Hire More Women

It's Friday, I'm a feminist... you guessed it... it's ? FEMINISM FRIDAY ?

This week, I'm sharing my top tips for businesses looking to attract more women into their organisation.

I totally get how small businesses end up in a bit of a pickle with their gender diversity. If it's not on your agenda from day one, it can be difficult to retrofit the practices you should be employing to get a balance of talent in your business.

There are plenty of other ways to attract the ladyfolk but these are some of the things that immediately sprung to mind when I was thinking about it this week.

Tip #1: Stop asking for the moon on a stick when all you want is a piece of cheese.

That thing where everyone tells you women don’t apply for roles if there are too many requirements cause we don’t think we fit them all. Yeah, that’s a thing for a reason. Because it’s true. Huge wish lists of skills on a job description are a red flag for us.

Tip #2: Part-time or flexible hours are gonna be a big pull for a lot of women.

You might not want to hear this, but women are usually the primary caregivers in a household. Men’s careers have long been seen as more important because they earn more money so women are left to childcare or caring for relatives when the time comes to it. (Seriously, the leisure gap is a thing for you to research if you don’t believe me). So flexi-hours or part time hours around school would be a big draw for loads of awesome female candidates.

Tip #3: Advertise your roles where women might actually see them.

This may also come as a surprise, but asking your mates at the golf course or down the pub where to get your next employee might not give you quite the diverse candidates you’re looking for. There are plenty of women in tech groups that have job boards (both paid for and free of charge) where you can share your job adverts. Or use a recruiter as they’ll have access to a wider candidate network.

Tip #4: Tell people publicly that you are an ally for women and other minority groups.

We like to know we’re in a workplace that values women, that understands that we have probably put up with a lot of sh*t in past roles, and that is willing to stand up for us. We want to know that we’ll be treated fairly. That we work for a company that takes us seriously. If you don’t show that you’re the kind of company that does that, and if you’re not vocal about why you support gender diversity (i.e., show us it’s not a tickbox exercise), then you’re not likely to attract women to work with you.

Tip #5: Representation matters.

If you’re a white guy, you’ve got hundreds of people who look like you sitting at the top of businesses. You have role models everywhere. If you’re a woman, or a minority group, that isn’t your lived experience. It really is true for a lot of people that ‘if you can’t see it, you can’t be it’. If your business only employs women in menial or junior roles, from an outsider perspective, we’re not seeing that you respect female input. And no, having your wife as the company secretary so you can take her tax free allowance out does not constitute female representation at the top.

You're welcome ?