There have been reoccurring conversations about the disparity in pay between men and women, but do you know about the other gender inequalities that plague our workplaces? It’s true…there are others that exist outside of the gender pay gap that we need to bring to light. And as the data shows, many of these inequalities are quite concerning.
For example, a 2022 McKinsey & Company report explored gender inequality at work and factors that influence it:
Just 1 in 4 C-suite leaders is a woman, and only 1 in 20 is a woman of color.
For every 100 men who are promoted from entry-level roles to manager positions, only 87 women are promoted.
Women experience microaggressions that undermine their authority, making it more difficult for them to advance.
Female leaders are twice as likely as male leaders to be mistaken for someone more junior.
Latinas and black women are less likely than women of other races and ethnicities to report their manager supports their career development, negatively influencing their ability to ascend professionally.
The challenges that women face at work, and particularly women of color, isn’t getting better but is getting worse than what we’ve seen in the past. The gap is widening beyond pay inequality, meaning that organizations aren’t doing a good job in addressing such issues. While many might say this is a DEI issue, and it is, it is more of a human issue—ensuring that all people have/get the same opportunities to excel and recognizing where equitable business practices need to be implemented.
So, what does an organization do to address this? Well, that’s a great question. Here are some tips on how to improve gender equality in the workplace:
Invest in DEI. Spend resources to improve DEI within your company. This could mean investing in unconscious bias training or enlisting outside expertise to educate and raise awareness for women's issues to build the skills to counter inequality.
Show empathy and offer flexibility. Developing a culture of openness, empathy and flexibility can make everyone feel comfortable in the workplace and reduce barriers to growth. Allow employees to address their needs at home.
Promote more women. How can young women starting their careers envision an equitable path for their career if they cannot see women in leadership positions? Promoting women into executive roles can help promote DEI.
Support women's professional development. Mentorship, networking, and other professional development opportunities help grow careers.
Make employee well-being a priority. Focusing on employee mental health can also help to address equity in the workplace. Be flexible in the way you support your employees' well-being, whether through exercise, meditation or just a day off.
To make change we must recognize existing gender inequalities in our organizations and ask leadership how we plan to address those inequalities. Failure to act will lead to dire circumstances for the organization…loss of talent, innovation, and ideation just to name a few.
Adapted from SHRM.