How To Strengthen Your Workforce: Cultivate Growth Opportunities For Women

• Working women face barriers and exclusion from career growth opportunities, negatively impacting the future of work.
• According to McKinsey & Company, 100 women were promoted to manager for every 130 men in 2021.
• Christina Gialleli, director of people operations at Epignosis, identified the source of these issues and shared how to better cultivate lateral career movement for women.

As companies make strides for workplace inclusivity, working women continue to face fewer career ladder opportunities. Creating these growth opportunities is crucial for sending a clear message backing diversity, equity and inclusion.

From gender gaps in pay to promotions, women are burdened with limited opportunity and earned profit from their work. The past few years, major movements have called attention to these disparities and, while more women are now promoted upwards in their respective career ladders, this issue is far from obsolete. 

According to the BBC, “while the share of women in senior management roles is increasing incrementally, the ‘leaky pipeline’ effect means that fewer women reach the highest positions in companies.” 

Although growth opportunities for women are generally expanding, there is a long way to go to reach an inclusive workplace. For every 130 men promoted to manager, there are only 100 women promoted, according to a 2021 McKinsey & Company report. Men are three times as likely to be promoted to senior vice president and nearly twice as likely to be hired externally as directors. 

In this way, these promotional opportunity expansions for women begin to shrink the higher up in their career a woman climbs. Cultivating growth opportunities for women affects the future of work by enabling workplaces to better serve their labor force, while motivating staff, rather than overlooking them, to strengthen their responsibilities and output.

Corporations and laborers could mutually benefit from more lateral career development for women. In a Q&A, Christina Gialleli, director of people operations at Epignosis, shared her strategies to help rectify this issue.

Allwork.Space: What is the current state of gender inequality in the workplace and what are the root causes of that state? 

Christina Gialleli: Women still have a long way to go for equal representation in the workplace, not only in leadership positions, but also in tech roles. Stereotypes seem to maintain the image of the tech industry as a “boys club” — while women earn 57% of bachelor’s degrees in the U.S., they earn only 22% of bachelors in engineering and 20% in computer science.

There is a long way to go for closing the pay gap, too. While progress has been made compared to 60 years ago, today women make 83 cents for every dollar earned by men, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The absence in the U.S. and other countries of an adequate legal framework protecting working parents is a principal factor holding women back. On a positive note, in the last few years more and more companies appear to be trying to fill this gap by offering benefits for working parents, such as maternity and paternity leave, financial support, etc. Of course, no significant progress can be made without adequate legislation protecting their rights.

Allwork.Space: How do implicit biases play a major role in the discrimination against women and other minorities everywhere, but especially in the workplace?

Christina Gialleli: Implicit biases can leave employees feeling discouraged and disengaged. Such biases can occur in every possible process and function of the workplace, from internal communications and team meetings to company training, and often result in women or minorities lacking self-esteem at work, motivation, or even ambition for development and career progression.

For example, in company training, offering courses that use a specific language that doesn’t respect all employees’ linguistic background or makes use of characters that all are white and male may result in many employees feeling left out. It is important to always be mindful of cultural, ethnical, religious, gender and age differences and use language and visual elements that are inclusive. 

Allwork.Space: What are some solutions to the struggles that women deal with daily, and how can company executives help remedy the issues and inequity that women face?

Christina Gialleli: For women returning to work, there may be many difficulties that they end up facing. Companies need to make sure they are listening in their hiring and retention efforts — making sure that they are supporting and providing tangible solutions that will benefit their female employees.

Here are some actionable ways employers can support current female employees:

• Offer returnship programs: Returnship programs are similar to internships or apprenticeships, but for employees who have a gap in their resume due to the pandemic, or who generally had to stay off work for a while. These programs, which usually last from a few weeks to a few months, can be a great way to help women returning to work get the confidence and new skills they may be lacking.
• Support women with training and reskilling: Employee training is crucial in order to retain your employees during these times. According to a TalentLMS survey, 76% of employees agree that they are more likely to stay with a company that offers continuous training. By offering training tools and resources, it will show female employees that their employer prioritizes investing in their career growth and development throughout the company, helping them prepare for senior roles that can lead to promotions.
• Allow for flexible work models: Since the pandemic started, it’s been clear that balancing home life, parenting and professional responsibilities can be a lot for many women. By offering hybrid workplace models that allow for flexible working hours and encouraged parental leave for all employees, it will help alleviate the pressure women face on having to choose between career and family.
• Offer mentorship and networking opportunities: Women reentering the workforce may feel isolated — especially if they’re mostly working from home. Offering mentorship and networking opportunities will go a long way towards ensuring your female employees will always have the support systems they deserve in order to thrive. Having a female mentor or coach also serves as a motivator. It sends the message that these employees — who might have faced similar challenges — have found ways to grow their careers.

As corporations continue to pledge equity and diversity, lip service proves to only do so much. Businesses and laborers alike could see the advantages of cultivating career growth opportunities for women and work to build a more inclusive workplace.