Female empowerment in an office means that you’re allowing women to have more control over their careers. If you own a company and wish to empower them, you must invest in their training, mentoring, and promotion, among others.
Promoting Female Empowerment in the Workplace
First, ensure that leadership positions are available for women.
Before, most leadership positions were only available to men. If you wish to empower women, make sure that the highly-performing women in your workplace are also recognized. Any leadership position must be available to them as well. You should also encourage them to pursue opportunities at each level of the corporate ladder.
By opening up the talent pipeline to all employees, you’re showing them they are valued and you are invested in improving their skills and potential. Companies with more women on the board outperformed other organizations.
Provide Mentorship Opportunities for Women
It can help advance their careers. Mentors can guide them in navigating their careers. They can also advise them on skill development while providing ongoing support. These mentors can act as their role models. When women see other women in leadership positions, they become more motivated to achieve more. Seeing another woman lead an organization can give them a boost in their confidence. They’ll strive harder knowing that they, too, can advance to that level.
Promote a Culture of Inclusion
This is the key to gender diversity. As your organization believes in supporting women to succeed, you’re giving them a sense of ownership and a leadership start. A culture of inclusion encourages every person in the workplace to treat every woman with respect and courtesy. But not just female employees but every worker. They need to feel valued and respected regardless of age, gender and race.
Offer Flexible Work Arrangements
Flexible working is a broad term. It encompasses a wide range of policies. The most popular flexible working policy for women is the freedom to manage their schedule outside the core hours. The policy should include childcare obligations. With flexible work arrangements, women can better manage their work and family commitments.
Provide Training Opportunities
One way to close the job gap is to offer women skills training and development opportunities. Compared to men, women face more financial constraints. It affects their ability to pay for their training. Offering free training can overcome these barriers. Skill-straining programs must have mechanisms to prevent and respond to cases of sexual harassment and abuse, as well. Some women don’t want to participate in the training because of sexual harassment. Addressing it immediately is ideal to boost the program's success.
Create Zero-tolerance Policy for Discrimination or Harassment in the Office
Zero-tolerance policies against harassment and discrimination mean that allegations are taken seriously. They are handled confidentially and sympathetically. The zero-tolerance policy encourages staff members who experience harassment to come forward. This will make it harder for harassers and bullies to act with impunity. These will not only stop the harassment but also promote a better office culture.
Do you have anything to add to this list? Find out more about other ways to empower women by listening to Johari and Sarah’s female empowerment podcast on Spotify.
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