Fostering gender equity in the workplace is not just a moral imperative but also a strategic advantage for organizations. Quoting from the HBR article, ‘Why Gender Equity in the Workplace is Good for Business’:
“Ten years of research by McKinsey and LeanIn.org offers key statistics demonstrating a clear correlation between organizational diversity and financial performance. For instance:
- Companies with the greatest proportion of women on executive committees earned a 47 percent higher rate of return on equity than companies with no women executives.
- Companies in the top 25 percent for gender diversity are 27 percent more likely to outperform their national industry average in terms of profitability.
- Companies in the bottom 25 percent for gender diversity were significantly less likely to see higher profits than their national industry average.”
Executive coaching can play a crucial role in promoting, achieving, and strengthening Gender Equity within an Organization. Here are some key aspects of value to consider:
1. Inspiring Inclusion: Through coaching, organizations can foster a more inclusive and diverse workplace culture where all employees irrespective of their gender, feel valued, respected, and empowered to be at their best.
2. Leadership Orientation: Executive coaching helps senior leaders understand unconscious biases, develop inclusive leadership styles, and create a culture of Gender Equity within the organization.
3. Breaking Barriers: Coaches work with female executives to overcome challenges such as imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and navigating male-dominated environments, enabling them to rise to leadership positions.
4. Supporting Growth: Coaching provides women with the necessary skills, confidence, and strategies to negotiate for promotions, equal pay, and opportunities for advancement.
5. Work-Life Balance: Coaching can assist female executives in finding a balance between work and personal life, leading to increased job satisfaction, retention, and productivity.
6. Mentorship and Sponsorship: Coaches can help identify mentors and sponsors within the organization who can support women in their career growth, advocate for their advancement, and provide guidance and opportunities.
One may ask, how do we measure the Executive Coaching intervention in fostering Gender Equity in the workplace? The answer lies in linking it to the outcomes.
As with senior leadership, the focussed executive coaching intervention can be linked to key performance indicators related to gender equity, such as increased representation of women in leadership roles, reduced gender pay-gaps, and improved female employee engagement and retention.
By investing in Executive Coaching for Gender Equity, organizations can create a more inclusive, diverse, and successful workplace where all employees have equal opportunities to thrive and contribute to the company’s success.
Organizations should be encouraged to leverage the power of Executive Coaching to drive positive change by fostering Gender Equity in the Workplace and thus building a more equitable and sustainable future for all employees and the organization.
Let me conclude by sharing what social champion and philanthropist, Melinda Gates wrote in her book The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World
“As women gain rights, families flourish, and so do societies. That connection is built on a simple truth: Whenever you include a group that’s been excluded, you benefit everyone. And when you’re working globally to include women and girls, who are half of every population, you’re working to benefit all members of every community. Gender equity lifts everyone. Women’s rights and society’s health and wealth rise together.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amlesh Ranjan PCC, ICF is a Leadership Coach, EI Assessor and OD Practitioner. He is globally certified on EQi 2.0 assessment from MHS, US and OD Certified from TISS. With 200+ hours of training and has over 1400 hours of Executive Coaching experience across industries and continents.
As a coach & facilitator, Amlesh believes in the ‘Inherent Potential’ and the ‘Answers Within’ and looks at each intervention as a partnership of trust and mutuality with the individuals, teams, and organizations.