Female employees are the backbone of any company. Yet, they often have to juggle work and family responsibilities and face many challenges that their male counterparts don’t. That’s why it’s so important for employers to empower female employees at every level and create a workplace environment that supports them.
In the latest episode of the Team Building Saves the World podcast, we spoke to Asia Bribiesca-Hedin, a leadership coach and CEO of Bridgewell LLC about empowering women in the workplace.
“It starts with self-mastery and distinguishing what’s most important to you and why. And then how you want that expressed in your leadership. How you want that expressed in how you show up. How you elevate others as well as getting clarity on what’s important for your role,” said Bribiesca-Hedin.
In this article, we’ll explore different ways to create a foundation for women to thrive in the workplace. You will even get some tips for empowering women in the workplace and how to retain female employees for long-term growth.
Why Empowering Women in the Workplace is Important?
Female employees are more likely to stay in a job for longer periods, are less likely to leave their jobs due to dissatisfaction, and contribute more hours when working from home.
Companies with a higher percentage of women in management also reported profitability levels 35% higher than those without, according to a study done by the Catalyst research company.
Female empowerment in the workplace can have several positive effects on a company as well, including:
– Improved communication and collaboration among employees
– Greater innovation and creativity
– Improved team morale
To achieve these benefits, employers need to create a workplace environment that is supportive of female employees.
What Challenges do Female Employees Face?
While there have been many strides made to empower women in the workplace, there are still some challenges that female employees face.
- The gender pay gap: Despite progress being made, the gender pay gap is still a major issue. According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, women earn about 80 percent of what men earn. This disparity is even greater for women of color.
- Sexual harassment: Unfortunately, sexual harassment is still a common problem in the workplace. According to a report from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, one in four women has experienced sexual harassment at work.
- Work/life balance: Women often face unique challenges when it comes to balancing their work and personal lives. According to a report from the Pew Research Center, 34 percent of working mothers say they have difficulty balancing their work and family responsibilities.
For career-driven women, things can even get more challenging when trying to move up the corporate ladder.
In the podcast, Asia talks about how easy it is for women in the workplace to experience burnout.
“Burnout is just doing things, spending your time on things of little importance, and doing the wrong things. Burnout can also occur even when we’re doing the right things and we see that our work matters… Eight hours slips into 12 hours slips into 15 hours and we don’t even notice because we’re so in it.”
Despite these challenges, there are many things that employers can do to support and retain female employees.
5 Effective Ways to Empower Women in the Workplace
- Offer flexible work options: Female employees often have to juggle work and family responsibilities. By offering flexible work options, you can make it easier for them to manage these responsibilities.
- Provide leadership opportunities: Give your female employees a seat at the table and let their voices be heard. If a female employee ticks all the boxes for a promotion or a leadership role, be sure to give them a fair shot.
- Provide training and development opportunities: Female employees may not have the same access to training and development opportunities as their male counterparts. By investing in their development, you can help them reach their full potential.
- Encourage networking and mentorship: Female employees may benefit from networking and mentorship opportunities. By providing these opportunities, you can help them build relationships and develop their careers.
- Team Building: Fun, team building activities like stress-relieving Laughter Yoga.
How to Attract and Retain Female Employees in Your Company
Here are some tips on how you can attract and retain female employees in your company.
- Offer family-friendly benefits: According to a guide created by Women’s Empowerment Principles, offering family-friendly policies attracts better talent and keeps women in full-time positions. They also mention that it helps close the wage gap and more women occupy leadership and board positions.
- Promote a positive culture: A positive workplace culture is important for attracting and retaining employees of all genders. But it can be especially important for women, who are often juggling multiple responsibilities both inside and outside of work. Promote a culture of respect, collaboration, and inclusion, and make sure that your company’s policies support these values.
- Invest in professional development: Female employees are often looking for opportunities to grow and develop their skills. Offerings like mentorship programs, tuition reimbursement, and professional development workshops can be major draws for talented women looking to take their careers to the next level.
By offering family-friendly benefits, promoting a positive culture, and investing in professional development, you can make your company more attractive to female job seekers and set your business up for success. Empowering women in the workplace is not only the right thing to do, it’s good for business.
Team building activities can also help make everyone on your team feel more connected and engaged. TeamBonding’s Essential Pieces activity was designed to bring people together and show them how each individual person contributes to the team on a more meaningful level.
Employers need to bring their best foot forward and empower themselves as well. The buck does not stop at the employee level. Promoting company core values by living and breathing them is the best thing you can do especially in a leadership role.
Final Thoughts
Women (and people in general) love working for higher purposes and is often a core driver of workplace satisfaction. Asia drives that point home by saying, “it is about being true to yourself because from there you’re showing up in a way that others respond to even better.”
Be sure to listen to the entire podcast with Asia Bribiesca-Hedin to better understand the significance and benefits of empowering women in the workplace. You’ll also hear about what you can do to make your workplace more welcoming and engaging for current and future hires.
If you’re interested in incorporating team building activities into your employee empowerment strategy, check out TeamBonding’s unique team building programs. Our activities are precisely designed to help employees build relationships in exciting ways, bond on a deeper level, and establish stronger connections. Reach out to us if you’re interested in exploring customized team building activities.
