When we talk about diversity and inclusion (D&I), one key concept that's often left out is equity.
When diversity, inclusion, and equity go together, your workforce is empowered to do their best to work.
Equity Isn't Synonymous with Equality
Workplace Equality means treating everyone the same, without discrimination.
Workplace Equity means giving your employees something that is in line with their individual needs so that they can be successful.
Equity is central to the genuine empowerment of women or disadvantaged individuals. In other words, a diversity and inclusion program that covers equity hinges on an acute awareness of varying employee needs. But, why is this so necessary? And what are the benefits?
Companies that invest in equity can benefit in several ways. Here are eight reasons why equity should be at the heart of your diversity and inclusion strategy:
1. Equity encourages cognitive diversity in decision-making
Without equity, even the most diverse company will have a one-dimensional leadership team in charge of making decisions. Consider a recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO), which found that women comprise 70% of the global healthcare workforce, but also discovered that there are "too few women" making decisions and leading at work.
As a result, leadership teams do not access cognitive diversity, which enables varied problem-solving approaches. By taking measures toward workplace equity and giving diversity employees what they need in order to get into leadership positions, you can ensure that a diverse team is responsible for the company's strategic direction, making it more agile and resilient.
2. Equity drives engagement for specific employee demographics
The ideal employee experience will vary across employee groups and demographics.
To take an example, a single mother may want to work remotely for at least three out of five days to better facilitate work-life-integration. This doesn't mean that remote working is a must-have policy for the rest of your organisation. It merely indicates that you value the employee’s contribution enough to give the employee the facilities and flexibility they need to do their job well.
3. Equity enables targeted upskilling for a diverse workforce
In a large workforce, you are bound to have varying levels of education, with employees coming from privileged, disadvantaged, and multiple other socioeconomic backgrounds.
Equity-focused training – bridging skill gaps caused by a disability, socioeconomic background, or gender – will make every worker future-ready, able to contribute fully and financially stable.
4. Equity prevents dissatisfaction, and ultimately employee attrition
When companies don't prioritise equity alongside diversity and inclusion, the quality of experience for minority groups suffers.
Everyone might be receiving the same experience – but certain groups do not derive the same level of satisfaction, owing to multiple demographic factors like age, physical ability/disability, or gender.
5. Equity allows the entire company to contribute towards a shared mission
The diversity-inclusion-equity trio aims to help every employee contribute fully to a shared company vision.
Let's say achieving "50% of women in leadership" is part of your mission statement to achieve in the next five years. Companies would have a better chance of reaching this goal with the desired outcome, if they proactively take steps towards equity interventions.
6. Attract and retain top talent
Jobseekers are becoming increasingly choosy about who they want to work for. The pandemic made many jobseekers re-evaluate what they want out of their lives and careers.
Demonstrating how your organisation not only talks the diversity, inclusion and equity talk, but walks it too, will make you stand out from your competitors.
7. Improve productivity
Equity empowers employees to perform better at their jobs or even reach their full potential by closing gaps.
Further to this, they will work harder too! You may have heard of quiet quitting, which is where employees who are unhappy make the conscious decision to not work as hard and only do the bare minimum. You want to avoid this, right? Research continually shows that happy employees are much more likely to work harder and go the extra mile for your business.
8. Build a diverse team fit for the future
By attracting and retaining talent from different backgrounds and walks of life you can build a diverse team that builds a future-proof business. A diverse team brings fresh perspectives and ideas to the table which drive innovation and propel your business forward.
RecruitMyMom’s Commitment
We understand that women, especially mothers juggle many roles simultaneously. As such, they often search for jobs that allow them to integrate their personal and professional responsibilities.
Employers that respect that mothers can be highly productive at work if offered a degree of flexibility to allow for work-life integration go a long way in supporting gender equity.
That’s why RecruitMyMom exists.
- We work with employers who respect mothers' need for work-life integration.
- We unapologetically support job-seeking mothers who take their careers seriously and are an asset to employers
- We have created an easy-to-use platform for skilled job-seeking mothers to be found and hired.
- We negotiate market-related salaries and possible flexible work options for our candidates.
We support gender equity in the workplace, and are committed to giving women access to what's required for them to succeed. Let’s #EmbraceEquity together, even beyond women's month!
