Ten things companies can do to increase gender diversity in the workplace – Part 2

Part two of our gender diversity tips

Step 6 Make Mentoring a Priority

“Research shows that mentoring programs can be powerful tools for advancing the careers of professional women. Every young professional can benefit from having a mentor. But for women in male-dominated corporate environments, the need is even greater. Women with mentors, research finds, are more likely to apply for promotions. That changes when managers are given the task of encouraging talented women to move up.”

Do you have a mentoring program in place? Do you know of any women (in your own organisation or others) who could be a mentor for your developing talent?

Step 7 Retain Your Best Women

“What does it take to keep talented women in your organization? Asking them directly is a good place to start in getting an answer. However, research finds that flexible work hours, generous maternity leave benefits and coaching for women returning to the workforce can make a difference.”

Have you recently asked your staff what keeps them attached to your organisation? Research shows that in Not for Profit organisations money is not always a deciding factor in taking or keeping a job. Are you offering the right benefits to keep your best staff?

Step 8 Measure Your Result

“When companies put goals in writing and track their results, things gets done. Companies need to know where they stand and make managers accountable for the level of gender diversity in their organizations. Benchmarks to track include the proportion of women in a company's business units at each level, pay levels of women vs. men at comparable levels, attrition rates by gender and the ratio of women actually promoted to women eligible for promotion.”

Our recent Not for Profit Remuneration Report shows a disparity between male and female remuneration, with nearly all positions reporting higher wages for males over females. Have you benchmarked your pay levels by gender?

Step 9 Plan for Diversity

“Succession planning is the best way to assure the optimal mix of backgrounds, experience, skills and perspectives on boards and among top executives. Companies can use opportunities created by turnover to generate the kind of collective strategic thinking needed to compete successfully in a constantly changing economy.”

Does your strategic plan include a section on succession planning and skills diversity? If not, ensure it is included at the next planning meeting.

Step 10 Move Beyond Tokenism

“According to McKinsey, companies with three or more women in senior management scored higher on measures of organizational excellence than companies with no women at the top. It is not enough to add a woman here or there. The best performers build a critical mass that gives women the power to have their views heard.”

How many females sit on your Board? How many senior management are females? What strategies do you have in place to balance any gender inequity?

Read the full article on Reuters here.