How Employers Can Improve Gender Equality at Work

The government has recently published new guidance on how businesses can improve gender equality in the workplace. The advice is intended to be practical and based on evidence of what really works, rather than theory.

The guide contains details of effective actions, where there is strong evidence that the action is effective, and promising actions, where evidence is promising but limited.

You can use this resource to develop action plans in your own business that help to create a more inclusive work environment. Here’s a brief review of what is contained in the guidance.

Start with the data

The guide recommends that you first take a data-driven approach. It provides some questions that can help you identify where gender imbalance might be occurring.

For instance, you could ask:

• Are women more likely to be recruited into lower-paid roles compared to men?
• Do starting salaries or bonuses differ by gender?
• Do people get “stuck” at certain levels in your business?
• Do you support part-time employees to progress?

Answering questions like these can help you better focus your efforts.

The guidance continues by breaking actions down across four stages of the employee lifecycle.

1. Hiring and selection

Using standardised hiring and selection processes is recommended as an effective way to minimise the risk of bias and select the right person for the job.

One of the clearest findings is that flexibility matters. Job adverts that openly state flexible working options attract many more applicants, and more women apply for senior roles when flexibility is built in.

Employers are also encouraged to make interviews structured and transparent, with all candidates asked the same questions and scored in the same way.

Pay and promotion policies should be clear, too. Clearly stating the salary range and whether the salary is negotiable is recommended.

2. Talent management, learning and development

Equality is not just about recruitment. Retaining and supporting staff is equally important.

A key recommendation in this area is to increase transparency in your promotion, pay and reward processes. Employees should be clear on what is involved in getting a pay increase or how promotions are decided.

Increasing accountability assists with doing this. For instance, managers in the business should understand that the decisions they make on pay and promotions need to be objective and evidence-based, and their decisions can be reviewed by others.

3. Inclusion and retention

Flexible working arrangements and generous parental leave policies are key to retaining staff, helping them balance their home and work responsibilities.

Advertising and offering all jobs as having flexible working options is recommended. However, employers also need to ‘walk the talk’. For instance, senior people in the business should be encouraged to ‘role model’ for working flexibly and champion flexible working.

The guidance also identifies the need to challenge the gender stereotype that it is a woman’s role to take on caring responsibilities. Improving workplace flexibility for everyone can help both women and men combine work with family and other parts of their lives. Therefore, you could:

• Openly encourage and enable men to work flexibly too. This avoids flexible working being seen as only a benefit for women.
• Avoid a ‘one size fits all’ approach, such as specifying the number of days employees can work from home, as this may create a gender gap.
• Talk to fathers, not just mothers, about changing working patterns when they have children.

4. Leadership and accountability

Change is most effective when it is led from the top. The guidance suggests that business leaders set specific, clear and time-bound goals that are challenging but realistic. Progress towards these goals should be tracked and reviewed regularly.

Some employers appoint a senior diversity lead or create a task force and empower them to keep things on track, and this has been linked to better outcomes for women at work.

In conclusion

The guidance contains information about many other actions in these four areas that may be effective for your business.

Creating an inclusive culture in your business is a key way to improve fairness, widen your talent pool, and benefit from a more motivated and diverse workforce. The guidance is well worth your time to read it in full. It can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-improve-gender-equality-in-the-workplace-actions-for-employers/how-to-improve-gender-equality-in-the-workplace-actions-for-employers