4 Reasons To Hire More Women
The gender pay gap and the visible, obvious lack of women in positions of corporate and political power stand as powerful, irrefutable evidence of the inequality that women across America continue to struggle against. Instead of trotting out the same old tired excuses for why this gap exists, it's time to talk about the concrete reasons to include more women in your workplace.
Diverse Ideas
The more diverse your employee pool, the more diverse and creative your solutions and ingenuity will be. People from the same kinds of backgrounds who have faced the same challenges will propose the same stale solutions, whether they are effective or not. It should go without saying that this benefit should encourage you to hire not only women, but people of color, immigrants, the disabled and people from all different levels and areas of society. A diverse workplace is a creative workplace. Whether you're reinventing the way we socialize or implementing a free time card calculator if you're serious about being an innovator, you'd do well to remember that.
Reality Checks
Countless advertising campaigns have flopped for the simple reason that they didn't have a single woman look at it and say that it was offensive and would alienate 50% of the population right off the bat. This isn't to say that it's impossible for men to exercise a little common sense and recognize that they might be alienating customers, of course they can. It's just that you can dramatically increase the likelihood that someone will pick up the implications that a product or campaign might be a bad idea through the simple yet effective measure of including women on your team.
Happier Workplaces
Statistics show workplaces with more women are happier, period. They report higher job satisfaction levels, more office loyalty, a broad sense that their work has impact, and significantly less burnout than workplaces that are dominated by men. There are lots of reasons for this, but it boils down to the fact that a balanced workplace is a healthier and happier one. A happier, healthier workplace is a more sustainably productive one. That is all just common sense.
Broader Talent Pool
Last but not least, when you are looking at hiring, but you're not hiring women, you're cutting your talent pool in half. Add to that the fact that in recent years, female college students are consistently outstripping their male counterparts in grades and extracurricular activities. The measurably brightest minds of the next generation are women, and if you're not hiring them, that's unforgivably shortsighted of you. It's important here to mention that you likely aren't deliberately excluding women in your hiring process, but unconscious bias is powerful. Consider implementing policies to reduce the possibility of even unconscious bias when you are assessing applicants for a position at your company.
Beyond these concrete benefits lies a fundamental and irrefutable truth: it's the right thing to do. Women experience discrimination in pay, promotion and opportunities. If you can take a stand against discrimination in a country that is supposed to be built on equality and freedom, why wouldn't you?
