Latest news with #womeninwork
Forbes
2 days ago
- Science
- Forbes
How To Close the Gender Gap in Workplace Competition
Team of happy female soccer players celebrating their achievement on a playing field at sunset. A new Wharton study shows that women are less likely to enter competitions than their male colleagues at work. In my interview with Katy Milkman, the James G. Dinan Professor at the Wharton School, and Sophia Pink, a PhD student at the Wharton School, they shared their new research on this gender competition gap. Their research found that there is a persistent gender gap in competitive environments which has significant consequences, not just for women, but the organizations that want to maximize the use of their talent. "We were wondering, what if we told women when they're deciding between what jobs to apply for, that women, on average, are less likely to apply for jobs than equally qualified men, would that help?' Milkman explained. This is known as "stereotype reactance." Stereotype reactance is the process of informing women about the existing gender gap in competition proactively. This can paradoxically increase their likelihood of applying for jobs. This is attributed to women's potential desire to resist conforming to negative stereotypes and a motivation to take action against the observed inequality. Pink notes, "What we found is that women who saw this reactance inducing message where they learned about this gender competition gap applied to about 20% more jobs on the day they saw the banner, so it led to this big and meaningful boost in job applications." Milkman and Pink recommends organizations use more 'just in time' interventions. This could be providing a prompt at moment of decision reminding women about the gender competition gap or equipping managers to encourage women on their teams to apply for positions to overcome this gap. These "just-in-time" interventions can create a more equitable playing field by mitigating the impact of confidence barriers and internalized norms. Milkman and Pink advocate for a shift in promotion practices, suggesting that organizations should make promotions the default rather than requiring individuals to opt-in. This seemingly simple change can act as a powerful form of encouragement, particularly for women who may be hesitant to self-promote or may underestimate their qualifications. By making promotion consideration a standard process, companies can proactively level the playing field and mitigate the impact of the gender competition gap. They found research from the University of Toronto supports this recommendation. Their findings indicate that when promotion processes are structured so that all eligible individuals are automatically considered, the gender gap in who receives promotions significantly diminishes. This suggests that the act of requiring individuals to nominate themselves or actively seek promotion may inadvertently disadvantage women, potentially due to societal factors influencing their confidence in self-promotion or their perception of their readiness. Implementing default promotions can foster a more equitable and inclusive workplace culture. It sends a clear message that the organization values all its talent and is actively working to ensure fair opportunities for advancement. This approach can also help to identify high-potential individuals who might otherwise be overlooked due to their reluctance to self-nominate. By removing the barrier of self-nomination, organizations can tap into a wider pool of talent and create a more diverse and representative leadership pipeline. Research highlights the crucial role of proactive positive feedback in fostering confidence and narrowing the gender competition gap. Managers, mentors, and other allies can actively support women by specifically identifying and acknowledging their strengths and accomplishments. This validation helps women recognize their capabilities and encourages them to put themselves forward for opportunities. Allies can play a vital role in explicitly pointing out the reality that if qualified women choose not to apply for a promotion or new challenge, others will undoubtedly step forward, emphasizing that their absence leaves a void that will be filled. This direct and encouraging approach can counteract any hesitancy stemming from a lack of confidence and empower women to embrace competitive opportunities. Milkman suggests, "Rather than trying to solve long-term, systemic gender socialization problems around gender and competition, these interventions can help remedy the gender competition gap now. The answer is that we have to raise awareness about these issues and develop science-based tools that help combat them." For organizations that want to close the gender competition gap, consider identifying points where the gap might exist, make promotions default and give feedback boosts on confidence.
Globe and Mail
14-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
I'm working in a ‘boys club' – how can I thrive?
Question: I have started working in a new industry and my new workplace is nearly all men. While no one has been directly unkind, it feels like a 'boys club' and not a place that is very welcoming for women. How can I thrive here? We asked Timea Jakab, studio director and senior associate at architecture and design firm Gensler, to tackle this one: I work with developers and on construction sites where I'm often the only female in the room, and the first thing I would say is: You're not imagining it. It feels very singular in the moment, but from university classrooms to the boardroom, this is a real thing. My advice is to anchor yourself in competence. Show up prepared. Know your job, deliver strong work and that will let your credibility speak for you. It will build your inner confidence to where some of the external factors won't matter as much because you will know that you are good at your job. Find your allies, male and female. Look for people who are open, who treat you with respect, who listen to you, who you really connect with. You just need one person. It could be your manager, it could be someone in another department, but it's someone [who can help you] increase your trust in your company. E-mail them, 'Can we have a coffee?' 10 out of 10 times they will say, 'Absolutely. How's tomorrow?' Then, just have a conversation. Tell them, 'I'm new to this company, I'm looking for some allies.' Be open about that. You're not looking for a promotion, you're looking for comfort, and those are very different conversations. Outside of your company, seek out community. When I became a director, I joined the Women's Leadership Initiative at the Urban Land Institute which has programs like the Book Club Without Books and softer networking events. I've made many friends through there. In connecting with other women in your industry, you'll find perspectives, support, strategies and the more open you are, the more you'll get out of it. Sometimes people ask me to give a piece of career advice, and I always say, 'I wish I had started networking earlier.' My last piece of advice, which is what I tell my kids every day, is, 'be yourself.' Part of that comes with being confident in your skillset, knowing you have at least one ally in the room and having a community. That really opens the door to being yourself and just letting yourself shine. Why is there a Chat feature? The bad habits of online meetings 'The postpandemic hybrid work environment has spawned some bad habits, especially around online meetings,' says Eileen Dooley a talent and leadership development specialist based in Calgary. 'While some could be forgiven a few years ago, some disrespectful ones are now being accepted as normal, which is not only eroding the effectiveness of online meetings but of basic meeting etiquette. For example, the pesky Chat feature. 'It's essentially an outlet for side conversations or impulse comments which, quite frankly, have no place in work meeting. It's the equivalent of talking on top of others, passing secret notes or making hand or facial gestures across a physical meeting table.' Canada's Best Executives 2025 Five years ago, Report on Business magazine introduced the Best Executive Awards to hail the executives who toil just outside the corner office and do the work that helps move a company forward. This year, leaders in finance, tech, operations, human resources, sustainability and more were honoured from across the country. Honorees include Rachel MacAdam, VP marketing at Skip (Winnipeg); Sarah Chapman, global chief sustainability officer at Manulife (Toronto); Monisha Sharma, chief revenue officer at Fig Financial (Montreal, Que.); Angie Ng, VP, people and organization at Novo Nordisk Canada (Mississauga, Ont.) and Meaghan Whitney, chief people officer at Blackline Safety (Calgary). The new line of defence: women in cybersecurity Cheryl Hayes has witnessed the impact of poor digital literacy on kids first-hand, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. 'We had friends with a nine-year-old daughter who ended up getting groomed on a [social media] platform,' says Ms. Hayes, co-founder and chief business development officer at Cyber Legends, Inc. '[There were] also kids down the street who had passwords and game tokens they spent years accumulating stolen because they befriended someone online.' Ms. Hayes is one of the growing number of women working in cybersecurity in Canada. It's an industry where women are under-represented – global cybersecurity member association ISC2 estimates that women make up 25 per cent of cybersecurity jobs globally, but they expect that number to increase as more young people enter the profession. LinkedIn's Economic Graph found that women make up 21 per cent of cybersecurity jobs in Canada.
RNZ News
13-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Union, government mediation over working from home restrictions fails
Women are disproportionately affected by the flexible work restrictions. Photo: RNZ The public sector union says mediation has failed to resolve its conflict with the government over working from home. The union headed into mediation with the government on Tuesday to try to stop restrictions to flexible work practices. At the end of last year guidelines were sent out to public sector chief executives to tighten up on flexible working arrangements . The government said working from home arrangements should only be by agreement, should not compromise performance, and departments and agencies must regularly report on the number and nature of agreements in place. In December the PSA filed action against the move with the Employment Relations Authority (ERA). PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons told Morning Report she wanted the government to step away from the idea, similar to Australian opposition leader Peter Dutton did during this year's Australian election , to say "we got this wrong, we are sorry". But Fitzsimons said after mediation failed the case was now heading to the ERA for resolution. She said the union was dismayed to have not settled the matter quickly for public sector workers. Fitzsimons said not being able to work from home disadvantaged women who make up 62 percent of the public service workforce. She said flexible working conditions helped women access career opportunities, while maintaining family commitments as well. "It's good for employers, people are more productive, they concentrate better, so it is common sense as well."
BBC News
12-03-2025
- BBC News
Gender pay gap narrows for States of Jersey employees
A report shows the gender pay gap between men and women employed by the States of Jersey is getting median hourly pay gap has dropped to 10.3%, down from 12.5% in 2023, according to the Government of Jersey report includes data from 3,016 male and 5,272 female employees, with women making up 63.6% of the workforce - a slight increase from 63.5% in government said it had implemented structured and transparent pay grades and increased flexibility for employees with carer responsibilities to close the pay gap. A gender pay gap shows the difference in the average gross hourly earnings between all men and women in the is influenced by the distribution of roles traditionally dominated by one gender, according to the report, which said:90% of teaching assistants are female.82% of nurses and midwives are female.70% of teachers are female, excluding headteachers and deputy headteachers, where just over 62% are female.97% of fire and rescue employees are male.81% of prison employees are male.67% of police employees are male.66% of manual workers are States Employment Board said it had also issued codes of practice to ensure equal opportunities and support for all 2021, there had been a steady increase in the number of females appointed to senior roles, said the government said it had also launched a network to support women's career development and increase their representation in senior positions.
