How many of you have heard that you are incapable of performing a task because you are ‘woman’? Apparently, in a patriarchal world, no matter how educated a woman is than her male counterparts, she is regarded as a subordinate.
Gender discrimination at the workplace can be overt with sexual harassment, or subtle as often organizations pay differently based on gender for the same amount of work and train a certain gender because the work is discriminated as ‘man’s work’ and ‘woman’s work.’
It’s the women who have suffered the brunt of gender inequality at the workplace or home. But times are changing, and to boost your company culture and build a strong reputation, it’s time to empower the potentiality of women in your company.
Top 7 ways to support women in the workplace
From hiring a female candidate to mentoring, there are myriad ways to eliminate gender discrimination at the workplace and treat every employee as an asset.
- Acknowledge the importance of gender diversity
As an organizational leader, you must accept the growing emergence of having gender diversity at the workplace, and the rest of the organization will definitely follow the same path. With this, you can create a sense of urgency to address the issue and implement strategic measures for the same.
- Implement goals to improve gender diversity
Surveying your employees to know their outlook on gender diversity will help you set your business goals to implement a workplace culture that empowers female potentiality. It will also enable you to retain female employees and help them attain high-ranking opportunities.
- Bring diversity on managerial levels
Empower gender diversity in a way that removes the bottlenecks and alleviate women high ranking position in the company. Having women leaders can foster creativity and become an aspiration for others to join the organization. Promote your female employees to acknowledge the value of impeccable skills.
- Enable professional support
Celebrate the women employees’ strengths and accomplishments and offer them adequate training and mentoring to leverage their skills to new heights. Instead of ignoring only because a woman proposed it, adhere to the thought process, it may be the turnkey for your organizational growth.
- Offer flexibility of work
Introduce the concept of remote working or job sharing in your business culture, especially working mothers and other females having trouble with commutation. Offer them the flexibility of job-sharing or flexible work timing to have an enhanced work-life balance.
- Reduce the pay gap
One imperative step to empower women at the workplace is by eradication the gender-biased payment structure. Bolster the concept of equal pay irrespective of gender and appreciate each of your employees’ hard work.
- Leverage zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment
Sexual harassment at the workplace often goes unnoticed as employees hesitate to open up about the ordeal or fear the loss of employment. So the management must ensure a safe work environment for the females and introduce stringent measures against such complaints. Strict investigation and necessary action must be taken to avert any future incidents and safeguard women’s safety.
Bottom-line
Gender discrimination has been prevalent for ages in society and in the workplace. While gender inequality affects women, gender diversity has shown significant results for men and won the organization as a whole. It is not difficult to promote gender equality; all it takes is the right approach with established guidelines and enforcement to adhere to the issue.