Despite the tremendous progress that women have achieved in the workplace, there is still much more to do. The idea of a female boss still conjures up an image of someone “to be survived” rather than someone to learn from. Asserting that power is something that many women still have to work hard for. Fortunately, there is something you can do to encourage women empowerment in the workplace.
As an employee, you play a vital role in building this culture at work. Whether you’re a manager or a coworker, male, female, or non-binary, your opinions matter.
Here are some ways that you can empower women in the workplace.
1. Encourage Them To Speak Up
Simply bringing women to the table is not enough. In meetings, women are frequently disregarded according to this article from Harvard Business Review. Create a space for women to offer their opinions at meetings once you’ve brought them in. If no one volunteers, ask one of the women to present a specific question. Be active in trying to engage them as best you can.
For moms who are balancing childcare and video calls at the same time, today’s virtual work environment is extremely tough. Not only are they distracted, they are easily talked over in virtual conversations too. Video technology makes it much harder to pick up on nonverbal indications, so try to vouch for them whenever you can.
2. Give Honest Feedback and Expectations
Feedback is a crucial tool that can help women in the workplace feel more secure. You may help women in the workplace develop their talents by pointing out what’s going well and what could be done differently.
The constant competitive drive required to break through the glass ceiling can also lead to sexist workplace relationships. When you start giving positive feedback to other women in the workplace, you’re changing the narrative that there’s only room for one woman to succeed.
3. Mentor Other Women
This article reports that women who have a close circle of female friends are more likely to earn executive roles with increased power and salary.
Conversations with a mentor might help women feel more at ease when it comes to discussing their job ambitions. This will make advocating for a promotion and speaking up in meetings much easier for them.
In fact, at Payruler, the majority (67%) of leaders are women. It is important for our team to have everyone represented. Moreover, our leaders encourage brainstorming to come up with solutions. This helps in moving women to take up space.
4. Support Other Women When They Need It
If you’re a senior executive at your company, you have a responsibility to train and develop subordinate personnel. It’s vital that you concentrate your efforts on giving women more opportunities to have experience. Make the most of your position by advocating for the inclusion of less experienced women in new projects.
Share your support for these ladies as they seek a raise or promotion when it’s appropriate. Early in a woman’s career, your advice can help open doors that will eventually lead to the boardroom.
5. Introduce Them to Your Connections
It’s often not about what you know, but who you know, that matters in a job search. During a job hunt, second-degree relationships are proven useful. Consider your own professional network and who you might be able to introduce to other women in your workplace.
Our empowered women enjoying each other’s company
6. Make Women Empowerment in the Workplace an Active Goal
Don’t forget to include female participation in your annual goals and achievement measurements if you are part of the decision-makers in your organization. Set a goal for greater equity in the distribution of incentives and raises across the company to guarantee that women are treated equally.
In the Payruler team, for instance, we are practicing a 360-appraisal with the aim of combating biases. This inclusive and complete evaluation method paves way for rewarding the hard work of employees, men and women alike.
7. Keep Your Doors Open
Women often flourish in the job when they have solid relationships. Be friendly and establish yourself as the go-to person for your team’s female members. Build trust by being supportive of women in the workplace and actively advocating for additional opportunities for them to shine. Invest in the woman’s entire career path, not just her current position.
Maintain an open door policy and ask your team for feedback on what’s working and what isn’t. Pay great attention to what the working moms have to say when you get this input. For example, when working moms feel encouraged and motivated to pursue true work-life integration, they are a tremendous asset to your team.
Payruler believes that the idea that the tech industry should be male-dominated is long overdue. Our team welcomes everyone who is aligned with our core values. In fact, 50% of our team are women. And their individual inputs are well-recognized across the organization.
How Can HR Help
Aside from these things, having an HR Team that supports this movement makes a big difference. The best HR practices when it comes to women empowerment in the workplace includes things like closing the pay gap, flexibility for working moms, and active promotion programs.
Payruler, for instance, is an HRMS system in the Philippines that offers Hire, Identify, and Empower modules.
Hire Module
Our Hire Module makes setting up a non-discriminating hiring process a little less painful. This module allows you to track pools of candidates and their progress in the hiring funnel, ensuring the right talent is selected regardless of sex.
Identify Module
With our Identify Module, HR teams can easily store information on employees’ performance appraisals and their current competencies. But it’s more than just a performance-tracking tool. Our Identify Module also assists HR teams identify points for feedback, as well as determine the unique strengths that women can contribute at work. If you plan on building an honest feedback process and transparent goal setting, this module can help you get started.
Empower Module
Under our Empower Module, organizations can get information straight from the source thanks to its easy dissemination process. This can be helpful for organization-wide education on women empowerment, providing better visibility for the best employee stories. HR Teams are also given an insight on the modern practices that aim to elevate women’s roles in the workplace.
There are so many initiatives you can do to support your fellow women. But it may start with a platform like Payruler. Ultimately, it starts with you.
The Bottom Line
The way we operate has drastically changed. As a result of the pandemic, an unprecedented number of women quit their jobs to care for their families and manage their children’s education from home. Flexibility will be more vital than ever as these women re-enter the workforce.
Along with that flexibility comes the power to empower. We, at Payruler, support workplaces where women celebrate women!
