It’s 2024 and women are still facing inequality in the workplace due to their gender – which lets be honest is rubbish!

This month we celebrate International Women’s Day and we want to use this occasion to give you three positive ways to take action to create a fairer, more inclusive workplace for the women in your team.

Gender bias in hiring and promotion

Women can encounter bias during the hiring and promotion processes, which results in fewer opportunities for career progression.

Your action: Implement blind recruitment practices, where identifying details such as names and gender are removed from CVs during the initial stages of hiring.

Additionally, ensure that your company promotion criteria are clear and based on merit. Make sure you and your managers hold regular reviews to identify and address any differences in the treatment of genders.

Exclusionary workplace culture

 Your workplace culture, may not be as inclusive as you’d like it to be. This can lead to women feeling unwelcome, which equals reduced job satisfaction and higher employee turnover. Think about the work night out for example – does this indirectly discriminate against women, who may be the only parent at home at night? Or does it include events that may not be as appealing to women?

Your action: Promote diversity and inclusion training for all employees. Encourage open communication and welcome feedback from all of your team to address any concerns related to inclusivity.

Flexible working

Women often face challenges in balancing work and family responsibilities. Inflexible work schedules can turn this balance into a juggle.

Your action: Offer flexible work arrangements, such as remote working options if possible, flexible hours, or compressed work weeks where possible. Implement family-friendly policies, such as parental leave and on-site childcare facilities, to support employees.

You should regularly assess your policies and adapt them where necessary, to promote a fully inclusive workplace.

How can we help?

We have a very comprehensive EDI Audit which we can conduct for your business. We provide with a traffic light report which will highlight any areas where you aren’t meeting employment legislation, as well as highlighting areas where you are doing well, and areas for improvement too.  If you’d like us to conduct an EDI Audit for you, then please do get in touch.

We also offer EDI training to ensure you and all of your team are aware of the benefits that EDI can bring to your business as well as helping you to understand your legal obligations.