If there’s one thing that is needed in business, it’s women. Inclusivity in business for women is as important as anything else. Women tend to experience different challenges when attempting to advance their careers and there are often roadblocks in front of women, especially women of color, that are underrepresented across the corporate pipeline. The gender pay gap has barely budged and if you are starting out in business and you want to do better for your team, then you need to look at how you can make women feel more included in the workplace.
Websites such as circles.com will also discuss how you can improve employee engagement in the workplace. But as a new business leader, you need to think about how you can make women feel confident and comfortable in what they’re doing to advance their careers. Studies have shown that having female leaders can boost a company’s profitability. So if you want to make sure that your female employees are rising to the top, take a look at the tips below.
- Gather the management team. If you want to make sure that you increase the number of women in leadership positions or in male dominated roles, you need to make sure that you have the top executives on board. Ideally, your leadership team should already be made-up with some women, but if not, then you need to start talking to them about how you can bring more women into the leadership team. If you have a team of leaders who do not believe that women hold weight in the workplace, then you already have a problem in your business.
- Invest in mentoring and coaching. Understanding the right resources to be able to improve employee engagement is one thing, but you need to invest in leadership, learning and performance where you can. Establishing formal mentoring programs and providing access to coaching resources for women can be instrumental in advance in their careers. You need to pair the women in your business with mentors who can offer guidance and support. Helping them learn to navigate challenges and develop leadership skills is an absolute must.
- Build a sponsorship program. Sponsorship programs actively promote growth and foster connections, and in a time where we’re seeing many women more oppressed than ever before, having an organization that is truly interested in strengthening the inclusion of women is going to be a power play on your part. You want an environment that transcends into sponsorship, and that means making sure that you are inclusive and purposeful in your leadership.
- Create a culture of flexibility. We are still living in a world where women are the primary caregivers for their families. You may find that there are some families where men are the leader and the primary caregiver and the women in the family are the breadwinner, but that’s not the norm. Your business needs to be flexible in its culture so that women can feel they are empowered to achieve even with a family at home. If you would give the same flexibility to male workers for their families, then you need to do the same thing for women. Being a parent is not going to be a hindrance, but it’s actually going to be a power.
