Affirmative or performative?
There isn’t one silver bullet. Just like racial inequality, gender inequality is systemic. So creating an inclusive culture needs to be addressed at multiple levels and it needs to be connected – with a clear direction and tone set from the top.
Over the course of my research, I have come to understand the difference between companies that are genuinely inclusive and those that are just paying lip service to the idea. All too often, employers will focus their gender equality efforts on recruitment, without following it up with the right working practices. Others don’t even get this far. If you have a CEO who sees the strategic value of hiring more women but does not actually invest in recruiting or retaining them, then you are going wrong.
It is important to have people at the top who understand what is at stake for their organization and what the opportunities are, and can talk about this in ways that resonate with others. So, if your CEO is not fully invested in gender equality (or is only interested to the extent of checking boxes or not being sued), any efforts by the rest of the organization will not get very far.
Some companies fall short because they introduce gender equality initiatives that have good intentions but do not deliver results. Some may even have unintended consequences that damage women’s advancement opportunities or contribute to their burnout.
For instance, research shows that women are often called upon to represent their companies in various diversity committees, commissions, and conferences where they perform extra work and emotional labor that is not always recognized in their overall job efforts. Women may feel compelled to help to improve the workplace, but this ‘invisible’ work is often not named or recognised or rewarded. And if it leads to no real changes in your organization, it can be extremely demoralizing – which then adds to feelings of burnout.