What Women Want to See in the Workplace in 2023

Jan 10

If you can’t tell already, we are a female led company and female empowerment is very important to us. We believe women are the backbone of society and if only they were offered the same opportunities as their male counterparts, the possibilities around innovation, diversity and inclusion within the business universe are endless.

Here at Goho, we like to champion female led businesses and give them the platform they deserve by offering speciality rates to female led and under-represented businesses (sound like you? Give us a shout!). Why do we do this?

Well...

Many women are still underrepresented at senior levels or face barriers when it comes to career advancement or promotion. A 2022 study by McKinsey revealed that 'for every 100 men who are promoted from entry-level roles to manager positions, only 87 women are promoted, and only 82 women of colour are promoted’. Uhhhhmmm what?

This is a problem not only because it means companies are missing out on talent, but also women contribute to an organisation in different ways than men do. When we understand this, it becomes clear that gender equality is not just the right thing to do—it’s good business sense (trust me, we have the evidence to prove it ;)).

So what do we want to see for women in the workplace come 2023?

According to a recent Washington Post article by Anne Branigin, women want more flexible working hours, more opportunities for advancement and a greater focus on issues like child care, paid leave and wage equality. We also need to see more women in leadership roles—not just in tech but across all industries.

As the thinkers and planners of the world, women take a more complex approach to evaluating their job prospects. Women tend to look at the bigger picture and evaluate the “fit” of a job to their specific needs and circumstances (family, childcare etc).

What makes a good 'fit'?

Better / Equal Pay

It’s no secret that there is still a working pay gap between men and women. Although the gap has been closing over the last decade, recent stats by the ONS reveal that in the UK, the pay gap increased to 8.3% in 2022, up from 7.7% in 2021.

Work Life Balance

Women are often praised for their seeming ability to handle multiple responsibilities at once, such as having a full-time job while managing their homes and caring for spouses or children.

However, women are now speaking out against the misconception that balancing many responsibilities does not take a toll on their health and well-being. In order to manage the different responsibilities society expects from them, flexibility in the workplace and a good work-life balance is key.

Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion is essential when retaining female talent, as research from McKinsey found that women are more than one and a half times more likely as men in the same roles to have left a previous job because they wanted to work for a company that was more committed to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

The workplace still has significant gender bias, and this is even truer for women of ethnic backgrounds. Therefore, the responsible employer needs to do everything possible to create an environment in which female leaders can succeed and thrive.

Better Representation

Better female representation in leadership roles is not only good for women, but it is also good for business. Research shows that companies with more women on their boards outperform those with less female representation by as much as 35% (again, we have the evidence to prove it). When women are in leadership roles, they tend to be more collaborative and inclusive—making them better leaders in the long run.

Better Health Benefits

For many years, health concerns specific to women have been overlooked by employers. There has been little awareness of the issues and impacts that such concerns might bring to staff—notably a lack of recognition regarding absenteeism, presenteeism (eagerness but poor work performance), decreased productivity due absence from work or early retirement invites extra costs for businesses. Women do not want to miss out on the same career opportunities as male counterparts due to health conditions beyond their control (all of these factors piss us off, but this one rates pretty high).

This sentiment is shared by female employees around the world, but what is the UK Government doing about it?

The UK Labour Government has set a target of eliminating the gender pay gap in the UK by 2030, whilst the Conservative Government admitted that there is 'not enough focus on women-specific issues such as miscarriages and menopause' and have released and ambitious 10 year Woman's Health strategy plan for England, published in August 2022.

Part of this plan includes a £1.97million investment into organisations across England to boost innovative schemes that improve the health of women in the workplace. The money will be used to assist woman having reproductive issues such as menopause, fertility problems, miscarriage and pregnancy loss, menstrual health, and gynaecological conditions – to remain in and return to the workplace.

Minister Helen Whatley stated: "We have already put women’s health at the top of the agenda by publishing the first ever Women’s Health Strategy for England, but there’s always more

that can be done."

Now you don't need to tell us how difficult it can be to trust the government and certain companies to fulfil these needs, I mean if you want something done properly ask a woman, right? However, as 50% of the inhabitants of this planet we are not going away, and the more noise we make, the more we will be heard.