Many employers these days are recognising a change in the tides when it comes to gender equality. This world-wide issue is not something that can be changed overnight. As a business owner or operator, there are steps you can do to encourage a gender-friendly environment.

Curious to see how your workplace stacks up? Check out my quick guide on how to ensure gender equality in the workplace.

Out the door with a battle of genetics, many employers these days are ridding gender-based bias on items such as pay rates and promotional opportunities. More women are filling prominent positions and undertaking jobs that once were only really considered “male appropriate”. Men, on the other hand, are being granted extended paternal leave and greater access to family-friendly policies.

The solution to gender equality around the globe still has a very long way to go, and we know this topic often generates great debate. But, for workplaces that want to create equal opportunity no matter what sex Mother Nature granted us at conception, I have some basic fundamentals to ensure gender equality.

Three basic fundamentals to encourage gender equality at your workplace

Below is a simple outline on methods and approaches you can take to encourage gender equality. Consider how you can implement these processes, or similar, to create a gender-friendly environment at your workplace.

Executive Pledge

A gender equality policy needs to be embraced by a leadership group which values diversity just as much as they cherish the skills of their employees. Is your entire leadership team onboard with gender equality? Is there anyone who could be holding back a successful implementation?

Gain a pledge from the executive team and nut out any concerns. If something (or someone) is holding you back, perhaps your business could find benefit in contracting a Diversity and Inclusion Officer to help implement initial policies.

Flexibility

Job flexibility can be one of the many reasons why women earn less pay than their male counterparts. Some women with family commitments often prefer flexible working arrangements over big pay cheques. But on the topic of gender equality (and workplace equality as a whole), there are still plenty of businesses who overlook the equality of flexibility.

Some employers are more forthcoming with flexibility for family commitments and women, but limit these arrangements for other employees.

Flexible working arrangements is a great asset for employees, however, be conscious of inclusiveness. Arrangements like work-from-home and flexible schedules can also prove beneficial for work-life balance and a contented, productive team. * Tip: looking for the secret to job satisfaction and flexible working arrangements? You might like to check out our recent article here 

Eliminate Hiring Bias

If you want to be inclusive when hiring new talent, contract a recruitment agency to do the work for you. Recruitment agents, like our team at Optimum Consulting, hire based on skill, talent and without bias.

If you want to completely eliminate any potential unconscious bias, you could try implementing a process known as blind hiring. In this process, candidate names, sex, age, ethnicity, etc are obscured during the candidate selection process. Some big-name companies including Dolby have taken to this recruitment method. If you want to know more, just talk with our friendly team.

Workplace equality is a vital tool for the growth and development of business. It has the potential to impact economic performance, organisational performance, employee retention and organisational reputation.

For more information on the above, you can download a free business case for gender equality, kindly supplied by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, here.

No matter where gender equality sits in the rest of the workforce; you can offer equal benefits, equal rewards, the same resources and same opportunities to your employees by implementing a few basic fundamentals. So, how does your workplace really stack up?

Need some help with your gender equality policies and procedures? Want to hire the perfect candidate without bias? Just check in with our consultants at Optimum Consulting. We have it covered – bias aside!

Alicia Sumich – Group Manager

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