Getty
On March 8th, the world came together to celebrate International Women’s Day, a day to honor the “social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women” while also marking a call to action for accelerating gender parity. This year’s theme, #EachforEqual, goes well beyond just one day. We should be standing up for equality and confronting bias head-on all year long, every year.
According to research, last year there was a record proportion of women in senior management roles (29%). While this number is clearly increasing incrementally, we still have a long way to go. As a female leader at a global organization, I see immense opportunity in bringing together the individual thoughts and actions of all of our employees to jointly raise awareness and take steps to build an inclusive, gender-equal workforce — but it must be an ongoing conversation.
In order to make an impact and accelerate gender parity, an “always on” approach to combatting inequality must exist. It begins with identifying biases in everything — from leaders to processes, practices and culture — and then coming together to address the issues head-on. There are multiple ways that a workplace can reinforce its commitment to accelerate gender parity well beyond International Women’s Day.
Empower confidence.
Encourage assertiveness in those who struggle to voice their ideas out of fear of being judged by their peers. Let’s combat this idea that a woman with a voice is aggressive by pushing female employees to assert themselves without worrying about how they are perceived by their co-workers. Managers should provide the opportunity for their junior reports to speak up in meetings and support their thoughts and ideas so they gain the confidence to continue to do so as they grow in their careers.
Encourage balance.
Companies should be accepting of flexible work schedules to allow qualified mothers to play a more active role in the corporate world. Women shouldn’t feel as if they have to choose between work or their families and should have the opportunity to play both roles with the support of the company they work for.
Build career longevity.
Women in the workplace should have proactive support from senior leaders who can assist in their career progression. Through access to mentors and senior allies, junior-level employees can receive guidance on growing their careers and how to face obstacles along the way, including how to address difficult conversations such as pay raise and promotions.
Challenge clichés.
According to data, less than 30% of the world’s researchers are women. We need to do a better job of challenging the cliché that careers in STEM are only for men. We should be seeking out those women in positions that have been traditionally thought of as “male” roles and giving them the visibility to raise awareness and encourage other women to join the ranks. Let’s foster connections between women who may feel overwhelmed in male-dominated industries and the female executive pioneers who can guide them through the skills and connections they’ll need in order to build their own successful career path.
Provide education.
Employers should invest in training across their organization around discrimination and harassment. Managers, in particular, should be educated about how to identify discrimination that takes place in the workplace and learn how to manage and prevent it.
While we’ve certainly made strides in creating gender diversity within the workplace, we have a long way to go. The first step is assessing the current practices in your company, finding those areas which need improvement, and establishing new and ongoing initiatives that will raise awareness and confront bias on a regular basis. As a leader at my organization, I will continue to challenge gender parity every day and hope that you do too, as we all come together in our quest for #EachforEqual.
