3 Tips for Creating a More Inclusive Workplace for Women

Focusing on these three factors can help you boost your hire and employee retention rates by developing a more inclusive workplace for women.

As a startup, have you ever wondered why it may be difficult to attract and/or retain female employees within your organization?
While there could be several reasons why this may be the case, let’s focus on three factors at the top of the list for many women when deciding whether to join or stay within an organization.

1) Focus on Improving Work-Life Balance

Work and life priorities are always evolving and likely to change during an individual’s period of employment. One example of this could be related to the change in familial obligations for both male and female employees. If and when an individual decides to have a family, it is important for the employer to accommodate his/her needs to balance both work and life priorities as they transform over time. This could entail providing them with the option of flexible or reduced work hours and/or the ability to work from home. It could also entail reinforcing that a 9am – 5pm workday is perfectly acceptable.
If there is any doubt about whether these measures are effective, an important question to ask is yourself is whether you would rather have:

• a) the employee continue to contribute and work for you on a part-time basis/under a flexible work schedule
• b) the employee leave your organization permanently

Although the benefits of reduced work hours or flexible work schedules may not always appear to be favorable or even effective from management’s vantage point, it is very possible that it will result in a drop in attrition rates. No employee appreciates being forced to prioritize work over family life. Why not make it so they don’t have to choose?

Tip: Set a Good Example from the Top

 
In addition, providing a healthy work/life balance can lead to others viewing your organization in a positive light and encouraging them to explore opportunities with your company. Providing an employee with a more flexible work schedule could also incentivize him or her to operate at optimal productivity levels during the time that they are working.
It is important to keep in mind that simply implementing these policies in the workplace is not enough. In order for employees to be comfortable utilizing them, the bar needs to be set by senior level members of the organization. For example, Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook chooses to leave the workplace at 5:30 pm on a daily basis, thus setting an example for the other female employees at the company.

2) Create an Accommodating and Inclusive Workplace

What does it mean to make an organization more inclusive or accommodating for female employees?
A simple way to determine this is to conduct a survey of current employees and ask them to rate what is most important to them. Additionally, conducting exit interviews can also allow you to analyze the top reasons employees choose to leave your company. If you notice similar patterns or reasons pointing to an unaccommodating workplace, this could be an important factor that needs to be addressed.

Google as a Case Study

Using Google as an example, according to an article in the NY Times “In Google’s Inner Circle, a Falling Number of Women”, executives determined two key factors that were leading to female attrition as well as lower acceptance rates of job offers by females. With regard to female attrition, they noticed that females who had infants or young children were twice as likely to leave the organization. Changes have since been implemented with the company’s maternity leave policy being extended from three to five months and going from partial to full pay. The attrition rate has since decreased by 50 percent, signaling an effective policy change.
Additionally, the findings related to lower acceptance rates of job offers by females suggested this was closely tied to limited female interaction during the interview process since most of the interviewers were male. As a result of the changes, now all women who interview at Google have a chance to meet with other female interviewers. This has increased the rate of offer acceptances amongst females.

Tip: Discover What Matters Most to Your Employees

When deciding on the types of policies and adjustments that are best suited for your organization, it is helpful to understand what is important for your employees. Some primary factors to consider are:

• analyzing maternity/paternity leave policies
• determining the need for having childcare facilities at the company’s offices or within close proximity
• offering a “mother’s room” in the workplace (as mentioned by my colleague Devon McDonald in her recent blog post “What Every Expansion Stage Company Should Know About New Mommy Etiquette”)

If your company is still in its early stages, a room can be designated for the private use of all employees on an as-needed basis (e.g., new mothers, health, religious reasons etc.).

3) Offer Opportunities for Professional Development and Mentorship

A recent article in Forbes, “More Women in Tech, More Women Mentors,” highlights the finding that women tend to lean towards companies that are led by women. Statistics indicate that companies with female leaders have a higher number of females at the executive level (24.3%) in comparison to other companies (12.2%).
But on a different note, another study that surveyed 1,000 female executives shockingly indicated that only one in five women have a mentor. Organizations need to creatively determine how to change this statistic.

Tip: Set the Stage for Active Mentorship at Your Company

One such solution could be to implement an internal women’s network within the organization that fosters collaboration and interaction among women at all levels. Examples of this could include networking sessions, workshops, and community related events.
Have you thought about what you can do to make your startup a workplace of choice for women?