Stages in Supporting Diversity and Growth of Women
Corporate entities are consistently told that must support diversity and support the growth of women and so there tends to be a lot of focus of overall number of women hires, which does not tell the full story .
Here are the three stages I use to asses where a corporate entity is in terms of their diversity and inclusion agenda.
Level Zero
No explicit policies to build and nature women within the organization and its ecosystem. A company might get lucky and have diversity but there is no concerted effort in that direction. Over here, gender diversity is not prioritized; gender diversity is not a clear-cut goal. The first step is understanding your starting point and setting the right goal. Leaders must have a clear idea of how they stack up against their competitors in terms of diversity, and aim for an ambitious target.
Here you might see even company with a woman CEO but no other significant numbers of women in the C level or the levels below them.
Foundational level of Supporting Women
Hiring women in entry to mid-level roles, creating a pipeline of talent that might end up in C level (targeted hiring practices). Unlike in Level zero, there is a more concerted effort to get these women into these mid-level positions. Although there may not be explicit organizational policies to guide these processes, there is an awareness of the general concept of gender diversity and supporting women.
Mid-Level
Enabling environment for women to stay and rise to C level and Board Positions. (Child care/maternity/targeted succession planning). With a more conscious attempt to retain women at the foundational level and even, climb much higher on the corporate ladder.
Expert level
Companies supply chain has over 35% of women entrepreneurs and women led companies + a balances C level suit + a balanced women talent pipeline + explicit support of women in their industry. Creating an equitable work culture, flexible working policies like employer- supported childcare are things that go a long way encourage the support of women in corporate organizations.
Conclusion
A multiplicity of perspectives can spark creativity and innovation, and help organizations spot and seize new opportunities. It can also encourage organizations to challenge gender stereotype. Having women on teams can help improve team processes and boost group collaboration. Researchers have observed that women have stronger skills reading non-verbal cues. Women were better at taking turns in conversation, which helps them make the most of the groups combined knowledge and skills.
Having an inclusive culture in your workplace boosts morale and opportunity. Inclusive workplaces tend to have lower employee churn rates – which represents big savings in terms of time and money spent on recruitment.
One of the greatest challenges to overcoming gender inequality at work is a lack of alignment across different areas of the business. Gender diversity is not the responsibility of one individual; it is an issue that every member of the company needs to engage with.
To ensure this is the case, companies must foster a culture that embraces gender diversity. First, it is important that all leaders in the firm are behind the mission. Positive change is most likely to happen when it is championed at the top. Managers should be transparent about the problems that exist within the company and set internal targets to address them. Companies need to consistently measure their progress in meeting these targets. By following these steps, firms can make gender diversity a top priority for the business.
What stage is your company at?
Corporate entities are consistently told that must support diversity and support the growth of women and to be honest a lot of them do know what that looks like and so there tends to be a lot of focus of overall number of women hires, which does not tell the full story .
Here are the three stages I use to asses where a corporate entity is in terms of their diversity and inclusion agenda.
Level Zero
No explicit policies to build and nature women within the organization and its ecosystem. A company might get lucky and have diversity but there is no concerted effort in that direction. Over here, gender diversity is not prioritized; gender diversity is not a clear-cut goal. The first step is understanding your starting point and setting the right goal. Leaders must have a clear idea of how they stack up against their competitors in terms of diversity, and aim for an ambitious target.
Here you might see even company with a woman CEO but no other significant numbers of women in the C level or the levels below them.
Foundational level of Supporting Women
Hiring women in entry to mid-level roles, creating a pipeline of talent that might end up in C level (targeted hiring practices). Unlike in Level zero, there is a more concerted effort to get these women into these mid-level positions. Although there may not be explicit organizational policies to guide these processes, there is an awareness of the general concept of gender diversity and supporting women.
Mid-Level
Enabling environment for women to stay and rise to C level and Board Positions. (Child care/maternity/targeted succession planning). With a more conscious attempt to retain women at the foundational level and even, climb much higher on the corporate ladder.
Expert level
Companies supply chain has over 35% of women entrepreneurs and women led companies + a balances C level suit + a balanced women talent pipeline + explicit support of women in their industry. Creating an equitable work culture, flexible working policies like employer- supported childcare are things that go a long way encourage the support of women in corporate organizations.
Conclusion
A multiplicity of perspectives can spark creativity and innovation, and help organizations spot and seize new opportunities. It can also encourage organizations to challenge gender stereotype. Having women on teams can help improve team processes and boost group collaboration. Researchers have observed that women have stronger skills reading non-verbal cues. Women were better at taking turns in conversation, which helps them make the most of the groups combined knowledge and skills.
Having an inclusive culture in your workplace boosts morale and opportunity. Inclusive workplaces tend to have lower employee churn rates – which represents big savings in terms of time and money spent on recruitment.
One of the greatest challenges to overcoming gender inequality at work is a lack of alignment across different areas of the business. Gender diversity is not the responsibility of one individual; it is an issue that every member of the company needs to engage with.
To ensure this is the case, companies must foster a culture that embraces gender diversity. First, it is important that all leaders in the firm are behind the mission. Positive change is most likely to happen when it is championed at the top. Managers should be transparent about the problems that exist within the company and set internal targets to address them. Companies need to consistently measure their progress in meeting these targets. By following these steps, firms can make gender diversity a top priority for the business.