to promote equality and women in leadership in your workplace, consider these 5 suggestions below that are designed to foster a diverse and inclusive workplace.
1. Support family structures
The discussion around parenting and the workforce has been going on for many years, but in the past, it’s mostly revolved around policies for women’s maternity leave.
There’s now a shift in the discussion to reflect more accurate family structures today. An HR manager at Coursework Writers and Top Paper Writing Service, Michael Wallis, explains to companies that “men, as well as women, want to spend more time with their new families, so innovative companies are turning towards policies of equal parental leave. This allows men and women in all types of family units to have a healthy professional and personal life.”
2. Celebrate women of color
It’s also important to establish and promote programs in your organization that celebrate and support women of color. Look into establishing resources to honor women in positions of leadership and allow for a culture that promotes career growth of aspiring women leaders from all racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds.
Consider joining forces with a non-profit organization that hosts workshops, training, and consulting to move towards a more inclusive and diverse workplace, no matter the size of your company.
3. Build up future female leaders
There are a lot of gender incongruities in society that we all need to overcome. It’s the reality that women may need the support of gender-specific programs and empathy to bring out their most self-confident self.
Think about implementing a program or experience to give your female talent in middle management the tools and confidence they need to be successful in their careers and progress to the next level. This includes mentoring other women and helping them up the corporate pyramid by putting them in visible positions of leadership.
4. Fight against existing obstacles for equality
It’s important for all companies to have policies that support the choice of both parents when it comes to parenting. The reality is that today many men love to get involved in hands-on parenting, and many women want to return to work after their maternity leave. No matter the cultural misconceptions, it’s important that companies recognize the equality of choice for parents, such as a policy for equal paid leave for both parents.
This can also include policies like flexible schedules and remote work so that employees can work from anywhere they want. Although this can come at a certain cost for investing in the right technologies, it will come back to the company many times over in increased productivity and employee retention long term (from parents and non-parents).
Finally, Martha Wright, a training manager at Paper Fellows and OXEssays, explains that “another big obstacle for women’s success in the workplace is the culture of limiting their self-belief and unconscious bias that unfortunately still pervades many organizations. This obstacle can be overcome with time spent coaching, mentoring, and training for all employees.”
5. Foster dialogue between all employees, men and women
Women often tend to speak only to other women about issues in the workplace and workplace inequalities. At the same time, men rarely speak about it at all, and if they do it’s never with women.
The important thing here is to make it a point to foster open and honest dialogue between men and women, and for men not to take anything that’s being said personally. As for women, keep any blame or judgment out of the conversation, and we may see some progress and understanding.
Conclusion
Organizations should look into adopting these 5 suggestions to improve women in leadership within their company. By doing so, they will be promoting a culture of equality and diversity.
About the author:
Aimee Laurenceis an editor at Marketing Essays Help and Cheap Essays Online. She works with companies to improve their hiring practices and modernize their approaches to hiring top talent. She also teaches business writing at Do My Assignment.
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