Did you know that a new Thomson Reuters report states that:
Companies with greater gender diversity on their boards correlate with lower volatility in stock price.
If anyone is still arguing about the importance of gender diversity in 2015, they should go back and read all the publications, research and reports in the past 5 years. We’re not getting into the importance of the topic. What I would like to consider today is how to use simple common sense rather than strategized programs to achieve gender diversity. This is important where budget, people and/or time restrictions can stop official “programs” from being implemented.
1. Treat People Equally
Notice I didn’t say treat men and women equally. Why? Because they’re all people! Women have their strengths, men have their strengths. We all need to stop focusing on the weaknesses of people and look at their strengths instead.
Gender Diversity Tip #1: Looking at people’s strengths (rather than gender) will provide you with more colleagues that can help achieve your corporate goals. [Tweet This]
2. Think 50/50
It’s a build up to treating people equally. So when you have a training, promotion quota, and especially boardroom composition, think 50% of the overall population of that specific gender. Generally this should be common sense and not have to be put down in some policy. Consider it a general rule of thumb to go by.
Gender Diversity Tip #2: None of your events should be dominated by either gender, it should be a 50/50 split. [Tweet This]
3. Have Equal Opportunity Networking Sessions
Invite women and men to speak to women and men. No – the last sentence is not a typo. I’ve written about having female mentors and networking sessions using female speakers for primarily a women audience. But in this day and age I think that this division of having networking for men and networking for women is getting silly.
Gender Diversity Tip #3: Create training and networking sessions with people in mind – not genders. [Tweet This]
4. Make Gender Diversity and Integral Part of your Culture
Culture is like a living breathing organism. You obviously need to define and document a culture which is geared towards Encouraging Super Teams and Success. That said, no matter the number of pages or bullet points your document has, people will not follow it point by point. They’ll follow what is set through example – by the management and leaders.
Gender Diversity Tip #4: Management and leaders need to live and breath gender diversity through their daily actions. [Tweet This]
5. Respect Your Colleagues as You Would Your Family Elders
This point is loaded with Asian cultural influences. That said, it also needs to be taken with a pinch of salt considering that women are put on the backseat in many Asian cultures. What I’m trying to say is if you as an individual are able to respect all those around you, you’re more likely to treat them all equally.
Gender Diversity Tip #5: Make respect the backbone of equality. [Tweet This]
That’s it. 5 simple rules that really are common sense which should help you increase gender diversity in your organization. It doesn’t always take a long drawn out program to help women and men achieve equality. Share some of your tips with me on Twitter and subscribe to the blog to get simple tips that you can implement in your company today.
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