TOP TALK: Facing the Gender Gap in the Workplace

Despite the popular belief that women have nearly closed the gender gap in the workplace, men continue to land the majority of high-paying jobs. Learn how we can close the gap.

Despite the popular belief that women have nearly closed the gender gap in the workplace, men continue to land the majority of high-paying jobs. As a business leader, you can help close the gender gap by creating fair and transparent hiring, compensation, evaluation, and promotion policies. Bridging the gender gap can improve employee engagement, retention, financial returns, and innovation.

This article is for business owners, managers, and employees who are interested in bridging the gender gap in the workplace. Despite increased publicity and discussions surrounding the inequalities women face in the workplace, there remains a tremendous amount of work to be done to close the gender gap.

According to a McKinsey study on women in the workplace, corporate America has made important progress in improving women’s representation over the past few years, especially since the start of the pandemic, but there is still more progress to be made. Price said that the current gender gap should serve as a wake-up call to our business leaders.

“It is disconcerting to see that even though the business community is well aware of the benefits of a diverse workforce – such as innovation, employee retention, and increased financial returns – there is still a lack of progress in closing the gender gap,” Price told Business News Daily. “Although companies have long pronounced commitments to gender diversity, it’s important to remember that only active and intentional actions on the part of employers to enlist women in the workforce, at all levels, will help toward narrowing the gender gap,” Price said.

Equal Pay Day represents how far in the year women must work in order to make the same amount of money men did in the previous year. Equal Pay Day was started in 1966 by the National Committee on Pay Equity as an act of public awareness to demonstrate the wage gap between men and women. Businesses must make an effort to both close the gender gap and make their workplaces truly inclusive since diversity alone doesn’t create inclusive workplaces.

Creating gender equality in the workplace starts with your recruitment process. Work toward a diverse and equitable workplace by creating accurate and inclusive job descriptions, sourcing a gender-diverse candidate pipeline, and conducting fair interviews. Businesses can address gender equality by hiring more senior-level female workers.

While this can reduce the current gender gap that exists, everybody benefits from transparent evaluation and promotion procedures, not just women and minorities. The McKinsey study found that employee burnout is one of the largest stressors currently impacting women in the workplace. According to Price, companies must become assertive about gender diversity and treat it as an integral part of their business strategies.

“It is important for companies to track, measure, and hold managers accountable for diversity and inclusion efforts,” Price said. To bridge the gap, companies must create a culture where employees feel a sense of belonging and acceptance. Along with creating gender equality, Price said fostering inclusivity can spur innovation, retain valuable talent and reduce attrition rates.

A work environment that is not only diverse but inclusive is an integral part of reducing the gender gap. Companies must take bolder steps to create inclusive cultures so that women, and all employees, feel supported at their workplaces. There are currently federal and state laws intended to eliminate the gender gap and provide equal opportunities for men and women.

How companies benefit from bridging the gender gap. Focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion to bridge the gender gap can be key to attracting and retaining top talent. A diverse and inclusive workforce fosters greater employee engagement, which in turn can increase financial returns and market share.

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