Supporting the Women in Your Organization
During the month of March, we celebrate, support, and honor women intentionally. All year long, women get overshadowed and pushed aside, regardless of the ripples of impact they create simply by showing up.
This month, we go beyond the pats on the back and comped luncheons and go straight to the kind of support that uplifts and empowers women long term.
We often hear about the proven wage gap that pays women a fraction of their male counterparts, but the gaps go further than salary.
There are also gaps in:
- How women make up so few leadership positions, even when they have just as many qualifications as men if not more.
- How women are seen as “bossy” when they’re actually leading with confidence.
- How young women entering the workplace want role models they can emulate but don’t see because men are taking up those roles.
- How programs and workshops are geared around “men on the golf course” making them un-welcoming for women.
We can absolutely take the time this month to actively work toward closing those gaps. Not just in March, but all year round and in the years moving forward.
Honor the women in your organization beyond a one-day celebration. Take this entire month to truly recognize what they’re doing.
Do you have women providing solutions within your organization? Take the money they may be saving you to honor them with a bonus. Do you have women who are working beyond their job description? Re-evaluate their compensation to reflect their actual workload. Do you have women working on integral parts of projects? Make sure their names are listed in credits so that your clients and the people you work with know the names of those who directly helped them.
Consider what you’re paying your people in the same roles. Chances are, you may have hired a woman under one salary and in the exact same position, a man with a whole different (and larger) paycheck.
Historically, men have been taught to ask for more money while women believe they need to prove their worth so the money will come later. They may not ask for more money outright, and instead work harder by taking on extra tasks, bringing the work home, and cutting their breaks short to “get ahead.” The result is that their already lower pay is even lower because they’re working twice as hard as their male counterparts.
Bring their pay up to at least the same amount as the men they’re sitting next to. Encourage longer breaks. And don’t allow their workload to spill over into unpaid overtime.
Be intentional about making both the pay and the work more even.
Provide Scholarships for the women in your organization to attend professional development sessions. Do some research in your niche and field. There are bound to be organizations that specialize in uplifting and supporting women in their professional roles. They’ll teach women how to both navigate the waters of their profession and be more efficient at the work they do. All while refining what they want their career to look like long term.
Prove to your women that you’re invested in them by literally investing in their future ultimately creating role models for the women behind them to reach their own goals in their careers.
Bridging the Gender Gap Long Term
We all know about the wage gap in the professional world. But the reality is that the gender gap is much bigger. We want to work together to bridge that gap and make professional careers not only possible but a strength for women everywhere.
To do so, we need to support women professionals on a large scale. Give them credit for everything they do, especially when their male counterparts are getting the shoutouts instead. Provide tools for them to do the work necessary, instead of silently allowing them to take on more tasks that aren’t in their job description.
If you’d like to learn more about how you can support the women on your staff long-term, we would love to talk with you. Culture Refinery provides tailored leadership development programs to help women and other marginalized leaders excel. Let Culture Refinery help you find the solutions for you to close the gap of gender inequity in your organization.
