What progress is your employing organisation making in terms of gender equality? Now companies are required to publish this information publicly, the data should be easy enough to find. For most, it’s a resounding ‘could do better.’
So-how do organisations turn overblown rhetoric into meaningful action- and most importantly, achieve equal pay?
1. Job advertisement wording
It’s not rocket science. Before a recruiter places an ad, they should ask: ‘Does it pass the gender bias test?’ Cut and paste the ad wording into a gender bias checker and amend so the ad will appeal to any potential applicant regardless of gender.
2. Candidate assessment
Ensure your criteria are objective and free from bias. Much has been written about men being appointed for their potential rather than evidence of their past performance. Woman are more typically judged on the latter. This immediately puts them at a disadvantage. Evidence of future performance needs to be grounded in past achievements for all. ‘Potential’ needs to take account of over-confidence typified by male candidates and under-confidence by females. A self-confident performance inspires confidence in a panel- but may of course be bull***t.
Women typically undersell themselves. And with good reason; we are all conditioned to respect confidence in men- but to find it less appealing in women; another bias to be aware of. It’s a double-bind that women find themselves in. Demonstrating the characteristics of successful male counterparts will not make you ‘likeable.’ It’s a serious bias that we all need to be aware of, taking steps to push back about our ingrained, stereotyped conditioning.
Having an unconscious bias checklist before an appointment is made should be standard practice.
3. Address gender bias in your workplace culture
As Peter Drucker famously said: ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast.’ This is the hardest nut to crack. Achieving equality in pay will help significantly. Making changes to your workplace culture and what it represents will take time. Walking the talk requires self-discipline in the extreme.
I have lost track of the number of opaque promotions I’ve observed of (mainly) white men into positions of power. It’s not in their interests to change the power balance. Making space for colleagues to share the top table is uncomfortable, given the negative preconceptions of women- especially of women in power. Yet time and again research has illustrated that economically organisations are more financially successful, employee retention is greater and staff are happier.
4. Review the reward structure
What behaviours are rewarded in your organisation? Time and again we hear that ‘soft skills’ (a whole other topic for a future post) are what employers say they require to hire and to progress. Research by Korn Ferry identified this in 2015. However, in practice these are not necessarily the skills that are rewarded. In behaviour stakes confidence often trumps capability and the more nuanced softer communication skills which are often overlooked.
4. What are your organisation’s measures of success for managers?
Focusing on the following criteria may be a more objective way of reviewing performance.
- Focusing on tangible outputs and outcomes gives you some idea of impact and ROI. This is what the manager was hired for, after all.
- Has the manager ensured all their reports have had the opportunity to develop professionally? Inequalities may be evident, depending on where resources have been invested.
- Are all staff able to participate in and contribute to strategic planning and setting objectives? In what ways? Asking them will reveal the degree of buy-in they feel.
- Staff turn-over. What are the reasons for staff leaving? Have they been promoted? Have they moved sideways to gain experience or to escape the culture/line manager? Have they left the organisation? Are exit interviews taken seriously? Leaky talent pipelines needs to be addressed and managers held to account.
- What is the team culture? Is it one where staff feel they can contribute and shape activity, or are they micromanaged? How are successes celebrated? How are staff who are struggling supported?
All these factors should be taken into account when considering applications for promotion. Statistically female managers make for happier staff. This is not recognised in the level of senior female staff promotions compared to male colleagues in many instances.
- Is the pay and reward structure equitable?
- What does the data show you?
- How can your employer ensure steps are taken to reward female colleagues who are high performers reflect earnings of male counterparts?
No one ever said achieving gender equality in the workplace would be easy. However it’s way slower than it should be. Recruiters need to beware; it’s currently a buyer’s market. To retain and attract top female talent they will need to try much harder.
‘Deeds not words.’ Emmeline Pankhurst
