On the 8th March 2023, we celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD), with #EmbraceEquity as the campaign theme. The 2023 campaign suggests equal opportunities do not go far enough and emphasises the importance of equity. This is highly relevant for SMEs, particularly in terms of what changes need to be made to challenge workplace bias which women continue to experience. SMEs play a significant role in the UK economy and recruiting and retaining women to the talent pool is essential for growth and prosperity. Inequalities in the workplace can, however, create a significant barrier for women.
To pursue equality is to strive to treat everyone the same, yet not everyone is the same and circumstances can fluctuate as women navigate their careers. Equal opportunities consider protected characteristics but as circumstances change, the environment is not as inclusive as it purports to be. Women are more likely to experience change which impacts on them in the workplace, such as becoming a mother, the effects of the menopause, or experiencing domestic abuse (to name just a few changes). These can all lead to a lack of opportunity in the working environment. Many women put their careers on hold as they juggle family life, and a higher percentage of women work part-time compared to males. A woman might find they can no longer stay back late to finish a project because they need to pick up the toddler from nursery. A woman can prepare for weeks for an internal promotion but suffers a hot flush and brain fog mid interview and loses her train of thought and appears flustered or incompetent. A change of circumstances can result in workplace bias, which impacts on a woman’s self-belief, career progression and well-being.
As a woman who has navigated many changes, I can relate to situations of workplace bias, particularly when working for an SME in the construction industry where I did not feel as valued as my male counterparts. This bias was not just from my employer but also extended to the behaviour of my clients. This was largely due to a change in my circumstances: when I became a parent and began working part-time. Equity recognises that we all have different circumstances and as such, we need to adapt resources and opportunities to support an equal outcome.
The IWD campaign suggests:
“Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities.”
“Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances, and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.”
Research by IWD as part of their LEAN IN initiative identifies that women more than men will experience bias in a workplace. LEAN IN offers workshops to fight bias and training sessions to create Allyship at Work and Lean in Circles: a peer mentoring programme. At a more local level, SME leaders can take steps to create a more equitable and inclusive workplace environment: by becoming active listeners.
Become an Active Listener
Many managers and employees are potentially unaware of the power of listening. Speaking freely without fear of being judged, interrupted or ignored, enables an employee to articulate their ideas or difficulties. In terms of embracing equity, just because someone else in a similar position was able to juggle childcare, or other demands, does not mean a one size fits all policy will work for everyone; it depends on individual circumstances. If a more junior member of the team put forwards an idea or perspective which is different to what senior management had in mind, it doesn’t mean to say that the idea is not relevant or that is should be dismissed. By doing this, the suggestions of the employee are being undervalued. Employees need to feel valued, and when they feel valued and listened to, this will increase their motivation which in turn increases the productivity for the business. An SME should not underestimate the significance of this psychological capital and its influence on the workforce, and equity underpins this.
There has never been a better time for an SME to rethink equal opportunity mantras and think more holistically about what still needs to be done to accelerate gender equity in the workplace. To improve listening and understanding between male senior / mid managers and female employees, I suggest developing a reverse mentoring scheme. A good example of the benefits of this is presented in a recent case study by Saieva, Smith and Butler (2022) where male senior managers are paired with female junior employees. The study highlighted that the male managers learnt not only about what their female employees were experiencing in the workplace, but also about their customers, which impacted their approach to management. Women participants identified that they gained a greater understanding of issues facing the senior management team. Thus, active listening leads to greater opportunities to develop initiatives for organisational inequalities to be addressed.
The mission of this year’s IWD campaign was clear, “educate friends, family, colleagues, and the community on the need for equity”. SME leaders should embrace ‘equity’ and recognise that people have individual circumstances. The fact that these individual circumstances are often fluid, presents an even greater need to ensure businesses provide resources and opportunities so that an equal outcome can be achieved.
Dr Dawn Whitton is a Senior Lecturer and Chartered Surveyor at Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University