Creating A Safe Workplace For Employees Of All Genders

The workforce is observing a shift in the balance of the number of male and female employees. A few exceptionally inclusive workplaces are also including the third gender into their employee base. The traditional gender roles have been abandoned but even so, a smooth transition is yet to reach the workplace.

People want to create a workplace where all employees feel equally appreciated, rewarded and secure enough to work as per their maximum potential. In reality, not all workplaces provide equal opportunities to both (or rather three) genders; in fact, studies have shown that just 20 of the Fortune 500 companies have female CEOs.

There is clearly a disparity that needs to be addressed and bridged even with respect to the two primary genders. However, the process cannot be rushed either. You, as a diversity professional,could start by changing your outlook and providing a safe environment for both genders to comfortably work alongside each other.

Here are a few ways you can do it.

Equal Opportunity

Starting at the interview process till promotions, your job is to gauge the candidate solely by their capacity to get the job done. Employees like it when they are recognized and validated for the quality of the work that they do, not by the gender they belong to. You should create equal opportunities for everyone.

One way of ensuring this at the initial stage is by removing the genders from their resume. Give all the candidates equal opportunities to prove their worth. You could do this by having a mixed gender interview panel or making the candidates completely anonymous in the initial rounds.

Minimize The Gender Pay Gap

Paying people the same for equal work has been a policy in Canada for over 60 years now. If you have two employees under the same job description, there is no reason to have any difference in the pay. You can minimize the pay gap by having a fixed range of salary for each description.

There are several companies that are open about the wages paid to all employees from the top level executives to the freshers. This, in fact, works very well for them as the transparency will ensure that there is no talk of inequality with the pay. Those who feel they should be getting paid better can directly approach the management and have their qualms cleared.

Even if any problem of gender inequality arises, the openness about the salary will show that it is a company that is gender neutral with its wages.

Base Promotions Based On Skill Set

Promotion is the one thing most employees look forward to throughout the year. If an expected promotion falls through, the employee may become disinterested. If you have a fair system where the most worthy candidate is chosen for promotion it will clear up any talk of unfairness or bias. Ensure that your assessment parameters are gender neutral.

Many times, managerial positions are given with providing the required training for it. This may affect the working of the company in the long run. Thus, ensure that there are mentors assigned to diligently train all your staff to their caliber. Mentors of both genders should be there for the employees to understand that they can learn from either rather than a mentor of a specific gender.

Address Harassment Issues

The statistics show that one in three women are subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace. Hence, any reports, rumors or complaints of harassment should be immediately addressed. The person on the wrong side of it should be dealt with accordingly.

For this, an open environment that is free of domination is a must. On doing so, all the employees will feel safe and confident of working to their best potential in the office. The premises should be thoroughly monitored throughout the day. This can be done through a clearly communicated and stringently applied policy of zero tolerance with respect to harassment as per regulation. In addition to that, cameras will also help to monitor the same.

Encourage Team Efforts

By making employees work together in mixed gender teams, you can make sure they get along well. This reduces bias on the basis of gender. .

Provide Access To Counsellors

All companies are required to have counselors available at all times. The employees should be made aware of this. The counselor should be open to meeting and addressing all employee-related issues in order to make the workplace a safer environment.