Your company is causing TRAUMA for women in leadership. Here are 4 steps to fix it.

Is your company’s female turnover at an all-time high? It’s likely due to a toxic culture.

While many businesses today mandate sensitivity and diversity training - it hasn’t been enough to affect meaningful change for women leaders in the workplace. And the data shows top employees are developing "workplace PTSD ," which involves paralyzing symptoms of chronic anxiety and/or depression, leading to an unfortunate new trend of high-achieving women leaving the workforce altogether.

Lack of understanding, a feeling of being undervalued, unheard, and unseen, at work is creating a type of trauma that is becoming a prevailing and unsettling experience for women in the workplace. Research has indicated that workplace PTSD is exacerbated by unconscious bias and microaggressions (even though most executive leaders think they’re doing everything right) and the impact is what feels like subtle and not so subtle emotional abuse.

Of course, there’s the more blatant workplace sexual harassment , racism, and inappropriate boundaries. But there is also a pervasive, more nuanced unconscious toxicity occurring from the top down that isn’t being acknowledged and it’s leaving women feeling isolated, unsafe, and unsupported.

According to Teresa Quinlan, an? Executive Coach and Emotional Intelligence Practitioner of the EQi-2.0, it’s the unconscious lack of empathy by leaders that causes a discontented and toxic culture:

Empathy is the single most important skill in a high-performance workplace. Not only does this skill create deeper understanding, this skill is a primary contributor to psychological safety…a necessary cultural experience for exceptional performance by everyone.”?

To demonstrate empathy one needs proficiency in their emotional self-awareness, reality testing, and emotional expression. But unfortunately, these 3 skills are lacking in environments fraught with toxic behaviors including gaslighting, exclusion, conscious and unconscious bias, microaggressions, etc.?

When leadership fails to exhibit proficient emotional intelligence, the culture, and the people within that culture, suffer.

According to a study conducted by MIT, a toxic workplace is 10.4 times more likely to contribute to attrition than compensation. So while companies may be addressing workplace parity, it’s critical to create more safety within the highest levels of management.?

The ability to attract and retain women is an absolute priority in creating safe spaces for women leaders. In doing so, the goal is to regain trust and reduce trauma which leads to loss of productivity and innovation.

Here are a few steps every company can take to address this issue and create a culture that not only attracts highly sought-after diverse leaders but retains them as well.

4 Steps To Creating a Safe, Trauma-Free Environment

You never want to welcome any employees into an environment that will cause them stress or anxiety. To create an environment that is positive for your female employees, follow these four steps to provide a trauma-free space:

1. Address trauma openly and honestly in your workplace. Don't ignore it or try to sweep it under the rug - this will only worsen the problem.
2. Create trauma-sensitive policies and procedures. Ensure that all employees are aware of what is and aren't acceptable behavior in the workplace, and enforce these policies from the top down.
3. Promote a healthy work/life balance. Encourage employees to take time off when needed and don't punish them for stepping away from their work responsibilities.
4. Lead by example. If you are a business owner, you are the face of your organization’s culture, you must not just provide lip service but actually walk the walk and take an active role in providing a safe environment.

We All Have The Responsibility Of Protecting Women In Leadership From Trauma

As employers, we all are responsible for protecting women in leadership roles from trauma. It's up to us as leaders within our organizations to ensure that trauma-sensitive policies and procedures are implemented throughout the workplace.?

This goes well beyond trauma sensitivity training for every employee, but regular check-ins with each woman on her team about how trauma might be affecting them personally (and addressing any concerns); encouraging self-care practices like taking time off when needed or setting boundaries between work life vs. home life.

By empowering other women through these steps and, more importantly, leading by example ourselves, we can create trauma-free working environments where everyone feels safe and comfortable knowing they're not alone. This is especially true if female employees feel supported at work because their employer has taken the time to make their workplace trauma-sensitive.

Why Women In Leadership Need Additional Support

Women in leadership positions have a lot of internal and external stressors to juggle. From the glass ceiling barriers to wage inequality, impostor syndrome, and more, a woman's leadership role comes with its unique stressors.

As an organization, you must ensure that your female leaders are supported and comfortable in their power and leadership roles. Inclusivity starts at the leadership level and filters down. To be successful in this endeavor, your organization must walk the walk and take an active role in stopping any workplace trauma affecting its female leaders.?

About the Author:

Tracy Saunders is a leading job search advisor to the world’s top executive women and recruitment consultant for Fortune 100 companies. Her company?BossmakeHer ?guarantees more women are hired into leadership roles through?her signature cohort, personalized support, and accelerated networking tools . She's been featured in Forbes, FastCompany, NAFE, TLNT and ScaryMommy. Learn more at www.bossmakeher.com

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