Maintaining a positive and supportive work environment is crucial for your team to feel safe and fulfilled. Eliminating the gender gaps in your organisation is the start to offering equal rights for work and development. You should empower both men and women to take senior positions. Training your team to respect every individual regardless of any differences they might have is also your responsibility. Here are several ideas on how to achieve these:
1. Set fair and equal rules to prevent gender inequality.
Your company rules and policies should include points about harassment and discrimination to protect human rights. Make sure to instruct your team on how to react in case they witness such violations. You should provide a safe reporting system to avoid leaving such situations unnoticed and unpunished. In case you witness behaviour contradicting human rights, immediately call out the violator to maintain unbiased and equal company culture.
2. Organize special training to promote an open and inclusive workplace.
Your team should be aware that you don’t tolerate discrimination and unprofessional behaviour. Holding training sessions is an easy way to state this and assure they understand it clearly. Training would help them identify any biased assumptions and be able to avoid them in the future. Use simulations to let them experience such situations and encourage them to take the necessary actions. This makes the learning process more memorable and effective.
3. Promote work-life balance.
Promoting work-life balance is a great way to eliminate gender gaps. You could start with providing the option of not only maternity but also paternity leave. This would support mothers to invest more time in their careers and fathers to feel free to spend more time with their children. A plan to reintegrate parents after returning from their parental leave would also be helpful. It would get them back on track quickly and easily without feeling unacquainted.
Gender inequality is a global problem that should not be neglected. We all have the same human rights, and employers should provide a safe and equal work environment. They should be the ones promoting the problem and encouraging their team to act responsibly. No matter their gender, people should have the same work experience and be provided with the same career opportunities.
Does this sound like your company? If the answer is ‘no’, you’d want to start acting now!
