The need for a full organisation approach to gender equality in the workplace has never been greater than today. Male leaders have an important role to play by being agents of change and standing up for the rights of their female colleagues.
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency reported earlier this year that the pay gap between men and women is at its widest, at just under 19%, and while women made up 46 per cent of the workforce, only 15.4 per cent of CEOs in Australia were women. In order to meet the challenge ahead, local businesses are looking for a start to accelerate gender equality and make meaningful change.
This is why Salesforce committed to a unique partnership with UN Women National Committee Australia and became the first Australian corporate partner of HeForShe, a UN Women campaign guided by the fact that gender equality is an issue that affects everyone, and will only be achieved if men are actively involved in the conversation to drive change.
For other companies, communities or employees who want to join the movement, I’ve compiled 5 steps they can take to meet the challenge head-on.
1. Partner up
If you and your company are just starting to have a conversation about equality, partner with other organisations or not-for-profits who have the experience and the expertise to guide you in your gender equality journey.
That’s why we teamed up with UN Women Australia to collaborate and build on Salesforce’s previous efforts and commitments. Our partnership will work to break down barriers to equality in Australia by developing a guiding set of principles, which I hope will be of help to other Australian companies who are looking to drive real change.
Other organisations worth partnering with include The Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Women In Technology and the Centre for Ethical Leadership.
2. Build an army of change agents
No one should be a bystander on this issue. Make the conversation heard loud and clear in all aspects of the business by having straight-up discussions about equality in your workplace. Employees need to see that this is an issue that the leaders of the business (both men and women) care about.
That’s why I took on the role of co-executive sponsor of Salesforce Australia’s gender diversity initiative – Femmeforce. We empower a team which meets regularly to drive change through identifying ideas that can make a difference.
Male leaders need to be at the forefront of this challenge and need to be encouraged to stand up for the rights of their female colleagues. Embed this into the company culture by celebrating successes and achievements from all staff members, regardless of their role, position, or gender.
3. Recognise bias
One of the biggest barriers to gender equality is unconscious bias. Research suggests that people instinctively categorise other people and things using easily observed criteria such as age, weight, skin colour, and gender.
In the workplace, unconscious bias plays out in the way we make decisions and give preference to certain types of people, based on stereotypes and perceived skills that a certain gender exhibits.
To combat this, our local team developed a bespoke training course for managers and staff members to learn about unconscious bias. We’re proud to report that more than 90 people have participated in the training over the last year and walked away with a better understanding of how unconscious bias affects everyone.
4. Set a strategy that removes gender bias
The need for an entire organisation approach to equality in Australia is the only way we can make real and lasting change. Two important strategic changes businesses can make today are unconscious bias training and recruitment process changes.
A training course for all people managers on unconscious bias helps men become part of the solution and enter into dialogue on this issue as they are often not aware of the unconscious bias operating in the business.
Remove bias in recruitment by making the language in advertisements gender neutral. Remove traditionally ‘masculine’ language like ‘dynamic’ and ‘aggressive’. Ensure equal female representation on interview panels, reducing bias and increasing the diversity of new hires.
5. Take a Stand
Last year we committed to doing a comprehensive analysis of more than 17,000 global employee salaries to determine if men and women were paid equally for comparable work.
We put employees in comparable roles into groups and analysed salaries of those groups to determine whether there were statistically significant wage differences between women and men. We based our analysis on objective factors that determine pay, such as job function, level and location.
We found that around six percent of our staff required a salary adjustment, and roughly the same number of women and men were impacted. Salesforce fronted up and spent nearly $3 million to start the process of achieving equal pay, which strikes at the heart of the issue.
It’s important that organisation’s put a stake in the ground and commit to investing time and money. Change doesn’t happen immediately but it can be accelerated by bold and affirmative action.
Salesforce and UN Women National Committee Australia will release the HeForShe corporate principles later this year. The campaign will provide Australian businesses, employers and employees a clear workplace equality blueprint for change.