Ways to Improve Female Leadership
Research has shown that there are less than 5% female CEOs in Fortune 500 companies. Yet, it is a proven fact that companies with more gender diversity among leadership have greater financial gain. When there is a more integrated workplace it promotes increased performance and gives a much better competitive advantage. With that being said, what are a few way to increase the amount of female leaders and have a more advantageous company.
It is true that change does not happen overnight, but a consistent effort to achieve these goals and break new barriers. Changing the statistics need to be a priority within companies, and actively making effort to include and support female leadership. A smart way to increase the want for women to rise up is by tying the companies diversity goals with the management goals. Giving women the opportunity to choose to show their potential and show how much they can help a company grow is only ever going to be beneficial to the work place.
Being able to voice the companies desire to have diversity success is crucial for change. Companies need to be very transparent with their goals. Having consistent blog posts on the company website, holding meeting to address the current issues on gender diversity as a few ways to be clear with what your organization want from its female employees. Being able to say what you want from your employees also gives way for them to share information with you. Female employees will be able to offer additional feedback and information as to what is working or not working within the organization.
Renewing and restructuring policies and procedures also proves to be an effective way to increase gender diversity and retain female leadership inside of your company. Things like, equal pay, modified work schedule, discounted day care, competitive maternity leave are only a few changes that will attract more female leaders. An important part of increasing female leadership is by providing mentorship and praise. A Namely Diversity Report showed that men and more likely to be recognized for their work than women. Alongside praise, men also tend to receive more frequent raises and promotions. Being able to recognize these prejudices and bias will help to create an environment with more female leadership. Diversity and inclusion training needs to be a priority within your company in order to see any growth and change. This needs to be implemented on a frequent and ongoing basis and should focus on strategies to change long-term behaviors.
