How to create work happiness for women (and everyone else)

At Working Wonder, we are in the business of creating work happiness for everyone.? We genuinely believe (and research has proven) that if people are happy at work then it not only has a positive impact on their personal success but a much wider impact on a company’s culture and ultimate business success.

?Workplaces thrive when they are diverse and inclusive - employees are happy and feel supported at work for who they are, it’s as simple as that.

If you ask a woman/anyone identifying as female do they feel that where they work is currently designed 100% to support them and their specific needs, our guess is that the majority of them will say ‘no’, which is such a shame.

This month is Gender Equality Month and today is International Women’s Day, so we wanted to share our expertise specifically to leaders of?organisations on how they can create inclusive working environments for women, and men, so that everyone can thrive.?

Note this list is not exhaustive so please do add any others in the comments too. And we’ve included hyperlinks within the tips to useful videos, articles with interesting facts and figures and proof why you need to be proactive.

• Introduce regular unconscious bias training - Start first with supporting your leadership team in becoming more self-aware of any unconscious biases they may have related to gender then roll-out regular training and encourage honest conversations across the entire organisation.?

Why is it important? To avoid this.

• Gender balance should start from the top - Commit to having a 50:50 gender balance split first within your leadership team then throughout the organisation. If you focus first on achieving gender balance within your leadership team then this will naturally have a positive impact on the rest of the organisation.

Why is this important? According to the United Nations, gender equality is still 300 years away so organisations need to take action now. Also, if @Ikea can do it, so can you.?

• Design workplace policies that support women through their health and life cycles - Women have health conditions throughout their life they have to manage alongside showing up for work each day. Whether it’s the pain of monthly periods/endometriosis, the stress of fertility/infertility issues, pregnancy, miscarriage, IVF, adoption then through to perimenopause physical and mental health symptoms.?

What do you need to do? Companies need to have greater awareness of these and introduce sensitive and supportive policies to help their employees. Don’t be afraid of admitting if you are not equipped to deal with and and instead work with experts that do, such as Over The Bloody Moon , who provide support and training about the menopause.

• Equalise and normalise parental leave for all employees - Companies first looked at increasing maternity leave allowance which was a positive move but actually greater workplace equality can be achieved if you upweight your paternity/secondary carer leave allowance and actively encourage employees who are parents to take it. It’s especially powerful when senior leaders take their full parental leave allowance too.

Which companies are already doing this that I can learn from? Thankfully a lot of companies across multiple industries are updating their parental leave policies to ensure that they are equal for both primary/secondary carers to ensure a fairer distribution of the caring responsibilities. We constantly seek out these companies and share their policies as positive examples, in our Work Happiness, Working Wonders of the Week newsletter.?

• Subsidise childcare/caring expenses - Childcare in the UK is expensive! According to recent research by Pregnant Then Screwed , three-quarters of mothers who pay for childcare say that it does not make financial sense for them to work. Also, 1 in 4 parents (26%) who use formal childcare, say that the cost is now more than 75% of their take home pay. Infrastructure needs to change and companies can introduce employee benefits that contribute towards childcare costs and partner with childcare providers such as Bubble or Koru Kids .?

Why do you need to do this? If you don’t take action now, many of your working parent employees will be forced out of the workplace and leave as this recent research by 普华永道 shows.?

• Encourage ‘feminine’ leadership skills - For too long women have tried to conform into a rigid and out-of-date ‘masculine’ leadership style however, in today’s workplace, leadership skills have evolved and there is a greater need for more ‘feminine’ leadership skills such as compassion, kindness, collaboration and even demonstrating greater vulnerability. Upskilling all of your leaders with these skills will definitely contribute to a more harmonious, positive and productive workplace environment.

Don’t just take our word for it - read this article instead - The Amazing Benefits and Impact of Vulnerability at Work.?

International Women’s Day is not about just one day.? It’s a platform to start conversations and to drive positive and lasting change. For us that change is that companies start their journey (or continue them) to implement some of the above so they can create more gender equal and inclusive workplace environments where everyone can thrive. We want to support you on that journey so do get in touch if you want our help.?

#IWD2023

#Genderequality

Working Wonder Ltd

Nichola Johnson-Marshall Calli Louis

Sarah Hesz Ari Last