Gender parity is important and ensuring equal representation and treatment in your organisation has huge benefits at every level.

It’s at the heart of what I do within my coaching and consulting business and despite progress being made over the last few years… the pandemic really set us back.

Throughout lockdown women all over the world stepped into the breach and carried more of the invisible load at home. Juggling the responsibilities of being a woman at the top with homeschooling, remote working and keeping things ticking along at home. Not only has this left women burnt out and exhausted, it’s meant that the gender pay gap has gone from 100 years to 136 years.

Positive change has come since the backwards progress during lockdown…things like flexible working, policies around compassionate leave for miscarriages and also menopause support. 

However, there’s still a lot of work to be done to close the 136 year pay gap.

What is the gender pay gap?

The gender pay gap is a measure of what women are paid relative to men.

Reports show that women are routinely underpaid compared with men when filling the same roles, and over a career lifetime that equates to being paid an average of $1 million less.

It’s shocking that despite the fact women often have to work harder, put in more effort and make more sacrifices due to the simple fact you’re a woman… you could still earn $1 million less than your male counterparts.

There’s an infamous incident at the BBC where male employees routinely earned 9.3% more than their female counterparts. Infact one male presenter earned more than seven times as much as a female presenter hosting a similar type of show.

Although more and more people are being transparent with salaries, including them on job adverts and there’s now websites that allow you to compare… it’s still not something that’s discussed regularly.

Where are we now in the world? 

Many organisations have a huge appetite to change.

What was once a pipe dream of having flexible working across organisations is now just part of the routine for many.

Companies are putting policies in place to support people going through huge life changes… miscarriage policies, menopause policies, returning to work policies, and better support for caregivers at home.

Yet there needs to be a shift in culture, and that means a shift in attitude.

There needs to be more awareness and an understanding of how someone’s behavior can impact another person, specifically in terms of gender but also across all minorities.

For example, is there something that you said that could be taken in the wrong way by someone of a different gender? Could there be something that you said that could be taken in a derogatory or offensive way by someone from a different ethnical background?

Gender equality is intrinsically linked with creating a more inclusive workplace and enduring people within different minority groups feel safe, heard and an incredibly important part of the business.

There are still challenges with the gender imbalance in corporate organisations, especially within telecoms and tech.

• Women being asked to flatter their eyelashes to get deals 
• Women being asked to take notes in meetings
• Women being told that they’re being over emotional or irrational.

This shows there is a need for a culture shift, but with culture shift comes huge investments of time, energy and change.

But equality is not just a woman’s issue, it’s a business issue and it’s no longer a ‘nice to have’ situation, it’s a need. 

To help drive much needed change, here are some of the benefits of ensuring gender equality in your organisations.

What are the benefits of gender parity for organisations?

1. It will lead to a better and improved economy

Women spend double the amount of time as men on unpaid work such as caregiving and household tasks, and this sometimes stops women from participating fully in the economy. 

Add to that the gender pay gap and there’s a latent spend just waiting to happen.

McKinsey estimates that if more women were able to fully participate in paid work as much as 28 trillion, or 26%, could be added to global annual GDP by 2025. 

Another McKinsey report showed that companies with increased gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to experience above-average profitability.

Both of which enforce that gender equality is a competitive advantage that benefits your profitability and flows down to your bottom lines.

2. Improved Productivity 

Gender equal workforces work better in many ways and one of the major benefits that has been identified is a more cohesive, connected and productive workforce. 

A study from the University of Greenwich suggests that providing more childcare support or flexible working would free more skilled women to return to work and boost productivity levels.

There’s a number of reasons a woman may take time off work… to have a child, be a caregiver, improve their education or due to a bereavement. Providing support, flexibility or even a smaller role will allow you to keep benefiting from their skill and keep productivity at a high.

Another study found that a gender equal workforce is more holistic and therefore higher achieving. They are more likely to have a varied perspective and different views of the world. This results in better decisions because of the fact you have explored those different perspectives.

3. Increased Growth and Innovation

Accenture research found that if companies want to grow they also need to innovate. Fast moving markets like telecoms and tech especially need to be continuously innovating and focusing on what’s next. Workplaces that have a culture of equality exponentially increase their ability to do both. 

A supportive gender equal workplace leads to an innovation mindset due to employees feeling comfortable to speak up, share ideas and feel heard. Key aspects of an innovation mindset are willingness to get inspiration from beyond the organisation and a willingness to experiment. 

According to Accenture, that focus on innovation mindset has the potential to add 8 trillion to the US economy by 2028.

4. Diversity of View

The same Accenture report also promotes the value of diversity of views to business culture.

If everyone looks the same, speaks the same, and has the same background, they’re going to have a similar voice which will result in blind spots.

A more diverse approach helps shine a light into those blind spots and gives the organisation the chance to benefit from views that are outside the norm or usual way of thinking. It helps with innovation and brings to the table fresh, new ideas that you wouldn’t have previously considered.

5. More Flexible Working

Women around the world do the bulk of the unpaid caring and carrying the invisible load at home can negatively affect their career and income prospects. Offering a more flexible culture, whether that’s hybrid working or flexible hours, helps to minimise or eliminate that issue. 

It means that companies can keep incredibly talented women within the workforce, even taking on a promotion or bigger role. 

Everyone benefits from a flexible work culture and can have more riches in their life by having the flexibility to work in the way that works best for them. 

Remember, flexibility looks different for each organisation and individual but there’s a huge benefit to allowing people to choose how they work.

• 81% of people say that flexible work will make a job more attractive.
• 85% of business productivity increased with more flexible working

6. More Stable Workforce 

When people feel excluded, unheard, or like the only voice that speaks up and says something different… It takes a lot to want to stay in that organisation. They have to be resilient and able to take things on the chin and not take things to heart. That’s a lot to ask from an individual!

If your organisation does not have equal gender representation you run the risk of failing to attract or retain the best talent for individual roles. 

It’s really important to make it clear that the workplace is a safe environment for everybody and not just certain genders or someone with a certain background or culture. That could be through leadership programmes or sharing the story of role models to help show that women they aren’t alone and that they’re part of an organisation that hires the best person for the job, regardless of gender.

Doing this creates the foundation for a strong and stable workforce that is more likely to stay with their organisation!

7. Happier Employees

Gender equality isn’t just good for women, studies show it makes the whole workforce happier. 

Any steps you take to level the playing field for women has a positive impact on everybody in an organisation. For example, just by offering the chance to work remotely means employees are 57% more likely to be satisfied with their jobs and 80% of employees are less stressed.

It makes the whole workforce happier by setting frameworks in place to support women and other minority groups, but it also eradicates bias and preconceptions that may stop men from taking on roles usually reserved for women. 

8. Improved Customer Targeting

Within telecoms and tech at least 50% of the consumer market is women and 70%-80% of the consumer market overall. Yet, in a typical workplace women are often not involved at all in decisions about products, launches, and the development of what’s next.

If you don’t have women at the very top level you potentially have bias or blind spots around consumer purchasing, behaviors and demands. It becomes a competitive disadvantage to have less women in your organisation as you will be missing out a huge percentage of the consumer market.

By getting women involved at all levels and having gender parity, it’s easier to target all segments of your customer base effectively. You’re going to have people that know the lived experience, what they’re looking for and how they make purchase decisions, making your organisation much more profitable in the long run. 

9. Better Quality of Life

Benefits like an innovative culture, flexible working, equal pay and diverse hiring support women and other minority groups with a better quality of life.

They help create gender parity in your organisation but they also improve employee engagement, satisfaction, retention and loyalty. 

Being a company that people want to work for and gives their employees a better quality of life is a huge selling point to millennial and gen z candidates especially.

10. Improve Organisation’s Reputation

More and more consumers care about an organisation’s ethics and social responsibility. Research shows employment practices and being fair, reasonable, and honest are key.

53% of consumers will complain when disappointed by a company’s stance on a social issue, showing it can detract from your reputation as an organisation. In addition 25% of consumers won’t go back after they’ve been disappointed.

You need to demonstrate that you’re a socially responsible company, have strong company ethics and an inclusive culture that embraces people from all different backgrounds and genders.

P.S. If you need my help supporting women in your organisation and closing the gender pay gap you can contact me below.