Dr S. Narayani, Business Head-Fortis Hospitals Maharashtra highlights that immense strides have been made by organisations to build a fair DEI culture, along with improvement in policies in regard to providing opportunities for women for their professional and personal growth. However, women are still underrepresented in many organisations as not many women are in leadership roles, and global reports confirm the same
Over the past few decades, women have stepped out of their traditional roles and fought hard to make a place for themselves, especially in the corporate world; with changing times their roles have received the necessary recognition. Companies across all sectors have experienced a notable shift in work culture since adopting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, that have transformed employee engagement methodologies.
Immense strides have been made by organisations to build a fair DEI culture, along with improvement in policies in regard to providing opportunities for women for their professional and personal growth. However, women are still underrepresented in many organisations as not many women are in leadership roles, and global reports confirm the same. A Deloitte report unveiled that, worldwide only 19.7 per cent of the board seats are held by women! While there has been an increase of 2.8 per cent since 2018, at this pace, it would take over a decade for for workplaces to become equitable.
As explained by Tony Ruth for the 2019 Design in Tech Report, in the illustration below, two individuals have unequal access to a system — in this case, the tree that provides fruit. With equal support from evenly distributed tools, their access to the fruit still remains unequal. An equitable solution, however, allocates the exact resources that each person needs to access the fruit, leading to positive outcomes for both individuals.
Organizations can bring in change by taking various steps to foster an equitable workplace. This can be undertaken by creating a safe environment that allows individuals to have open discussions. Other steps that can be taken are:
- Provide a platform where women can share their concerns regarding job roles, pay, educational programs for professional growth, etc.
- Analyse the ratio of men and women in leadership roles, and reasons for disparity if any – base parameter for analysis must be ‘meritorious growth’
- Encourage women to upskill for the roles they wish to aim for – offer sponsorships in accordance
- Prioritise pay parity
- Accelration opportunities for women who’d have taken a break post childbirth, or a sabbatical, or a break to manage familial emergencies/ requirements
- Provide DEI training to employees to foster the culture
These progressive steps resonate with the Race Matters Institute’s sentiments – “The route to achieving equity will not be accomplished through treating everyone equally. It will be achieved by treating everyone equitably, or justly according to their circumstances.”
Having an equitable workplace will bring a sense of belonging to the employees, which in turn will help the business grow stronger and faster. Employees will be more aligned with the organisational goals, there would be a noticeable decrease in attrition, and increase in engagement. A 2019 analysis undertaken by McKinsey & Company highlighted that with increased gender diversity amongst executive teams, there was a 25 per cent increased likeliness to experience above-average profitability.
To sum it up, understanding the difference between equity and equality is the to reduce disparities at workplaces. This coupled with women progressively taking up leadership position will help pivot progressive change across workplaces.
- Advertisement -