Diversity and inclusion has become a top priority for HR departments over the past years. Diversity in the workplace is all about creating a work environment that accepts employees’ differences and welcomes candidates and minorities regardless of age, gender, race, religion, mental and physical disabilities, etc.

Having a balanced gender ratio in businesses has been proven to be a productivity booster because teams that consist of a healthy ratio of males and females perform better, innovate more, and have decreased turnover rates.

So how can you create a female inclusive workplace? Check out the below tips from ZenHR.

Flexible Working Hours

Offering flexibility schemes is essential to building a female-friendly environment. Flexibility might actually be the most important factor that affects women’s job satisfaction. Creating a flexible work environment can be achieved by offering the following benefits:

• Flexible working hours other than the standard 9 am to 5 pm schedule.
• The option to work from home or any place other than the office,
• Allowing employees to work part-time which enables working moms to accommodate for their motherhood responsibilities.
• Alternative work shifts allowing female employees to choose the shift that better suits their time.

Supporting Working Moms

Being a mother is already a hard job, and being a working mother is even harder. The main struggle that working moms face at work is their inability to secure reliable childcare services. To address this major concern, companies can partner with a childcare center or they can build an on-site childcare nursery. This will improve the wellbeing of female employees in terms of productivity, retention, morale, and emotional security. Being flexible and tolerant with working mothers when they need urgent vacations and days off is also an excellent way to support them.

Mentorship Programs for Women

As women enter the job market, they might endure many gender-related barriers in their workplaces such as salary inequality, lack of work-life balance, barriers to attain leadership positions, and many more. One of the best tools a company can adopt to empower women is to start a “mentorship program for women”. A mentorship program should consist of experienced and successful female workers “mentors” who will provide the needed advice and consultancy to young female workers “mentees” and help them address the issues and concerns that they have about work. There is nothing more powerful than women supporting each other!

Haneen Ibrahim

Haneen Ibrahim is the Head of Communications at ZenHR, the award-winning HR Software, with a strong passion for HR. She creates engaging blog and social media content on HR topics, cutting-edge trends, and valuable tips for businesses and HR professionals.