Your employee experience matters. Providing an excellent experience for your workforce will help you to retain your A Players, will create a culture of engagement and productivity, and will help you to reduce your turnover rate. In many organizations, female employees still face significant barriers to growth and lack the resources and support they need to become the leaders they want to be. With focused initiatives and strong processes set in place, leaders can create a positive employee experience for all — including their female employees. Below are three things you can do to ensure your recruiting, hiring, and employment practices create a positive workplace culture for everyone.
@ClearCompany says you may be under-utilizing your female #talent. Check out strategies you can use to #develop your female employees and create a positive #EmployeeExperience for all:1. Review Your Job Postings
Did you know that women typically will only apply for a position if they meet all of the listed criteria, whereas men will apply after meeting only half? While some of this difference can be attributed to the fact that women are generally more selective in their job search, the main issue lies in the psychology behind your job postings. The words you use to describe daily responsibilities and key traits might be what keeps more women from applying for an open position.
Studies have shown that women are less likely to apply for positions that use aggressive or masculine tones. Words like “outspoken” or “assertive” are two examples of language that dissuades female applicants. Taking the time to analyze and review your job postings to ensure they are welcoming and inclusive for all will open the door to a more extensive and diverse talent pool.
Bonus Material: To create a fully inclusive and equitable workplace, we all need to participate. See what role you can play in helping to develop a genuinely inclusive future of work.
2. Identify Potential Leaders
Your female workers are ambitious, skilled, and ready to take on leadership roles. Societal norms have been in place for ages, telling us that ambition is more of a man’s trait and that women who display this same level of grit or determination are harder to find. In 2021, it’s time to put this old notion to rest.
54% of female workers surveyed identify as highly ambitious and have large professional goals they hope to achieve. So, why are so few of our Fortune 500 CEOs women? A lack of sufficient resources and support for professional development and an unconscious bias may be keeping executives from promoting their female talent.
Out of every 100 men to receive a promotion, 72 women are promoted to similar roles with similar experience. These margins grow significantly when dealing with women of color. The unfortunate truth is that unless it is kept in check, your unconscious bias can weave into recruiting, hiring, and employee experience, creating barriers to growth and fostering a culture of inequality. While men are often reviewed and given a position based on what they could achieve, women are reviewed more on what they’ve already accomplished. To combat this unconscious bias, leaders can rely on a strong and secure performance management system so that employees are offered promotions and benefits based on their work performance.
Tip: Great leaders recognize and develop those around them. Check out what HR leaders need to do to improve their workforce in 2021.
3. Provide A Platform for Them To Grow
Women sometimes lack sufficient resources, support, and opportunities to advance their professional careers. Recently, studies have shed light on why women may not receive the same advancement opportunities and development programs as men. The problem is two-fold:
- Women may be encouraged to take more internal-facing or less demanding roles, changing the trajectory of their careers.
- Women often lack strong mentorship or sponsorship within executive leadership.
Compared to their male colleagues, women workers are often encouraged to make lateral moves or take advantage of accommodations such as part-time or flexible work. Thus, many female workers find it difficult to break down the barriers to advance up the ladder. Add this to the fact that most women lack a strong, reliable mentor or professional sponsor, and you can see just how challenging it can be for a woman to find and capitalize on developmental opportunities.
Did you know: The pandemic has hit us all hard, especially working women. During Covid times, men were promoted on average 3x more than their female colleagues.
62% of women of color note that a lack of mentorship has kept them from reaching their career goals. Women in corporate America are 24% less likely to receive advice from their senior leadership than their male counterparts. In order to create a culture that nourishes, encourages, and enables female advancement, you need to ensure you have strong and repeatable processes in place. This includes unconscious bias training, equal opportunities for women to be hired or promoted, with access to strong sponsorship and mentorship opportunities.
Your female talent is eager to grow within their careers. To create an excellent employee experience for all, you need to make sure you have set plans to nurture your best workers and provide opportunities for them to develop their skill-set further. Armed with ClearCompany’s Employee Engagement and Talent Management suites, leaders are enabled to take charge of their performance management strategies and create a culture that is supportive and positive for all employees. To learn more about how we can help you to develop your employees and achieve your professional goals, reach out to one of our experts or sign up for your free demo now.
