Not all employment opportunities are created equal. Some have higher pay, some offer more benefits, and some are in a better location.
These are normal considerations when it comes to making career decisions as a prospective employee looking for work. However, some women are forced to look into some slightly different considerations when looking for a career. Some things that an employer can do in order to help current or prospective female employees have to do with equality and advocacy.
Gender equality isn’t something that happens on its own. It’s something that happens through policy changes, conscious decision making, and taking inventory in order to find pain points. Through these changes, women seeking work can look into normal workplace considerations and not which company will advocate for them and treat them equally.
Reduce the Pay Gap
One major change a company can make in order to help their female employees is to close the pay gap within men and women at their company. Doing this is a bit more complex than it sounds, but it involves taking inventory of each employee’s wages as well as their education, pay, time at the company, and value — among other things.
Reducing the pay gap involves compiling data and research to discover where the gaps are and how to fix them. It’s about teaching upper management and all hiring managers to take a look at gender equality and make cognizant decisions about it when hiring, promoting, and giving raises — not just assuming that a bias doesn’t exist.
Provide Great Health Coverage
Health coverage is an extremely important benefit that many women consider when looking for an employer. In terms of checkup guidelines for women, an annual checkup is sometimes recommended for women between the ages of 18 and 21, while women age 22 to 49 should be seen for a complete physical exam at least once every 4 years. Women age 50 to 64 should have wellness exams at least every 2 years, and women over age 65 should be seen every year. In order to complete these checkups for preventative care, women need good health coverage — not to mention birth control coverage, pregnancy coverage, and preventative screenings. Offering these will be a great help to female employees.
Adopt Policies That Advocate for Them
Making women feel safe and advocated for in the workplace involves adopting some policies that show them their employer is there for them and their needs. Flexible work options that can help working mothers, on-site childcare solutions, a pumping area in the office, female mentorship opportunities, and no-tolerance harassment policies are all great ways to implement policies that advocate for female employees. You might consider sensitivity training in regards to gender bias, encouraging a healthy work-life balance for all, and stellar parental leave policies. These policies are great any employee regardless of gender but will also help to alleviate some pain points that many women experience in their career.
Provide Maternity Leave
Many women still feel like they need to hide their pregnancy from their employer. Why? Because of the fear that they will miss out on promotions, be treated unfairly due to time off they may need, and the assumption that their passion for their work may now be shifting. However, a healthy maternity leave policy as well as positive attitudes towards working mothers can change all of that for female employees. Some companies are able to offer more than others, but this can include work-from-home options, paid time off, and implementing parental leave instead of maternity leave. It’s also important to talk about time off, promotions, and workflow in order to help female employees feel like their job or status isn’t in jeopardy just because they are becoming parents.
Give a Place to Women in Leadership Positions
Representation is so important. Women now earn more than 40 percent of the shared income for married parents in the U.S. — a 33 percent increase since 1970 — and are the primary breadwinners in nearly one-third of dual-income couples. More women are educated, ready for leadership positions, and just as qualified as their male counterparts. Giving a place to women in these leadership roles will not only help to close the pay gap, it’ll increase the representation of women in leadership roles within the company. Reaching out to female employees and coaching them in the same way that many men are coached can help to foster the kind of culture that prioritises female leadership within company ranks.
It’s normal to consider the positives and negatives of any given employment opportunity. However, it’s not normal for women to have to decide on employment opportunities based on which ones will treat them equally. In order for a company to help their female employees, there are things an employer can do. These things include being conscious of issues with the gender pay gap, providing great health coverage, adopting policies that advocate for women’s needs, providing maternity leave, and giving a place to women in leadership roles.
