2 ways to build a company culture that truly supports women
2 ways to build a company culture that truly supports women
BoomPop Team · 3/30/2022
For the last two years, the “future of work” has been on everyone’s mind. Remote work, The Great Resignation, and the hybrid future have broadened our understanding of what the workplace can and should be, often for the better.
In 2020, one key area of growth was that diversity and inclusion shifted from being an often-overlooked facet of corporate strategy to an undeniable necessity. Issues faced by many marginalized employees started coming to light, including the unique struggles of women in the workplace.
As we close out Women’s History Month, it’s important to reflect on the fact that the history of women at work is defined by inequity and discrimination. If we aren’t deliberate in correcting those failures, the future of work will be defined by them, too.
Below, you’ll find two ways to evolve your organization’s approach to supporting women that can help build a more supportive and inclusive team culture.
Prioritizing action, not words
It’s increasingly common for organizations to spend Women’s History Month spotlighting the women who work at their organization on social media, hosting special celebrations, or telling women how much their contributions are valued.
There’s nothing wrong with any of these gestures, but problems arise when the lived experience of women in an organization don’t live up to these messages. Does your company have a consistent history of equitable pay? Are women represented at multiple levels of leadership, on multiple kinds of teams? Are your policies and practices built to support women’s unique and varied needs?
Rather than just an opportunity for gratitude or celebration, events like Women’s History Month can be a moment of contemplation for leaders, including those who have different experiences within the same group. How do younger women feel about your workplace compared to older coworkers? Or those of different races or ethnicities?
Like any identity, there is no single universal experience of womanhood–and turning your words into actions means finding out how those varieties of experiences can be seen, heard, and supported by the day-to-day actions people in your organization take.
Actions can look like tangible commitments to hiring and retention of women, improving employee sentiment scores, rolling out new healthcare, paid leave, or flexible work policies that support women, or finding opportunities to partner with nonprofit organizations. What matters most is that your actions provide tangible resources and support that go beyond words.
Thinking bigger than employee resource groups
If you’ve ever worked at a large company, chances are you’ve at least heard of–if not been a part of–an employee resource group. These groups, often referred to as ERGs, are the cornerstone of many inclusion strategies today. Gartner defines them as, “a voluntary, employee-led diversity and inclusion initiative that is formally supported by an organization.”
These groups can have a powerful impact on employees by providing information, mentorship, and connections between those with similar identities or backgrounds. The leaders of these groups are essentially company culture champions, helping to put values into action and foster a greater sense of belonging.
This can be a crucial resource for women, and ERG leaders can offer invaluable insights to leaders about ways their community might be feeling under-supported. But the value of having employee resource groups only goes so far—especially if women are not represented among leadership or given the same opportunities to succeed.
One major issue with ERGs is that their leaders are often unpaid, meaning an organization is having marginalized people perform additional labor to benefit the company without additional benefit to the employee. Especially considering ERGs for women are often some of the largest within an organization, and considering wage discrepancies that might already exist, this can increase the burden on women employees.
While paying ERG leaders can be a good step in some cases, it’s not the only one that matters. Organizations need to prioritize the work of building a better team culture at a company-wide level. The day-to-day needs of support, recognition, and connection are too much of a burden to place on a handful of volunteers—it needs dedicated time and attention from leaders and experts.
When considering the needs of women and other marginalized employees, it’s important for leaders to remember it is ultimately their responsibility. ERGs cannot fill every culture gap in an organization. From having town halls and open dialogue to setting specific budgets aside for company-wide culture initiatives, building connectivity and belonging must be a top-level priority for every leader.
Shaping the future of work for women
Conversations on the future of work–whether it’s where or how we work–cannot be had without the understanding that women will be impacted differently based on the choices their organizations make.
Tackling these issues head on requires us to step back from business-as-usual to assess whether the policies and values of our organizations actually benefit women, or any of the other marginalized people navigating the complexities of work, life, and the balance between them.
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