Women have more to do than men. It’s a controversial thing to say, but most women are doing more, but they’re less likely to get that promotion and the recognition they deserve. Furthermore, female executives are less likely to have domestic help from their spouses who are busy working to make ends meet.
It has been observed that more flexible work arrangements help balance everything in household life. When it comes to the new world of work, women have unique opportunities to balance their work-life.
According to the American Sociological Association’s journal, while individuals are now more likely to believe women should make money than they were before the pandemic but hey, they also think that women should raise small children! So, where do we strike a balance?
With the daily chores and work schedule, women are more likely to feel burned out, which negatively impacts their work-from-home experience. According to McKinsey’s research, 79% of men claimed they had an excellent work-from-home experience during the epidemic, compared to just 37% of women. Furthermore, one in four women considered downshifting or quitting their jobs entirely.
In the United States alone, 2.2 million women exited the workforce between October 2019 and October 2020. They’ve lost their employment at a considerably higher rate despite everyone being affected by the pandemic and not only men. Further, women’s business investments, which were already exceedingly low, plummeted much worse. In the United States, women-led businesses earned only 2.3 percent of all venture capital funding in 2020, down from 2.8 percent in 2019.
Business organizations need to take steps to empower women as they work remotely. For example, most companies track total female representation and establish equal opportunities.
Here are a few suggestions to empower your women’s workforce.
Measure Output More Than Work Hours
There are times when mothers need to attend to the needs of their families. There are also special occasions where they’re expected to cook and prepare. For single ladies, allow them to have time for themselves. Some labor codes allow extra days leave for the solo parent, by the way. It’s also about taking care of your employees’ well-being. Women need the flexibility of remote work to benefit their unique needs more than men.
Provide Equal Opportunities for Promotions
Women get more influence over their careers when empowered in the workplace. You can secure their professional growth by investing in training, mentoring, equality initiatives, education grants, and promotions to senior-level roles.
Make sure that high-achieving women in your organization are recognized in succession planning. They must have continuous conversations about promotion opportunities and career possibilities as they stay within your organization. Women are appreciated in expanding their skills and potential if you promote them equally to men. According to Catalyst research, companies who provide equal opportunities to all employees have 53% higher return on equity, 42% higher return on sales, and a 66% higher return on investment.
Gender Diversity and Equal Wages
Begin by soliciting suggestions for improvements to your organization, and then pay attention to what your staff has to say. Next, establish business goals for enhancing gender diversity in your company based on the information gathered. Finally, educate your workforce with your plans to create a diverse roster of talents.
When it comes to wages, women feel undervalued when they think that they deserve more on what they offer on the table. Hence, conducting pay equity audits ensures that all employees with comparable work experience in a similar function are paid equally. These initiatives have improved outcomes and assisted many women to remain long-term with their companies.
Indeed, companies still have a long way in creating a culture that properly embraces gender diversity. Remote work can be beneficial to women. We hope that once the pandemic is over and we enter a new era of flexibility and empowerment, they will see the benefits they should have had all along—what better time to empower them than now.
Learn more about how to manage and handle your remote teams. Reach us today.
Olivia Yu has decades of experience in the Human Resources industry. She’s the Regional Director for Asia Pacific of a famous international HR company. Olivia’s international experience inspires her to write articles about human resources and global staffing.
