Credit: Chris Nicholls
The talk of the town in the HR world currently revolves around DEI rollbacks and RTO mandates. Since today is the last day of Women's History Month, let's look at the combination of these two topics.
Nearly 79 million women participate in today's workforce, with 57.5% of the current workforce being women. I think it's fair to say women are an important part of the workplace and it's important for their needs to be met by their employers.
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“Companies that prioritize flexible and hybrid ways of working will gain a competitive edge in attracting and retaining top female talent. But the benefits don’t end there. Hybrid work has also been proven to enhance productivity and reduce overheads, making it essential for business success, driving both talent retention and a healthier bottom line,” says Mark Dixon, CEO, International Workplace Group (IWG).
Kelly Wells, chief customer officer at AbsenceSoft, says, “Companies should understand how they measure up and what factors they contribute to gender parity. Then it’s about determining the right programs and benefits that support the unique needs of women in all phases of their career and life."
According to a new report from IWG, Women in the Hybrid Workplace Report, a hybrid work model (61%) is twice as important to them as parental leave (35%) is. Respondents cite more flexibility (58%), work-life balance (54%) and time saved commuting (53%) as the most valuable parts of hybrid working. This work model allows for women to not have to leave the workforce due to parental duties of caretaking responsibilities.
“Raising a child is a tremendous responsibility and in my life, hybrid working makes a vital difference,” said Fatima Koning, group chief commercial officer, IWG. “I’m able to co-parent my daughter, take good care of myself and progress in my career – priorities that would be far more difficult to manage if I were traveling back and forth to a central office every day.”
Wells agrees with this sentiment. “As a mother of two children, I can’t leave out the unique challenges of being a working mom and balancing family life and career life. Even when there is a strong balance between parents, mothers often place a high expectation on themselves to do it all and overextend themselves,” Wells says. “When workplaces put in place strong programs for families/parents in general, this further supports women through the capacity for both parents to be there for their families.
Seventy-four percent of women in a hybrid work role say that this model "had a positive impact on their career trajectory," according to the report. Further, 63% believe the hybrid work structure has empowered them to be promoted, and 57% say hybrid work is “the key to advancing in their careers”.
“Benefits for employees, which span increased time and money for personal interests, caregiving or wellness, savings to support financial goals, and the ability to pursue the career of their dreams, can all be supported with flexibility. It also helps businesses attract and retain top performers,” says Koning.
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