Supporting women at work is something all employers should take seriously.
International Women's Day 2023, on March 8, will once again turn the spotlight on the pressures that women often face in the workplace. From harassment or discrimination to fitting caring duties around their working hours.
Supporting women at work is important to most employers. This is partly because sex is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. Employers also understand that being proactive and flexible can lead to good results for everyone involved.
So what issues are there, and what can employers do to make sure they are supporting women at work?
Any employer with 250 or more employees must report their gender pay gap each year. This gap is the difference between the average pay of men and women in the organisation.
The data does not consider people’s roles or seniority. This means an employer can have a good equal pay policy but still have a gender pay gap. This can happen if most women in the organisation are in lower-paid jobs.
The data often highlights the lack of women in leadership and management roles. It may encourage organisations to review their recruitment, training, and development practices. This can help them find ways to support more women in higher-paid positions.
Discrimination occurs when someone treats another person unfairly for various reasons. These reasons can include age, disability, religion, or sex.
People classify harassment as unwanted behaviour related to protected characteristics. This could be a one-time event or a pattern of behaviour. It can include spoken or written words, gestures, mimicry, jokes, and pranks.
Employers may have different views on discrimination, harassment, or bullying in the workplace. However, it is important to provide training for everyone in the organisation. This training should cover acceptable behaviour and standards. It should also help employees recognise when someone mistreats a colleague.
The 2011 Census showed that women carry out an overall average of 60% more unpaid work than men, including cooking, childcare and housework. Figures showed that women aged between 26 and 35 delivered the most unpaid work of any other category, putting in 34.60 hours of unpaid work a week.
Women are often the main carer of young children, and many also take on the roles of carers to infirm or elderly family member.
Employers can help workers in caring roles by offering flexible hours. This can include time for school drop-off or pick-up. It can also allow employees to take a relative to a medical appointment.
Another area to think about is maternity and paternity leave. Consider how to make it easier for parents to take time off and return to work.
Menopausal women are the fastest-growing demographic in the workplace. According to an article at www.nhsemployers.org, for every 10 women over 50 in employment, six say that the menopause has a negative impact on their work, to the extent that 49% of the menopausal workforce say they have considered taking early retirement.
Menopause sits somewhere between a taboo subject and a humorous, even those going through it may make fun of themselves, or feel self-conscious that symptoms – which can include physical manifestations such as hot flushes or extreme fatigue, and less obvious effects, such as poor concentration, memory problems, anxiety or depression – are affecting how they do their job.
Educating all staff to recognise and take seriously the effects of the menopause so that they can support their employees or colleagues during this time and make all the difference to a menopausal woman’s productivity, mental wellbeing and confidence.
Certain industries have a disproportionately small number of women. Construction, engineering and manufacturing, for instance. Employers can do more to attract more women and break down the stereotypes.
From recruitment policies to workplace culture, employers should try to create an environment that is equally open and welcoming to men and women alike. And from there, remember the saying ‘if you can see it you can be it’ and try to ensure that women in your organisation are considered for promotion and development in the same way men are. A young female coming into the business will see a different picture than women in senior roles.
Supporting women is not just about seeing ambitious career women rise to the top. If you can support women in all areas of your organisation, and remove the barriers to them continuing to work for you, contribute to the success of your business and improve and develop themselves, you’re creating an environment that is positive for all.
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