Women are unrepresented in senior management roles. The reasons for this vary - societal constraints, family responsibilities, gender stereotypes, lack of support from employers and even lack of ambition from women themselves.
However, when women look for career advancement, and find that there are inadequate career development and progression opportunities, they start looking for a new job. Organisations lose valuable skills and corporate knowledge, and face higher recruitment costs.
To improve retention of female staff, companies need to be proactive about promoting women into senior roles, and provide the support required to make this possible. The benefits are not just for women employees, but for the company. Retaining female staff gives the company a bigger pool of talent to draw from, at a time when talent shortages are common.
Research in Europe and the US shows companies with more women at senior levels are also companies that perform better organisational and financially. This poses a strong argument for retaining women and increasing gender diversity.
To assist in mentoring women into senior management positions and increase retention of female staff, organisation can adopt some or all of the following strategies.
Establish networking programs, coaching groups and active mentorships so women can discuss ideas for advancement, plan their career path, access career development and settle into new roles.
Train both male and female managers in the value of a diverse workforce and provide them with strategies to develop and promote female staff into senior roles.
Develop a succession plan to identify high performing female staff members and provide opportunities for training and growth.
Consider the number of women in senior management with the number of women employed in the organisation, and whether this number is reflective. If not, make implementing female mentorships a priority.
Ensure that junior staff members have female role models in senior positions to look up to. Encourage the senior women to support and mentor the more junior staff.
Review work/life balance initiatives, such as part time hours, flexible hours and work from home opportunities. Women's role as the primary caregiver for families is a significant barrier to advancement.
Maintain open communication. User performance reviews to allow female staff members to state their career goals. Don't make assumptions based on gender, family responsibilities or age about an employees ambitions and the career path they would choose.
Maintain communication with women on maternity leave and ask what they need to support their transition back to work.
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