Employee empowerment is a term encompassing a variety of practices designed to let workers take responsibility and make decisions that can impact the whole organization. In return, employees receive many benefits and career-advancing options. But how about empowering women in the workplace? Here’s what the inclusions should be like:
Women-centric benefits
A company that seeks to empower women considers and prioritizes their needs. One way to do this is to have a firm policy for granting special leave for women. This is useful in such cases as maternity needs and surgeries for gynecological disorders.
Women in fast-paced industries often feel the pressure to return to work after a special leave. They think that their role in the organization can be affected by their long absence. This should not be the case, which is why companies must work to ensure that women feel secure in taking their leave.
In the case of maternity leave, there should be an equal option for paternity leave. This way, the company can promote the notion that both the mother and father should value childcare, not propagate the view that the mother has to take the burden of the responsibility.
The salary gap
The pay gap between men and women has been a trendy topic as of late. More and more, women are realizing their worth and potential and demanding proper compensation. A company that empowers women recognizes this issue and creates solutions to address it.
Some companies have chosen to let their employees know the salary range of each person in the entire organization, revealing only the position and gender, not the individual names. This way, people will know if they are being compensated appropriately.
These actions promote open and honest conversations about wages between management and employees in the workplace. As a result, women feel more secure in their position in the company.
Career growth
Many decades ago, women couldn’t expect to hold positions of authority in a company. These days, this trend is changing as more women aim for higher-ranking and leadership positions. As such, a female-oriented company must consider implementing programs that seek to enhance women’s talent in the workplace.
One way of achieving this is mentorship, wherein women leaders discuss relevant gender issues with entry-level employees. Doing this will help foster an environment of growth for women seeking to build their careers.
Work-life balance
A balance between life and work starts when the company is willing to prioritize the needs of employees above stringent requirements, such as time spent in the office and doing overtime work. Flexible work arrangements have been prevalent recently. Employees can manage their time and space more meaningfully, leading to better staff retention and productivity.
Programs to counteract biases
Gender micro-aggressions and stereotypes have existed for many years. However, more and more companies have been implementing in-office training to counter such beliefs and practices. Women have spoken out about their experiences, bringing to light such issues as having their judgment and skills questioned more often than their male co-workers.
A women-empowering organization seeks to eradicate these issues by conducting inclusive leadership and diversity training for all employees, no matter the rank. These programs might prove to be uncomfortable for some, but having this type of conversation out in the open is necessary for progress to take effect in the workplace.
Women have risen to become great contributors and leaders across many industries. It is only right, therefore, for their needs to be heard and considered. Having a women-empowered office culture not only ushers in progress but lets women experience more freedom and growth in the workplace.
