Create a culture where everyone can thrive.

Posted 3 months ago by Sarah Glover 6 Minute(s) to read

 

Women have proven—and continue to prove—themselves capable of all kinds of roles that were once unavailable to them. In fact, women are an asset to sectors like the trades, bringing fresh skills and strengths for a more dynamic workforce.

As opportunities open up for women in all industries, including those which were previously male-dominated, there are considerations to be made for a harmonious and healthy work environment. Employers and employees can work together to create a great culture that harnesses and promotes the unique experiences and proficiencies that everyone brings to the table.

How?

State of play for working women

Many Kiwi companies in traditionally male-dominated fields are doing a great job of making their female staff feel comfortable and valued. In fact, it wasn’t until we read a few recent reports on women in the workplace by Deloitte and McKinsey that we were reminded there is still work to be done in this area. Many women still face challenges in their working lives, and it’s of benefit to employers to recognise these and figure out ways to make things equitable for everyone.

Unpaid labour

It starts at home! The numbers don’t lie: studies from all over the world demonstrate that women bear the brunt of household work even when working full time. This Stuff article offers a good overview of this study looking at the disparity in unpaid household labour and childcare between men and women in New Zealand. This article from the Gender Equality Index 2021 demonstrates similar trends in Europe. 

And while that has nothing to do with employers, this inequity of unpaid labour can leak into the work setting. Many women will have stories of being asked (or quietly expected) to book meetings, organise staff drinks or Christmas parties, take notes in meetings, or even clean fridges and kitchens—whether or not they indicate interest in those tasks. While these things are small, they do add up and increase the load.

Non-inclusive behaviours

There are other hurdles that can trip up not only women in trades, industry, manufacturing, and other such fields but also their employers. The Deloitte report, for example, includes examples given by women of non-inclusive behaviours in the workplace which include being talked over in meetings, being given fewer opportunities to speak up, not being invited to certain activities, unwanted approaches or physical advances, comments about relationship status or physical appearance, and more. We’ve had clients who love having female tradies on their team and have also had to navigate their mistreatment on work sites. The McKinsey report includes similar findings and also discusses the “broken rung” which makes the path to senior leadership difficult for women in some companies.

Imposter syndrome

This sneaky bugger certainly bears mentioning. While there’s not much an employer can do to prevent imposter syndrome from happening, it’s something to look out for.

Imposter syndrome is the inability to believe that any achievement is legitimate or deserved, a chronic state of self-doubt. It affects women more than men on average and means that the barriers to success are internal as well as external. We’ll dive more into this phenomenon in a later blog!

The benefits of women in your workplace

Hiring women brings more to a business than just a tick in the “diversity” box. Even in traditionally male-dominated sectors, female workers bring fresh perspectives and often valuable soft skills like communication, empathy, and attention to detail. Of course, they are also perfectly capable of doing the work at hand with the right training. 

• This report from Ako Aotearoa shows that tradeswomen in NZ have better safety records. And if they are more careful themselves, this may rub off on other members of a mixed-gender team.
• Having any type of diversity in your teams means you’ll have people approaching problems and solutions in different ways informed by their unique experiences, which often boosts innovation and creativity.
• Women generally have more understanding of what female customers (i.e 50% of the population) want and need, making it easier for businesses to increase their appeal and up their customer service game.
• We’ll be honest—particularly in male-dominated industries, women often feel like they have something to prove. This makes them driven and hardworking; whether the motivation is a positive one or not in the grand scheme of things it’s certainly of benefit to a business.

In the land of mana wāhine, we should already know the value that women hold. Decision-makers, take note! 

 

Be a workplace where capable women thrive

As an employer, looking after your employees’ wellbeing is not only just a decent thing to do but a way of protecting your most valuable resources. Strong, capable women are a major asset to any company.

Here’s how you can support them:

• Ensure that your culture is one where women are not expected to take on unwanted invisible labour where their male counterparts are not. Who cleans the office? Who orders food and drinks? Who organises events, presents, and celebrations? Are they happy to take on the task or has it fallen to them? Is this type of labour distributed evenly, with no one person being overloaded by it? Check regularly to make sure these extra roles aren’t creeping in.
• Consider how you can feasibly offer flexibility to all employees. In certain roles and industries that require careful scheduling, this is tricky. However where it’s possible, some amount of flexibility in hours can make it much easier for a person to fit work and life together.
• Make sure that mental health help is not stigmatised. Equip your managers to have important conversations with staff—Open Minds is a good resource for this.
• Blind recruiting (and blind promoting, although this is fairly impossible to implement in practice) is a good way to ensure that no gender biases are creeping in.
• Feeling like you’ve created an inclusive and equitable workplace culture? That’s amazing—but as some of our clients have found out, you need to be aware that some of the people you work with and encounter on job sites or contracts may not operate with the same values. 
• Take any disclosures of sexual harassment, whether from outside or inside your company, seriously. To come forward with these often takes courage, and it’s important that you follow through.

 

 

TL;DR: Women may face obstacles in male-dominated fields; be part of the solution

Although many companies are doing well at creating inclusive cultures where women can thrive, many female team members still encounter challenges. Especially in trades and industry sectors, it’s important to be intentional about making space for the capable, strong women that will be an asset to your business.

You as an employer can:

• Create and maintain a culture of equity, where nobody is expected to take on more than their share of those “invisible labour” tasks around the workplace without explicitly agreeing to it.
• Where feasible, offer flexibility—women are often bearing the brunt of family management, making this a major benefit to them especially.
• Make sure that mental health help is not stigmatised.
• Consider blind recruiting to promote unbiased decision-making.
• Remember that even if your own team and culture is gender inclusive, the women in your company may encounter difficult attitudes on other sites or from contractors they work with.
• Take any disclosures of sexual harassment very seriously, period.

 

If you need help with policy and implementation to become the type of company that attracts and nurtures strong women (as well as quality human resource in general), Emendas can help. Get in touch with the team!