Stimulating a more gender balanced culture
We launched our research report ‘Rethinking leadership through a gender lens: New ways of working resulting from Covid-19’ at a virtual event with the Global Institute for Women's Leadership, King's College London on 26 November 2020, chaired by Baroness Morrissey DBE.
We had an incredible line-up of panelists resulting in a lively debate and so many interesting questions from the audience. Most questions were answered during the event, but this blog post aims to answer some of the additional questions which we ran out of time to discuss! We have grouped some of the questions due to overlap and for ease of reference.
You can watch a video of the research launch event here and download a free copy of the full research report here. It outlines nearly 60 practical recommendations, as well as 5 must-do actions, for any organisation on how to commit to change and stimulate a more gender balanced culture for the benefit of all. We hope it inspires you to take action!
If you would like to discuss the research further or would like support on your journey, then please do get in touch.
JOB SATISFACTION
The research found that more women than men reported a negative impact on job satisfaction and sense of feeling valued.
Do you think that the findings regarding job satisfaction might be different now that schools are open?
Yes, this is possible. Our research was carried out during July-October 2020 when schools were closed. 12% of respondents cited interruptions from kids and homeschooling pressures as their biggest workplace challenge during ‘normal’ working hours since lockdown began. The hope is that the re-opening of schools will enable employees, and women in particular, to re-set boundaries between personal and professional life.
Did the research identify differences for women from BAME groups?
Yes, our survey showed that respondents identifying themselves as BAME women felt less valued than white women. However, bearing in mind the small sample of BAME women who completed the survey, we cannot report on these findings in detail. There is certainly scope for more comprehensive research on ethnicity differences on this topic which we hope to carry out in the future. If you would be interested in participating, please email us at research@myconfidencematters.com.
How did employees perceive their workload doing Covid-19?
We do not have specific data from the research on this point, but many people in our interviews suggested that remote working introduced a new ‘always on’ e-presenteeism. Our recommendations for organisations in the report outline our suggestions around managing workload distribution.
FLEXIBLE AND REMOTE WORKING
The research found that the majority of employees want the flexibility to choose when to work at home and in the office.
How we can ensure gender balance is not eroded by those who work more from the office compared to those who choose to work from home?
As decisions are made about new models of work, location flexibility seems to be something we all want to keep. Our research showed that both men and women want the flexibility to choose when to work at home and in the office, with the results being similar across genders. However, the report highlights some significant things to watch out for if these models are not to inadvertently erode progress towards gender balance at work. One of our ‘must-do’ actions outlined in the report is to avoid a two-track system where those working remotely feel like it is ‘them’ and ‘us’. We suggest organisations watch for gender splits in who is returning to the office and who is choosing to keep working remotely and act swiftly to mitigate any erosion of gender balance as a result.
How do we ensure flexibility works for individuals?
As noted above, one of the key findings from our research was that most respondents want the option to choose when to work at home and in the office. Rather than creating a flexible working policy for all, organisations need to respond to individual needs, challenges and circumstances and involve a wide range of experiences in the design of new working models. It shouldn’t be assumed that everyone is having the same experience or needs the same things.
Please comment on the informal networking and relationship building challenges on working from home, and how promotion opportunities are affected when we can no longer been seen or network in the traditional way?
The research highlighted that lack of connection with colleagues was one of the biggest workplace challenges. In our recommendations for organisations we outline ideas such as allowing extra time at the start of calls, or occasional no-agenda meetings to allow for impromptu ‘watercooler moments’ and informal relationship building. We suggest organisations create virtual mentoring programmes and sponsorship programmes to help with networking and increasing the visibility and impact of employees, which is needed even more when working remotely.
Can you give advice to the younger generation entering the workforce and establishing themselves in their careers in these unprecendented circumstances?
This was not a focus for our research but we would recommend looking at organisations such as Bright Network (www.brightnetwork.co.uk/) to access careers advice and useful resources on networking and career development.
EMPLOYERS’ SCOPE OF RESPONSIBILITY
The research found that employers’ scope of responsibility has broadened to include wider lives of employees.
What initiatives have you seen to support employees with mental health issues?
Just under half of employees cited a health and wellbeing issue as their biggest personal challenge. However, it was encouraging that most respondents agreed with our statements relating to their organisations’ positive actions around wellbeing. The report outlines several recommendations on how organisations can create a culture of wellbeing. This includes initiatives such as expanding mental health support services, giving people managers a mandate to role model actions supporting wellbeing and ensuring regular check-ins are put in place and monitored.
It is the global 16DaysofActivism against violence against women & girls. I would like to highlight that we should ensure that women experiencing domestic abuse are found a safe place to work and that organisations have a workplace policy for this.
Thank you for raising awareness on this issue. As the report highlights, it is so important that organisations recognise that each employee has a wider life outside of work and that they have a clear picture of each employees’ home-working situation. In our recommendations we suggest that organisations introduce new policies to support employees with working from home, and this should also cover ensuring that everyone has a safe place to work.
EMPATHETIC LEADERSHIP
The research found that the vast majority employees who felt there had been a change in their manager’s leadership style said the level of understanding and empathy had increased.
Why do you think job satisfaction has decreased when empathy has increased which often go hand in hand?
Although the rise in empathetic leadership is positive news, the research also highlighted that for some women, working from home was highly challenging as they continued to shoulder the burden of unpaid care and work/life boundaries have become increasingly blurred. The report outlines recommendations for organisations to address these challenges. We know that people flourish when they feel valued and cared for so our hope is that a continued rise in empathetic and heartfelt leadership will lead to greater job satisfaction for all employees in future.
Why do you think leaders struggle with being empathetic and how do leaders capitalise on the progress made over lockdown to bring about a more empathetic leadership style?
Although it has been encouraging to see a rise in empathetic leadership, it will require a cultural change and for some of our long-held, sometimes unconscious assumptions about leadership to be changed. This is particularly true in industries that traditionally value more authoritarian leadership styles. Organisations now have an opportunity to pro-actively encourage leaders to show empathy towards their teams. One of the ‘must-do’ actions in the report is to promote and cascade empathetic and inclusive leadership traits to all people managers through coaching and professional development, ensuring that they know how to put these into practice and incorporate them into performance reviews.
THANK YOU!
Thank you for all your interesting questions and for inspiring the debate!
A reminder that you can download your full free copy of the research report here.