Nine strategies for attracting and retaining talented women
A recent thread on a women in tech group produced some great suggestions for attracting and retaining women in tech, particularly in an environment where men are in the majority. The suggestions seem so relevant to any industry, that I thought I’d share them here.
For the record, I can’t take credit for any of them (except number eight, of course!) – and I’ve listed the brilliant and thoughtful authors below.
Employers should:
Offer access to female mentors.
Have a physical environment that is inclusive of both genders.
Have at least one woman in a management role.
Go on record as supporting women-in-tech (even on their blog).
Host Women-In-Tech events (or participate in them).
Make sure managers ensure all employees are heard and actively and openly discourage interrupting and "mansplaining".
Have a strong no tolerance policy for sexism, even as small "jokes"
Offer working patterns which enable them to combine work and parenting (or other priorities) - like job-sharing!
Have a proper on-boarding process, which could include:
Making sure that the person's workspace is ready: clean, inviting and with all of the technology needed set up properly.
A welcome card signed by the rest of the team.
Printing out or link to the company's values / mission.
Making sure someone is on hand to introduce her to the rest of the team. This should be informal one-on-ones, so everyone knows who she is and what her role. It also means she knows exactly who to go to for what. This should be followed up with an org chart – names, roles, description and ideally a photo (so she doesn’t have to conduct a herculean feat of memory on her first day).
Introducing her formally at the next company meeting. It works well to have a few slides about her background and her expertise so that the whole companies immediately grasps her credibility.
Allocating a buddy who can help her navigate the informal parts of work (unwritten rules, where's the best place to eat nearby etc…)
Setting a meeting on the first day with the person she'll report to, so they can explain their expectations/way of working and also ascertain how she likes to work/what's motivating to her etc.
Setting a follow-up meeting for 2 weeks time to check in on what's going well / what else she needs.
These great ideas were set out on Ada’s List by Brenda Della Casa, Camille Emefa Acey, Cheryl Adamson and Laura Gilmour in response to a question framed by Kunjal Tanna.
Cover photo by HENCE THE BOOM on Unsplash