When women advance, we all advance

The benefits of gender equality in the workplace and how to achieve it

Nowadays gender equality is a given, right? Unfortunately not. Especially in the workplace, women are still held back for multiple reasons. Yet, women are more than ever ready to step up for their rights. We gathered the latest insights on gender equality and identified promising future directions for companies and brands to create meaningful social change. Because when women advance, we all advance.

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In this article, Linda Knott and Florianne Rasch from the strategy team of Havas Lemz discuss the most striking results of the new Prosumer Study "When women advance, we all advance". On the occasion of the International Women's Day 2022, Havas surveyed 8.000 people in ten countries to explore the current state, emerging trends, and future paths of gender equality. The report pays special attention to the views of "prosumers", who are six to eighteen months ahead of mainstream consumers and thus provide a glimpse into the future.1?

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In recent years, efforts promoting gender equality have been amplified, leading one generation after the other to experience successive progress. In fact, 80% of women think their generation has gained in terms of gender equality. (2) But women do not take these developments for granted. One out of two women is afraid that the level of equality in their country will regress in the future. (2) Gender equality is still fragile and the Corona pandemic has shown once again that it only takes a political or economic crisis to challenge women's rights. Compared to the time before COVID, reaching gender equality has been delayed by one generation. (2) Making up 70% of the health workforce, women were at the forefront of the pandemic. (3) At the same time they took on a disproportionate share of the child care burdens during school and daycare closings. (3) Most importantly the crisis also led to greater employment losses?for women than for men. (4)?

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What hurdles women have to overcome

Even apart from the setbacks caused by the pandemic, the gender gap in the workplace is far from being closed. On average, women still earn less than men. For every 100 euro men earn, women only receive 86 euro. (5) And even though women make up almost half of all employees in the EU, there are still fewer women in executive positions. Among a hundred managers, only 35 are female. (6) The new Prosumer Study from Havas shows the most experienced hurdles women encounter in their careers.

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Work-family conflict

76% of female prosumers and 63% of mainstream female consumers indicated balancing family and work is a major obstacle in their careers. (2) Among other things, parental leave plays an important role in this context. Implementing maternity leave alone holds women back from career progression. Ineffective paid paternity leave policies perpetuate gender inequality and maintain unequal divisions in child-rearing and household responsibilities. (7) Only when companies encourage parental leave for both men and women the negative impact of taking family leave on the careers of both genders will be completely eliminated. (8)?

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Toxic company culture

61% of female prosumers and 52% of female mainstream consumers indicated that negative company culture is a major barrier in their career. (2) Toxic “boys club” cultures are most prevalent in male dominated teams and lead to unethical behaviour that causes other employees to feel disrespected. (9) Especially when men hold more positions of power within a company, this can have a negative effect on women's career advancement. In contrast, research found that women move further and faster through their organisations when there is at least one female leader compared to when there are only male leaders. (8)?

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Outdated stereotypes?

61% of female prosumers and 52% of female mainstream consumers mentioned outdated stereotypes as a major hurdle in their career development. (2) Here are four of the most common biases held by both male and female employees at the workplace (10):

1. Performance bias: we tend to underestimate women’s performance and overestimate men’s performance at work.
2. Attribution bias: we give women less credit for success and more blame for failure and therefore women feel like having to meet higher standards.?
3. Likeability bias: we expect men to be assertive and women to be kind. When women assert themselves, we like them less.?
4. Maternal bias: we assume that mothers are less committed to their careers and less competent. Therefore, they are less likely to be hired and tend to be offered lower salaries.?

Despite all these major impediments, women are ready to step up and have been for a while. In general, self-confidence among women in the workforce is on the rise. Nowadays, almost as many women (46%) as men (49%) have already spontaneously asked for a raise in salary. (2) And a remarkable 91% of women attribute their success to hard work and skills. (2) Women stand up for themselves to demand their rightful place at work and in society. And there are multiple reasons why we should support them.?

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Why equality is beneficial

A growing body of research highlights the benefits of equality and diversity in the workplace. (11) When workplaces foster a climate of inclusion, employees feel valued as individuals and important members of the group. A positive climate improves the health and well-being of employees, as well as employee self-esteem, commitment, and retention. In addition, sexual harassment is more likely to be reported and up to nine times less likely to occur in companies where gender equality and employee trust is high. (8)?

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Apart from employee satisfaction, inclusive cultures also have a significant positive effect on work-related outcomes. Today, the most diverse companies are more likely than ever to outperform their less diverse competitors in terms of profitability. In fact, there is a substantial performance difference of 48 percent between the most and least gender-diverse companies. (12) This is because diversity is a key driver of effective decision making, risk monitoring and innovation in business. In particular, companies with more women on their management teams have a competitive advantage and significantly higher profitability. (12) The Prosumer Study shows that future management requires qualities typically attributed to women. Respondents indicated that tomorrow's leaders must be creative, collaborative, courageous and sensitive. (2)?

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Finally, in workplaces where equality is promoted, the gender gap is actually decreasing. In inclusive cultures, women's earnings are significantly closer to those of men and they are four times more likely to advance to senior management level than in other companies. But there is even more to it. In work environments where equality is actively promoted, men rise as well more than twice as likely compared to their peers. In conclusion, gender equality in the workplace benefits all employees and should not be handled as a women-only issue. (8)

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How to create an inclusive culture

Companies can and should actively foster gender equality to create a more inclusive culture in general. Research shows three different categories of workplace factors in which companies can take action. (8) These are the most influential and recommended steps for businesses to follow.

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Bold leadership

Make gender equality a priority for management. Leaders play an important role in fostering inclusion and equality can best be achieved and represented by a diverse leadership team. (11) Work units of leaders who promote inclusive practices and value uniqueness experience more positive and fewer negative outcomes. In addition, the company's external communications should report the diversity goal through clear and measurable goals. For example, Unilever announced proudly that it achieved gender balance across its management teams globally. The international company even managed to close the gap in historically underrepresented departments, such as the supply chain, finance, operations, and the tech engineering departments.?

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Comprehensive action

Implement strategies to attract, retain, and promote women. For instance, Pfizer has an outstanding portfolio of diversity programs offered through their internal global network to unlock the full potential of their female employees. The initiatives include sponsorship and development programs, mentorship, and support from senior executives. Note that such programs are particularly effective when they are open to men as well, and there is a balance between women-only and broader measures for all employees. After all, workplace inequality and discrimination are not limited to gender. Many people experience double discrimination due to their race, sexual orientation, a disibility, or another aspect of their identity. (10) Always keep in mind that diversity at work is important and beneficial along all social categories.?

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Empowering environment?

Motivate and engage employees by creating an empowering environment.(13) Organisations excel when employees have the freedom to be creative and innovative, when it provides training to keep its employees’ skills relevant, and when working remotely is not only an option, but a common practice. For example, Patagonia managed to build an impressive culture that not just tolerates but embraces flexibility. Among promoting extra time-off for employees to engage in passion projects, voluntary work and outdoor activities they offered on-site childcare long before current trends. Benefits like these not only support women, but also men to balance their work and family responsibilities.?

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What brands can do

In a nutshell, people, companies, and society strive when all genders are equally treated and represented in the workforce. Brands have the power, responsibility, and incentive to recalibrate the status quo and elicit substantial change. Consumers increasingly demand brands to take a stance on socio-political issues and to become actively involved in combating social injustice. (14)

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To meet these expectations, brands should first and foremost reflect their impact. Advertisement has a profound influence on people's perceptions and behaviour. Besides being a mirror of society, advertising has the ability to shape the world by debunking stereotypes and giving minorities a voice. And apart from being the morally right thing to do, ads with the most progressive gender portrayal perform significantly better than the least progressive ones in terms of brand growth and sales. (15) In fact, 83% of prosumers and 72% of mainstream consumers think that brand commercials should represent women as role models in leading positions. (2) Adidas provides a bright example in this regard. Because research showed that only 4% of sports media coverage in the U.S. is dedicated to women's sport, Adidas launched the still ongoing initiative "She Breaks Barriers " a few years ago. (16) Together with women athletes the brand identified barriers and co-created solutions in partnership with communities and grassroots programs. Among other things, adidas partnered up with Twitter and Intersport to livestream women’s high school volleyball and soccer games for the first time ever.?

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In addition to communicating progressive gender role models, brands can and are expected to do more to expand their social impact. Since trust in governments continues to spiral, people hold businesses and brands accountable to drive social change. (17)?For example, brands can lead meaningful reforms for women, such as contributing to equal access to education for girls. This includes getting young women interested in male-dominated disciplines to increase the relatively small proportion of female employees in these sectors. Overall, 87% of prosumers and 72% of mainstream consumers agree that to achieve equality, we should promote girls and women in the most forward-looking fields of study. (2) Although there are regional differences, women are still under-represented in subject areas driving the digital revolution. (18) The tech giant HP believes that technology is a key enabler of education and aims to bring digital literacy to 100 million people by 2025. (19) Recently, the company accelerated its gender-equality efforts by partnering with Utiva, a tech education startup, to inspire and train teenage girls in Kenya in software development and product design. (20)

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In summary, brands must take action to remain relevant in the future: because customers will buy from, employees will work for, and investors will invest in brands that share their beliefs and values.?

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Conclusion

Even though the gender gap is still far from closed and women still face many hurdles in the workplace, more and more companies and brands recognize the importance and benefits of gender equality and diversity.?

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Does your company or your brand want to embrace inclusivity and gender diversity as part of its core values (BE)? Then you need to create an inclusive work culture with bold leadership, comprehensive action, and an empowering environment (DO). Share your diversity targets via clear and measurable goals and reflect them in your brand communication with a progressive gender representation (SAY). Because when women advance, we all advance.?

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If you want to learn more or discuss this important topic, please feel free to reach out: [email protected].

Sources

1. Havas Group. (n.d.). Prosumer FAQs - Dare! Retrieved from Prosumer FAQs - Dare!

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2. Havas Group. (2022). When women advance, we all advance: Special Prosumer Report.?

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3. Ramos, G. (2020). Women at the core of the fight against COVID-19 crisis. OECD. https://doi.org/10.1787/553a8269-en?

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4. Zarrilli, S., & Luomaranta, H. (2021). Gender and unemployment: Lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic. In Geneva, Switzerland: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Retrieved from https://unctad.org/news/gender-and-unemployment-lessons-covid-19-pandemic

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5. Europa Nu. (2021). Equal pay day: Joint statement by vice-president Jourová and commissioners Schmit and Dalli. Retrieved from?https://www.europa-nu.nl/id/vlnqhg5zfgwo/nieuws/equal_pay_day_joint_statement_by_vice?ctx=vh94ercwm6u9#:~:text=Women%20in%20the%20European%20Union,Day%20falls%20on%2010%20November

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6. Catalyst. (2022, 01 march). Women in management (quick take). Retrieved from https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-in-management/#easy-footnote-bottom-18-3711?

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7. Duffy, S., van Esch, P., & Yousef, M. (2020). Increasing parental leave uptake: A systems social marketing approach. Australiasian Marketing Journal (AMS), 28(2), 110-118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ausmj.2020.01.007?

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8. Shook, E., & Sweet, J. (2018). When she rises, we all rise. Getting to Equal 2018: Creating a culture where everyone thrives. Accenture.?https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/pdf-73/accenture-when-she-rises-we-all-rise.pdf?

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9. Sull, D., Sull, C., & Zweig, B. (2022). Toxic culture is driving the great resignation. MIT Sloan Management Review. Retrieved from https://www.acmpnorcalchapter.org/changemanagement-articles?

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10. Lean In. (z.d.). An introduction to the common biases women experience. Retreived from https://leanin.org/education/50-ways-to-fight-bias-overview

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11. Brimhall, K., & Palinkas, L. (2020). Using mixed methods to uncover inclusive leader behaviors: A promising approach for improving employee and organizational outcomes. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 27(4), 357-375. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051820936286 ?

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12. Dixon-Fyle, S., Dolan, K., Hunt, V., & Prince, S. (2020) Diversity wins: How inclusion matters. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved from?https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-wins-how-inclusion-matters?

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13. Davidson, K. (2020). Increasing organizational commitment: Empowering employees in the workplace. University Honors Theses. Paper 849. https://doi.org/10.15760/honors.869?

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15. Poole, D. (2021). The power of inclusion and diversity in advertising. Kantar. Retrieved from https://www.kantar.com/inspiration/advertising-media/the-power-of-inclusion-and-diversity-in-advertising?

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16. Adidas (2019). Adidas continues to push for equality in sports, increasing visibility for female athletes. Retrieved from https://news.adidas.com/american-football/adidas-continues-push-for-equality-in-sports--increasing-visibility-for-female-athletes/s/2a1bbd18-8a81-4e19-811d-81905304f564#_ftn1?

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17. Edelman. (2022). Edelman trust barometer: The cycle of distrust. Retrieved from https://www.edelman.com/trust/2022-trust-barometer?

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18. Schneegans, S., Lewis, J., Straza, T. (2021) UNESCO Science Report: the race against time for smarter development. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000377433

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19. Suiter, T. (2019) On International Women’s Day, HP Inc. expands social impact partnerships to support education: Shares brave girl rising film and supports women deliver, black girls CODE and more. Retrieved from https://www.globenewswire.com/fr/news-release/2019/03/08/1750621/0/en/On-International-Women-s-Day-HP-Inc-Expands-Social-Impact-Partnerships-to-Support-Education.html?

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20. Tech Cabal (2022). HP, Utiva and Girl Rising set to move more girls to tech in Kenya. Retrieved from https://techcabal.com/2022/02/14/hp-and-utiva-and-girl-rising-set-to-move-more-girls-to-tech-in-kenya/