Simple Ways Your Company Can Champion Female Visibility
Despite the business world making all of the right noises about gender equality in recent years, gender parity still looks a long way off. According to McKinsey’s latest ‘Women in the Workplace Survey’, up to 40% of women are regularly interrupted at work, with almost the same number having their judgement questioned. Nearly 20% of women have also been mistaken for someone at a much lower level in the company. All of which highlights one pressing concern – women are still largely invisible, especially in high-end positions.
Female-led companies are driving much-needed change, and can champion female visibility in a way that, frustratingly, other companies simply aren’t doing. The question is, what exactly should those visibility improvements entail?
# 1 - Put Female Faces at the Forefront
The lack of women in c-suite roles right now (just 29%), means that company ‘about me’ pages are typically filled with male faces. This issue only worsens the invisibility surrounding women at work, and it’s something your company can start to overcome by investing in professional headshots of top-performing women, which you should make easily visible to anyone who visits your website.
While this shouldn’t be a radical step, it’s something that far too few companies are doing. By putting women at the forefront like this, you can break down visibility barriers in your company and the industry overall.
# 2 - Champion Women for Visible Roles
The ongoing lack of female visibility in the workplace remains largely linked to a lack of women in management roles. Therefore, empowering women into leadership roles is a great next step.
Sometimes, fostering the right environment for female progression (or at least one that doesn’t see women continually spoken over or questioned), could be all it takes. Equally, offering mentorship or training to strong female employees can empower them to apply for typically male-filled roles and, hopefully, secure their spot at the top.
# 3 - Share Female Success Stories
As mentioned, almost 40% of women have had their judgement questioned in their area of expertise, with many also being mistaken for individuals in far lower positions. The business world, at large, simply isn’t willing to acknowledge female success stories, even after so-called equality ‘progress’.
To overcome this, it’s vital to not only champion female faces but to also share fully visible female success stories. One of the most effective ways to do this is to simply accompany the aforementioned headshots with a caption that clearly outlines each woman’s company contributions and achievements.
Equally, your case studies page is a great place to put a spotlight on the role your top female performers have played in each client's success story. And, of course, it’s always important to publish blog posts about things like awards, promotions, or particular achievements secured by women in your workplace.
Too many people still believe that women in the workplace should be seen and not heard. Prove them wrong by shining the spotlight on your best female team members in these key ways.
