Tips For Attracting AND Retaining Women In The Workplace

Over my 10+ years working in IT recruitment, I have championed women in tech and have helped countless businesses implement diverse recruitment practices that benefit both men and women. Last month, I had the pleasure of attending Softcat’s first Services Partner Women in Business event. This session explored some of the ways the organisation is attracting and retaining women in the workplace, and it made me reflect on what all employers can do to better support their female employees and hopefully retain them.

By attending the Softcat roundtable, discussing these topics with other business leaders, and working alongside talent acquisition and HR professionals to implement many initiatives, I feel well-equipped to share how companies can improve their methods of attracting and retaining women in the workplace.

Benefits of attracting and retaining women in the workplace

There are vast benefits to improving the levels of women in the workplace. Statistics show that:

• Gender diverse teams make better business decisions 73% of the time, compared with all-male teams.
• Companies that have more equal amounts of men and women in their workforce reported a 15% lower turnover rate for female employees and a 25% lower turnover rate for male employees
• Organisations where women made up at least 15% of senior management were 50% more profitable than those with fewer women

Additionally, in many sectors where there is an acute skills gap for experienced talent, being able to attract and retain women is vital to staying operational.

Tips for attracting and retaining women in the workplace

The following policies can support women at different times in their lives, through various life changes and career stages. By implementing a number of these policies, companies can increase their chances of hiring and retaining more women.

Encourage women into leadership and other senior positions

Firstly, placing women in key senior management and leadership positions is vital to attracting and retaining female employees. In order to achieve this, companies need to address routes to leadership for women within their structure.

70% of women cited a lack of career progression as a major reason for them leaving a role. Thus, understanding how businesses can support female employees on their internal career progression is vital to knowing how to retain them.

Additionally, having women within senior leadership can help to pioneer the change that brings in the female-centred policies I discuss later in this blog, that will make larger strides in attracting and retaining women in the workplace.

• Set up mentorship programmes

Mentorship can be a vital and low-cost way to retain women in the workplace through supporting career progression opportunities. In companies that do offer mentorship programmes, 4 in 5 women cited having a mentor as an important reason behind them remaining at that organisation and inspiring them to pursue leadership positions.

Mentorship programmes can be traditional or a “reverse mentorship” arrangement that can work to build bridges across departments and seniority levels within a business. Reverse mentorship involves junior employees mentoring senior employees and helps them gain skills in new technologies, understand alternative viewpoints and more.

Both traditional and reverse mentorship opportunities allow employees to learn from and support each other. These programmes are fantastic channels for personal and professional development and can be used within recruitment campaigns and the wider EVP to show an organisation’s commitment to career progression.

A mentorship programme can also create advocates in business for junior employees. Whether that is men or women in more senior positions who can fly the flag for junior professionals and be their point of contact for support on career progression or navigating the workplace. This can help junior female employees feel emboldened to remain in an organisation and push for promotions and job opportunities rather than look for jobs elsewhere to progress. Creating these routes to senior leadership can help to create a more diverse leadership team.

• Build professional women’s networks

Whilst this option may be better suited for larger organisations, implementing networks for female employees can be highly beneficial. For very large organisations, this may include women in business groups, as well as smaller more focused gatherings. For instance, I learnt from Softcat how they run smaller networks for women facing the menopause, LGBTQ+ women and more.

A women’s network within the workplace can create a safe space for employees to discuss their experiences in and outside of work, offer support and build connections. It can be particularly useful for industries that tend to be male-dominated, where an employee may not have many other women on their team they can talk to. These kinds of organised groups can help boost retention by reducing isolation and creating a supportive environment for female employees to discuss any issues they may be having.

Incorporate fertility policies

There are many policies that can be directly implemented to attract and support women in the workplace. Fertility-based policies can benefit many female and male professionals. With approximately 82% of women becoming mothers by the time they are 40, policies around fertility are important to consider when looking at ways to hire and retain female employees.

Currently, employees have no legal right to time off to attend appointments for IVF or any other fertility treatment and having a fertility policy could address this +. Organisations can also provide additional flexibility to those undergoing fertility treatments such as egg freezing, IUI, IVF and more, as employees may need time off work due to sicknesses and mental health challenges caused by medical procedures or medication. Some organisations even offer interest-free loans for fertility treatment! Alongside a policy on fertility, it is also good practice to have manager training that support employees experiencing pregnancy loss or infertility.

Support during maternity leave

There are many things that businesses can do to ensure that they are retaining women in the workplace during their period of leave and as they return to the workplace after having a child. Around 12% of women report job loss or mistreatment while pregnant, on maternity leave or within 12 months of returning. This can make it harder for individuals to return to work or remain with the same employer. Here are the main ways we know some organisations ensure their female employees have a smooth transition back to the workplace following leave.

• Keeping in touch (“KIT”) days

KIT days are enshrined into employee rights, where an employee on maternity or adoption leave can work up to 10 days during their leave without ending their period of leave. These can help employees on extended leave feel connected to what’s going on in the office, such as:

• The latest projects and work
• New clients
• Team hires and promotions
• Office gossip

Returning to work after a long period of leave can feel isolating, and in some fast-moving businesses that have a high employee turnover, there can be a lot of changes that the employee needs to catch up with.

In fact, only 17% women feel confident returning to work following maternity leave. Organisations and managers that make the most of these days can help to ensure their female employees feel supported and happy to return.

• Phased return/ job sharing

85% of women exit their workplaces within 3 years of becoming mothers due to inflexibility during their return to work. Greater flexibility around how women return to work following maternity leave, such as having a phased return or allowing for job sharing/ reducing hours, will allow employees to feel like they are getting the right balance for them and their families.

Sometimes there can be restrictions in the amount of flexibility organisations can offer employees, which is understandable. However, organisations that make the effort to discuss arrangements with returning employees that suits business needs and the employees, is the best way to retain them and allow them to thrive in this transitionary period.

Offer childcare support

A common problem all parents in the workplace face is the price and availability of childcare. This issue alone can make it harder for women to return to the workplace following maternity leave. It is a key issue for all families which makes it a vital policy for attracting and retaining women in the workplace.

One of our clients offers an onsite creche, with discounts available for employees based on when they choose to return from maternity leave. This may not be an option for all organisations, however, companies that are able provide additional childcare support, should consider the benefits of doing so as it could make them highly attractive to certain candidates. Having childcare available in the workplace, can help to attract parents and retain employees who are returning from parental leave. Additionally, having the creche onsite can help limit disruptions to the workday.

Implement extended paternity leave

An important conversation gaining more coverage involves the topic of paternity leave and how men and non-birthing partners don’t have enough time to sufficiently bond with their children and support their partners. For many new fathers and other individuals, 2 weeks statutory pay is all they receive and often it is simply not enough. Implementing an extended paternity leave, whilst directed at men, helps women too.

Studies have shown that women are 34% more likely to feel ready to re-enter the workforce following maternity leave if their partner takes paternity leave. YouGov also found that with men that took longer paternity leave, on average, their partner was less likely to suffer post-natal depression and more likely to be able to return to the workforce following maternity leave. Overall, when looking at policies to support women, businesses should not overlook men and policies that will indirectly benefit women.

Consider grandparent leave/ flexibility

With the price of childcare so high, many grandparents want to be able to provide support when needed. This can include needing time off when a new baby arrives, flexibility during school drop off and pick up times, or time off for sports day or other school activities. Grandparent flexibility can help to ensure parents have less stress regarding childcare, but it also gives individuals who have become grandparents a greater work-life balance and will help to ensure they are retained in the workplace. By retaining older and more experienced talent engaged, companies have the opportunity to retain key skills for longer and for knowledge to be passed to junior employees through training and upskilling initiatives.

Enforce menopause training

Around 17% people who experience menopause symptoms have considered leaving their workplace due to a lack of support. As menopause is a biological certainty for half of the population, businesses cannot afford to be disengaging and losing that much talent. Menopause often starts during the peak of someone’s career in their 40s, so businesses can lose out significantly by not adequately supporting and retaining women undergoing this change.

In my conversations with Softcat and other businesses, I learned how many companies have implemented manager training that specifically discusses menopause. These training programmes aim to empower managers to know how they can better support their employees who are experiencing menopause symptoms and gives them the tools to know how to discuss the topic with their employees.

Can improving the workplace for women be beneficial to others?

Many of these policies I have stated benefit men as well. Mentorship programmes, job sharing opportunities and internal professional networks can all be opened up to male employees to help support their career progression and individual needs for a better work-life balance. Policies such as extended paternity leave, grandparent leave, and childcare also directly affect them and support their desire to be more present in family life.

Over half of UK workers want more flexibility at work and implementing these tips and initiatives can help to create a cultural shift in an organisation, which will help to retain and attract both male and female employees. Changes can positively affect employees with medical conditions, additional responsibilities outside of work, such as caring for children and parents, and those who just need a greater work-life balance.

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