This article was republished from the May issue of Australian Printer, authored by Kellie Northwood

This year, International Women’s Day promoted the need to ‘Break the Bias’, challenging where it is time to move from awareness of gender diversity to a more active position of taking positive steps to move forward as well as educate industries on the reasons we should be taking them.

What does gender diversity mean to our industry? Print, signage, wide format, creative, production, client services, sales? What does it mean to our businesses? And how can we move lip-service and headline campaigns into actions items?

These questions are valid and from the research, its simple – gender diversity increases your profit. So, let’s explore internationally recognised McKinsey & Company’s global research to understand the top three facts from the fiction and a to-do list we can all benefit from when understanding the role of gender diversity across our workplaces. ‘Male-dominated industries’ are a thing of the past, let’s ensure we’re all on the right track.

FACT 1: Female executives in an organisation = PROFIT

While the world has significantly changed over the last couple of years, there is one thing that remains constant: the need for diversity and inclusion. With an estimation of adding $13 trillion to global GDP by 2030, acting on advancing gender equality is the most important economic advancement step for countries and communities alike.

Research by McKinsey & Company has found, gender-diverse companies are 48 per cent more likely to outperform the least gender-diverse companies. In 2007, McKinsey published their first ‘Women Matter’ story, highlighting the benefits of having more women in business and the impact that would have on the business.

In 2014, McKinsey in their ‘Why Diversity Matters’ article found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on their executive teams are 15 per cent more likely to outperform companies in the fourth quartile. Following this, in 2017, these numbers increased to 21 per cent likelihood of outperforming fourth quartile companies.

FACT 2: Women manage differently and deliver team performance

McKinsey & Company recognised a correlation between gender diversity and value creation in businesses by attracting top talent, improving their customer orientation, employee satisfaction and decision making.

Gender diversity correlates to positive behaviour relating to better organisational health which is associated with better business performance. It has been found that female managers make more consistent actions in ensuring the wellbeing of their teams, including checking in on their team members, helping them manage their workloads, and providing support for team members who are dealing with burnout or navigating work–life challenges.

FACT 3: Female executives reduce team absenteeism

Female leaders are up to twice as likely to spend substantial time on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and they put more effort into ensuring a healthy workplace environment which makes it easier for employees to become more comfortable and reach their full potential.

This leads to more satisfied team members, reduced sick leave, increased tenure, increases loyalty to company culture and improved productivity. McKinsey has also reported that women demonstrate five out of nine types of leadership behaviour, more often than men, that improve organisational performance, for example, intellectual stimulation, inspiration, talent development and participative decision making.

Here are five key actions a business can take today to create gender balance in our companies:

Address biases: The deep-rooted attitude about women’s role in society is the root cause for gender imbalance in the workforce. Recognising this, to be any change in attitudinal bias towards women, all stakeholders will have to play a sustained and active part over the long term. 

Action plan for inclusive work culture: Companies should develop an action plan to create a more inclusive work culture leaving all employees encouraged to express themselves in professional capacities and potential. The action plan should have a structured task list with timeline commitments to develop openness, belonging and equality for all the employees.

Training and resource to accelerate skill building: To better support the advancement of women in their careers and roles, companies can provide additional technical trainings to build technical skills. Along with development of technical skills, companies can look to providing access to workshops and practical education on time-management, career progression, interview preparation, networking events and a professional development process for future female leaders.

Structured and transparent promotion process: Companies can provide a structured approach and transparency around promotion and career advancement programs. This will ensure that all employees have the same pathway to career acceleration, and they can plan their career paths with ample information to fuel their ambitions.

Employee motivation and satisfaction: Providing employees with a motivated environment will ensure peak productivity and creativity. Companies can provide different teamwork activities and team meetings to ensure the employees are motivated. If the employees are motivated and comfortable with the work environment, they will be satisfied with their roles. Further, aiding employees with flexible working conditions and an open and transparent environment will provide improved talent acquisition and a longer tenure of existing employees.

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