Effective strategies that can make the IT sector gender-inclusive
Each organisation must recognise the importance of gender inclusiveness in today's world. And gender-inclusiveness is true without bias for any gender. In the fast-growing IT industry, turning a blind eye to this crucial cornerstone of growth could be only at one's peril. Diversity in all its forms is the lifeblood of today's modern-age workforce and requires a deliberate and consistent effort to achieve it. So how do we make necessary efforts to gender-neutralize our workplace? It will be challenging to make effective changes unless we understand the root cause of the issue.
Gender disparity begins at home, in society, and education. Our attitude directly impacts the workplace environment; on how our employees react to their work, organisation, and co-workers. We become conditioned to think about specific situations in certain ways. This deep-rooted bias makes some workplaces foster a belief that all jobs are not for all. And one cannot shy away from the fact that historically this generalisation has resulted in more disadvantages for women than men. It is critical to unlearn such beliefs and work towards a more equal-opportunity society in which we become gender agnostic.
For the outcome of an organisation to be more gender-inclusive, an essential first step is a review of the hiring process. This process entails identifying, defining, and selecting the appropriate skill set using various assessments – technical and behavioural.
Our society has seen a shift in which women are becoming increasingly career-oriented and are eager to break the glass ceiling. They, now, aspire to occupy seats in the boardroom. More women are open to working in shifts and relocating to another city for better opportunities. This flexibility has made available larger pools of talent, making the job of the hirers a little easier. As we move away from gender stereotypes, hiring becomes a merit-based process, with potential female employees assigned more significant roles and responsibilities.
However, hiring more women is just the beginning. With hopefully more women on board, the actual journey of inclusiveness begins—the workplace culture and the employees' attitudes towards each other are at constant test.
In many organisations, more women quit their jobs than men. This higher attrition could be due to several personal factors such as maternity, paternity breaks, elderly care, childcare, etc. We try our best to support our women employees through such challenges. But, as far as work is concerned, we provide a healthy work environment for our employees, where men and women can collaborate and work towards a common goal that will benefit the organisation. We value and recognise the contributions of all of our employees, regardless of their gender. We ensure that our women colleagues feel safe and inspired at the workplace; we encourage them to take up more responsibilities and leverage fresh opportunities. So many women leaders at Rahi are a testimony to the success of our efforts in this direction.
In conclusion, to ensure that gender inclusion does not remain a mere slogan, we must create a culture that encourages equal benefits for equal effort. Appreciating employees' efforts without being biased is essential since the development of an organisation lies in the confidence of its employees. Different perspectives can generate better ideas and innovations, resulting in overall growth.