Let’s start with a simple fact: being a woman in the workplace isn’t easy.
A true gender-sensitive organization has more women on board and has a female-friendly work environment that allows them to grow and thrive as professionals without emulating a man’s way of working.
In this article, we’ll discuss how companies can create women-friendly workplaces where women are safe and thrive.
Companies need to address the heightened challenges women are facing, and they need to better support women at work.
1. Department/Leadership Level Diversity
Even today, organizations have biases when it comes to leadership in different departments. For example, finance departments usually have men as leaders, while HR has women. Make sure you set the right standard by including diversity and not making decisions based on gender.
2. Mother-Friendly
As an organization, you must focus on providing a mother-friendly environment where working mothers are not bound to their duties outside the work hours. It ensures that they have their complete focus while they work and peace of mind at home.
3. Flexible Work Schedule
Giving new mothers a flexible schedule to work helps them stay connected to the organization along with respecting the new phase in their life.
New mothers would love to have options like working from home or freelancing. So that their workload is less, but they are still a part of the company.
4. Maternity Engagement
At some point in time, women working for a longer duration in your organization will go on their maternity breaks. But, that doesn’t mean they are no longer a part of your company. Organize an open house for women employees where they can give their relevant inputs on recent developments.
5. Hire Through Women-Only Hackathons
Hire through women-only hackathons, events, and community. It would help find the finest candidates in talent acquisition and encourage the hiring of women at all levels of an organization.
6. Keep New Mothers Part of the Appraisal Cycle
Women who are on maternity leaves are often feel neglected during the appraisal cycles. But, it doesn’t have to be this way.
Make sure you value the women in your organization for their contributions by including them in the appraisal cycle and making them feel a part of your developing company.
7. Conversation and Training After a Maternity Leave
When new mothers are finally ready to come back after their maternity leaves, make sure you provide them with sufficient time to have a conversation with the team. It would help them understand all that has been going around and be sensitive about it.
8. Women Safety Measures
Women are taking more intensive roles that demand greater devotion and time. It also means leaving the workplace late at night sometimes. You must provide them company transport and ensure that they reach home safely.
Also, make sure that you have surveillance cameras and security staff in and around the workplace.
9. Evaluate a Female Perception
If you’re a man running an organization, you might not have the same perception as the women in your organization.
Make sure you provide them a chance to speak up about issues and use the feedback and suggestions to evaluate your organization from the eyes of your female employees. If anything demands attention, take the right steps immediately.
