Why Your Gender Initiatives Aren’t Working

Key insights on how you can change them

Many companies proudly proclaim they have the best maternity leave policy, the highest number of women working for them, or the largest percentage of women in leadership. But there is a problem not being discussed: women are still, by and large, underrepresented and promoted less often than men. But why? It’s simple – many companies are just paying lip service to their gender initiatives, and are not taking the time or making the effort to understand what women want and need to feel supported in their organization.
 

A study I conducted of 615 high-achieving women found that they begin to lose their career ambition mid-way through. The reasons are many. They report a lack of manager support as one driving force as well as an unofficial policy of a “work ‘til you drop”. Additionally, they say non-linear career paths are rarely offered which would help them easily ramp up their careers or take a step away when family issues arise. In other words, little or no flexibility. Once women take time off to have children, there are few options for return to work and working mothers are often taken off the leadership track due to assumptions that they are no longer willing to work hard. 
 
There are many ways companies can better serve high-achieving women by having better gender equality initiatives.
 
First, an in-depth assessment of the company culture is needed to better understand obstacles women, specifically ambitious women face. Create surveys, forums and a safe, open space for women to share their ideas and concerns. These findings must be communicated to senior leadership as well as those responsible to develop gender initiatives. In other words, a company must address the specific concerns of their female employees to best meet their needs.
 
Also, CEOs and other leadership need to walk the walk. They need to show their support for gender initiatives and ensure they are actually being carried through. Lack of manager support was one of the top reasons women felt they couldn’t advance in my 2016 study. Developing incentive programs for management around diversity should be considered.
 
Companies need to help create opportunities for women to be visible with senior leadership, encourage sponsorship as well as provide opportunities for women to gain more experience in high profile projects. Put sponsorship and mentor programs in place. If you don’t have formal programs, encourage interaction and facilitate visibility for high achieving women with senior leadership.
 
Gender equality means equal pay. On average, women are still earning just 80.5% of what men earn for doing the same job. This is not okay. Leveling the playing field will attract and help retain women over the course of their careers. Just look at companies like Starbucks, Apple, and Adobe. In 2016, Adobe was paying women $.99 for every dollar a man earned, and by 2017 they had reached equal pay for all. 
 
Social movements are taking place to ensure gender equality for all companies. Jennifer Hyman, the CEO of Rent the Runway, says, “Unless business leaders understand that the future of their employee base is not willing to accept the unequal environment that has perpetuated in the past, they’re not going to be around in the future.”
 
Companies can put training programs and initiatives in place, but for them to be truly impactful and see long term growth, they need to be customized to your company culture and based on feedback from women in your organization. Anything else is simply checking a box on a long list of to-do’s.