Moving forward post-Covid
Because of Covid, most companies didn’t have any other option than to restructure and work from home. This shift is looking a lot more permanent post-Covid. Companies are now becoming “virtual first” or “hybrid-working” places. This is a great opportunity to have many new conversations about the new normal that could benefit women in the workplace.
As a result of these dynamics, companies are given an opportunity to restructure their workplace environment and allow a more empathetic and flexible workplace. We can nurture a culture where women have equal opportunity to achieve their potential, long term, post this worldwide epidemic crisis . You can take a closer look at the current disparity amongst women in our blog post, Covid Is Not A Gender Neutral Crisis.
What can companies do to ensure a positive and permanent impact at work that could benefit all? These curated ways of work performance can impressively obtain better results in the workplace.
- Making flexibility the new permanent normal will improve the work-life balance, thus improving work performance and productivity. Open Sourced Workplace mentions “flexibility increases efficiency which in turn reduces stress and improves the mental and physical stability of an employee and due to that, they are able to put in more effort in their work…”. A sustainable work schedule is essential to helping mothers, senior-level women, and all employees facing burnout get through this shift of work and current climate of the ongoing pandemic. Companies can also encourage employees to set their own boundaries and take full advantage of flexible work options.
- Trailblaze diversity and inclusion in the workplace and make it a priority. There is new urgency in assuring diversity and inclusion; as a result, any work that is done in these areas needs to be appraised and shared among all workers. Every decision-making process within a company must be illuminated by diverse representation. When there’s a mix of different perspectives, better decision-making and new insights arise. Women deserve to be calling the shots and having their seat at the table.
- Bringing us to the next point: reintroducing Gender Pay Gap reporting. Women have been socially conditioned to feel less entitled than men. This “unentitled mindset” lingers when it comes to talking about maternity leave or a pay raise at work.
Gender Pay Gap reporting must be taken into action now so that inequalities in pay can be highlighted and resolved within companies. ATHENAWORKS is committed to ending unequal pay, we are unbiased towards gender and believe it is urgent that we put female workers on equal footing as male workers.
“Fortunately, organizations do not have to wait for government reform. They can assess their own pay structures (although it’s best to have an outsider do it) to check for unconscious bias in their pay and promotion structures. Only these checks and balances can eliminate the unconscious bias that keeps women from earning the same pay as their male counterparts.” — Kim Elsesser, Forbes
Covid-19 created a shift in many companies and fundamentally changed the way we do business. Companies should look at this shift as an opportunity to make sustainable changes and progress in their daily practices. It is crucial for women to be involved in these decision making opportunities, enabling results that establish overall inclusive structures for gender equality in the workplace. Implementing these fundamentals could greatly impact remote workers, for the better and we can truly make a change in the workplace, for women. Shouldn’t all companies want to be an organization who is positive, sustainable and supportive while constantly coming up with new solutions? If they do, companies will find themselves excelling and set up to become the kind of pioneer others respect and want to follow.
At ATHENAWORKS, we believe in diverse teams driving global change. We built our female-led organization with a solid company culture, making sure we encourage social change through the empowerment of people. Our teams are inclusive to all and intentionally gender and wage-balanced to promote equality and diversity. If you are interested in working for us or are in need of great engineers, visit our Careers Page on our company website at ATHENAWORKS.IO. Be part of the change with us!
