Gender balance requires ensuring equitable opportunities for people regardless of their gender by providing equitable access to employment, compensation,benefits, and opportunities for growth in an organisation. Gender balance isn't just another “feminist” fad but has actual benefits to every organisation.
These include:
The ability to pick from a wider talent pool as (opposed to only selecting among “half” the population)
A wider set of ideas and opinions with a female perspective being considered and with more representation of your customer (both male and female)
Improved business reputation because businesses with better representation overall tend to score highly in customer opinion rankings
Higher profits are also linked to improved gender balance. According to McKinsey, the most gender-diverse companies are 21% more like to experience above-average profitability.
So how can your business ensure gender balance is attained?
Fostering a diverse culture: This can be achieved by making inclusion a part of the business values and day to day operations while also tackling discrimination head on through enforcing strict and zero tolerance measures in the workplace in response to this.
Career progression: Another way to improve gender balance is to give women equal opportunities for horizontal and vertical mobility within the organisation (transfers and promotions) whether they have children or not
Narrowing the gender pay gap: Remuneration is a major determinant in career and work satisfaction. To ensure women derive equal satisfaction from their work, both genders should be paid equally for equal work.
Do you believe that your organisation has achieved gender balance and is it a priority?
