How to empower women at work

How to empower women at work

In the 1970s, women were not welcome in organisations and some countries they were not allowed to work. With the globalisation and the technological development, cultural barriers left off and restrictions to work was eliminated. Employment laws and ethics are improved and those initiatives helped to empower women, but there are major gaps that need to be filled. As employees, we need to give space to female employees to build their career by empowering them without hesitation. International women’s day is a great day to appreciate the hard work of all women who are working in different industrial sectors. With empowerment, organisations can allow female employees to have more control over their lives. HR services in organisations can organise sponsorship opportunities and training for women. Companies can give career opportunities for female employees such as promoting them into senior- management level positions based on their work patterns and performance. With regarding empowering women at the workplace, here are some small tips to implement empowering work culture within your organisation. 

Providing professional development opportunities 

Professional development is essential when developing a career. Professional development can help employees improve their growth and movement within the organisation. HR services in organisations need to empower female employees to address workplace conversations. In addition, they can use an enterprise social network to share ideas about ongoing professional development courses. Modern HRIS systems come with training and development module, which helps employees identify training gaps. Then they can request training to overcome those gaps. ‘Diversity Best Practices 2017 Inclusion Index’ found that in USA female employee participation for leadership and professional development is less. When it comes to advance development, programs, Asian women are more likely to participate than others. If you are a HR manager, make sure you will fill these gaps to empower women at work. 

Use meetings as a chance to show support for women’s ideas

Official conversations are the places where female voices are drowned by male voices. These type of situations can be harmful to the female employees. These types of initiatives can negatively effect on their career and their corporate personality. As managers, you need to listen to all of your team members while making a decision. Managers must encourage females to open their voice and their opinions. If they feel safe to give their ideas and opinions, they will definitely give their 100% to ensure success. 

Participate in outbound activities that empower women

When planning a trip or outings make sure to plan activities, which can be accessible for all employees. Do not do the mistake of letting female employees feel left off in those activities. HR services can use outbound activities as an opportunity to empower women. In addition, these activities can help organisations to build team spirit among team members. This helps to create a positive mind between employees.

Improve gender diversity

Improving gender diversity cannot be done overnight. Since it linked with the company culture, it needs to be changed in the long run. However, the HR services need to take initiatives to change the culture with the organisation. Companies can use enterprise social network to get suggestions from the employees. Then employees also feel that their ideas are valued. From the information collected, HR services can implement new activities and trends to transform the culture to improve gender diversity. Those social platforms can be used to create awareness about the initiatives among employees. In the meantime, HR managers can educate their employees about gender diversity and its importance. Having those goals will not make any difference, you need to make them live.

By adopting these strategies, organisations can empower women at work easily. It will not happen overnight, but you will able to witness the change within 2-3 months. Since we all are humans, we need to make sure that; we treat everyone equally in any given scenario.

  • Read 3406 times
  • Last modified on Thursday, 12 March 2020 10:49
Super User

HR Sri Lanka aims to create a common ground for HR practitioners to share views and experiences.

Website: hsenidbiz.com/