International Women’s Day is marked on March 8th each year. It was first recognised by the UN in 1977, though it has earlier roots in the labour movements of the early 20th century. The Theme for International Women's Day 2024 is: investing in women and inspiring Inclusion.
International Women's Day (IWD) is a powerful reminder that creating inclusive, equitable spaces for women benefits us all. Last year’s IWD theme was around embracing equity over equality, and we covered a few ways this can be done in the workplace here.
This IWD, let's move beyond symbolic gestures and commit to making meaningful changes in our workplaces all year round. The IWD day theme for 2024 is to inspire inclusion and we cover some actions employees and companies can take to become champions of inclusion and advance workplace inclusion beyond March 8th.
Confront Unconscious Bias
Implicit bias shapes hiring decisions, promotions, and everyday interactions. Start by acknowledging this exists in all of us. Resources for self-assessment and unconscious bias training can help identify and address those subtle barriers.
It’s important to realise that no one is an expert and we’re all on an ongoing journey when respecting and embracing other people’s experiences and realities.
How to action this in your company: Commit to providing unconscious bias training to hiring managers and staff involved in recruitment and all your employees. Leaders and employees can better manage bias and foster a more inclusive workplace with cultural humility.
Did you know?: Unconscious biases do not necessarily align with our conscious beliefs or declared beliefs, which means unconscious biases are even more important to pay attention to.
Reimagine the Recruitment Process
Job postings, processes, and interview questions may unknowingly exclude talented women.
Without knowing it, we all use language that is subtly ‘gender-coded’. This means that gender-coded language can send the message that your workplace is better suited to one gender or another – and it can put people off applying for a role.
Consider using gender-neutral language, by eliminating unnecessary “masculine” terminology in job descriptions that may deter female applicants from applying to your adverts.
Consider blind recruiting: Anonymising early stages of the hiring process can help focus attention on skills and experience, not names or gendered cues.
Consider having diverse interview panels: To ensure women's voices are represented in the decision-making process.
Support Women at All Levels
Inclusion is about more than entry-level roles. How are you fostering an environment where existing women in your workplace can reach their full potential?
Mentorship and Sponsorship: Pair women with both mentors for advice and sponsors who actively advocate for their advancement within the company. More on why coaching & mentoring can benefit you business.
Pay Equity: Conduct regular salary audits and be transparent about compensation ranges to ensure women are paid fairly compared to their male counterparts in your business. More tips on this here.
Flexible policies: Flexible working arrangements and remote work options are critical to supporting women juggling work and life responsibilities outside the office.
Champion an Intersectional Approach
Gender isn't the only axis of identity shaping workplace experiences. Intersectionality acknowledges how race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, and more, mix with gender to create unique obstacles and marginalisation.
How to action this: Seek out and amplify the voices of women from diverse backgrounds within your industry.
Celebrate Women's Successes
Don’t leave it until International Women’s Day to highlight the achievements of women in your organisation, do so throughout the year. This builds confidence, creates role models, and helps dismantle the assumption that leadership looks a certain way.
Embracing Inclusion in the workplace is an opportunity for our companies to thrive and studies show that gender-diverse companies are more innovative and achieve better business results. Forbes revealed that diverse teams deliver 60% better results and make better decisions in 87% of cases.
A study by Boston Consulting Group also found that companies with diverse management teams generate 19% more revenue from innovation than those with less diverse teams.
Eligo’s commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
At Eligo we are passionate and committed to the diversity of our team and supporting our partners in building and maintaining diverse workforces. We believe everyone deserves to be treated equally, have equitable opportunities, and feel represented and included.
Our commitment to gender diversity isn't just about fairness, it's about smart business. With a near-equal balance of men and women across all levels, we experience the benefits of diversity firsthand. This isn't unique to Eligo. Research overwhelmingly shows companies prioritising gender diversity outperform their less diverse counterparts.
If you want advice on prioritising your inclusivity policies within your recruitment feel free to email us at hello@eligo.co.uk.
This International Women's Day, let's pledge to make lasting change.
Sources:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/gender-diverse-businesses-do-better-vargogroup#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20study%20by%20Boston%20Consulting%20Group%2C%20companies%20with,the%20workplace%20are%20abundantly%20obvious.
https://www.fdmgroup.com/blog/diversity-for-business-performance/
https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Theme
https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/international-womens-day-2024-economic-inclusion-of-women/#ref-1
https://www.un.org/en/observances/womens-day/background