The ‘Lean In’ movement took off in 2013 when Sheryl Sandberg and Nell Scovell published Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. It’s a great book that has done much to generate awareness around gender equality and given many women the confidence to embrace their ambition and take on leadership roles.
But is this movement shifting the responsibility for creating a fair and inclusive workplace from employers to female employees? Are we at risk of putting the onus on women to fix the problem of inequality? Are we forcing women to fake confidence instead of providing the culture and context they feel confident in?
Regular readers of our blog will know that we’re passionate about helping organizations create inclusive workplaces. It’s exactly what we built our software to do, and we’re lucky enough to work with companies that value their people enough to invest in employee integration and retention.
We have learned a couple of important things from these companies.
Two things we have learned from companies that get diversity right
The first is that a truly diverse workplace is one that gives everyone the space and freedom to be themselves. It doesn’t require them to ‘lean in’ or be self-reliant – it supports them, listens to them, and treats them as valuable.
The second is that these organizations give everyone (not just women) something to lean towards, by offering them fair compensation, autonomy, flexibility, a great environment, and a clear career path.
Make inclusion a priority
Inclusive environments fuel motivation and loyalty. When people feel valued, they’re more likely to work harder and stay longer.
Creating a truly inclusive workplace requires education and commitment. Our clients have had great success including diversity and inclusion education streams and activities in their employee integration and retention programs. Many of them use vi by Aderant to track and report on diversity metrics across their organizations.
To find out how our Diversity & Inclusion software platform bolts on to your existing solution to help create a better workplace, please visit our website or follow the link below to get started with a demo.