This week, I will be discussing some of the benefits that Gender Diversity in the workplace could potentially bring to your team and company.
Accenture have put it so aptly in the tag line for their equality campaign;
There are both social and economic benefits of gender equality in our society. Fostering gender parity is key to promoting innovation and stimulating creativity. Last week, we celebrated a landmark occasion for Irish women when the Irish Government announced that they would be introducing women-only professorships. When we reflect back and think that 2018 marks the 100th anniversary since women here in Ireland were granted the right to vote. Those before us have paved the way for women to make such significant progress, yet there is still some way to go.
Gender equality in the workplace can only be achieved once all employees are able to access and enjoy the same opportunities, rewards and equal pay for equal work. There should be no gender-stereotyping on roles, every profession should be accessible, regardless of gender.
Gender equality has become somewhat a buzz word of late. Research has shown that companies who are open to a diverse and balanced work environment, who support and actively promote gender parity, have been successfully performing financially and have increased levels of productivity. Diversity is needed in companies from an ethical and fairness standpoint, but it has also been proven that diversity is actually very good for business!
What benefits does a gender diverse workforce have on an organisation you ask? I’ve listed and described just some of them below:
Improved Employer Brand
Being an inclusive workplace is a powerful recruiting tool for your business. An open approach to recruitment will widen the talent pool and help to attract top talent for the roles you are recruiting for. Garnering a strong reputation as an inclusive employer will also demonstrate your progressive company values and that will enhance your employer brand in the recruitment marketplace.
Innovation
It’s key to have both women and men in your teams. This ensures you benefit from the different points of views and values that each individual has gained through their lives experience. It is a combination of these different perspectives that results in new ideas and innovative problem solving. Increased creativity among teams, heightens the team’s ability to have a more diverse set of solutions to specific problems. This may be reflected in an improved product offering, fit for use by all. A good example of this is in the area of artificial intelligence, where the majority of those “training” the AI were the young white males associated with the tech industry. This could could result in humans passing their inherent biases to the machines that could be controlling our cars and making important decisions in healthcare in the near future.
Improved Retention Rates
An inclusive culture in your workplace boosts employee morale. Inclusive workplaces tend to have lower employee turnover rates. Gender diversity supports retention - which results in saving important resources like time and money, that would be spent on recruitment, administration and on-boarding costs. This suggests a higher workplace morale in companies with more inclusion, which will likely lead to increased productivity.
Collaboration
Collaboration has never been so important, yet it is also a challenge especially when it comes to diversity. Teams benefit when women and men collaborate. Having women on teams can help improve team processes and boost group collaboration. Researcher published by Bear and Woolley, 2011, aptly observed that groups with more women were better at taking turns in conversation and reading non-verbal cues, which ultimately helps them make the most of combined knowledge and skills of the members within the group.
Greater Profitability
According to McKinsey, the most gender-diverse companies are 21% more like to experience above-average profitability. Gender balance does affect a business’s economic performance. This evidence supports the theory that gender diversity has a positive impact on the bottom line.
Through my research for this blog, I came across a company called Sodexo, who define Gender Balance as their key to success. You can read more about Sodexo and their journey pressing for progress here.
To summarise; Creating an inclusive and sustainable working culture and environment requires investment. Once you have committed to achieving gender equality the benefits include higher engagement, increased innovation and creativity, and better talent recruitment.
Does the company you work for actively promote gender equality? If not, how can you make a difference in promoting change for the better?
That concludes my third and final blog as part of the MN329 series.
Thank you so much for taking the time to view, read and engage with me on this topic.