Why you should (still) invest in getting your women to the top

"Why are we still providing specific support for women at work?" "Haven't we got equal rights and hiring policies already?" "It's not fair, what about the men?!"

Have you had thoughts like these? Or do you know people at work who do?

It's happening because some in the corporate world have hit a point of "gender equality fatigue." And that's a problem for your business.

Because having more women at the top of your organisation isn't simply a nice to have. Nor should we seek it because it's the right thing to do. It should be a business priority because the bottom line is - it makes business better all round. A bold claim perhaps, but research proves this.

Unfortunately we are still far off from gender parity at the top, despite women entering the workforce in equal numbers. In the UK we currently, at best we have around 34% of women in senior management. The 2021 Women in the Workplace report showed that in the US it's only 24%. Things are improving but we're not there yet, and now is certainly not the time to stop the initiatives that have us on an upward trajectory.

Why? Why should investing in women still be a business priority?

I could share many reasons but I'm going to focus on the 3 most important for you right now:-

1. It will make your business more profitable. This is backed by multiple studies, some showing the increase can range from between 30 to 50%! Imagine what you might pay one of the big management consultancies to figure out how to increase your profitability by this amount and I think you'll quickly realise that investing in your women is well worth it.
2. It improves talent retention and engagement. Research shows there is a direct correlation between having more women in your organisation and a reduction in turnover and higher staff morale. Everyone knows that there's a talent crisis at the moment caused by the Great Resignation coupled with major difficulties in hiring new staff. So having more women in management is a key way for you to combat that.
3. To protect your reputation. One study showed that Fortune's most admired companies have twice as many women in senior management than less reputable companies. Furthermore, customers and clients have evolved their priorities and many will now be looking at your diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) ratings as they decide whether or not to work with, or buy from, you. In fact, a study reported by the World Economic Forum stated that companies which fall behind their peers in DEI will experience a "competitiveness penalty". This will result in them being 29% less like to achieve above average profitability than the market mean. Ouch.

With statistics like this it should be clear that ensuring more women reach the top of your organisation shouldn't just be a priority for your talent team; it should be a key KPI for your exec.

Because this doesn't just help women, it helps EVERYONE in your business.

To dive deeper and carry on this conversation post in the comments or send me a direct message. I'd love to connect.