3 Reasons Why Giving Women Visibility Benefits Your Workplace

We are in an unprecedented season for hiring and retention. As upwards of 48% of employees are considering a career change, diversity initiatives will play an even more significant role in retaining your current employees and attracting new ones. Women in particular are evaluating diversity based on visibility.

When deciding if your organization is a place for them to thrive, women look for other women. If women are not visible in your organization, they may feel alienated, distrustful, and unengaged. On the other hand, when women see other women leading, they can see themselves succeeding and advancing into higher-profile roles. Visibility proves women are valuable in your organization.

Keep reading to further uncover what it means to give visibility to women and three reasons why visibility is important for a healthy and flourishing workplace culture.

Key Takeaways

• Visibility means women are speaking up and speaking for your organization publicly.
• The three key steps to raise the visibility of women are to take stock, be prepared, and don’t wait.
• Visibility is important because it highlights the important and unique benefits women bring to the workplace, increases employee engagement, and increases the talent pool of new hires.
• For a more detailed strategy for increasing visibility, download our free resource Raising Visibility: Uplifting the Talent of Women on your Teams.

What does it mean to give visibility to women?

 Visibility is an answer to questions and concerns about diversity. The problem in many organizations is not that there aren’t women in leadership; rather, it is that women have positions in leadership but are hidden from the public. You say you value women, yet every guest on your podcast is a man. You say you value diversity, yet your company meetings are led by men. There is a clear dissonance between what you say and what the public sees.

 The majority of women in many fields will look around a room or look at leadership positions and only see men. Again, it’s often not because there aren’t women in positions of influence - they simply aren’t publicly visible or invited to participate.

Visibility means women are speaking up and speaking for your organization publicly. This is crucial because it proves your organization values women by not only letting them speak on your behalf, but also by trusting them to do so publicly.  When women begin to see other women in public positions of authority and influence, they will feel more comfortable and confident in their ability to succeed and grow professionally.

The solution is simple - invite women to speak and present, and publicly celebrate the accomplishments of female leaders at your organization, whether or not their positions are public. When addressing concerns about diversity, many employees will say “I cannot say my organization values diversity until I ‘see’ women in positions of leadership.” Until you make a conscious effort to publicly showcase the women in your organization, your “diversity” efforts will be minimally beneficial.

How to increase the visibility of women

Increasing the visibility of women in your organization is a valuable tool to attract new female talent as well as retain current employees and increase employee engagement. For employees looking for organizations that value diversity, visibility is a key first step.

There are three key steps to raise the visibility of women:

1. Take stock of the positions of authority in your organization. Who is speaking? Who is making decisions? Who is being publicly recognized?
2. Get prepared to increase the presence of women by inviting them into the room and developing clear leadership pipelines.
3. Don’t wait for women to get into leadership positions to give recognition and provide dedicated time for listening.

For a more detailed strategy for increasing visibility, download our free resource Raising Visibility: Uplifting the Talent of Women on your Teams.

Three reasons increasing the visibility of women benefits your organization

Women are an integral part of a healthy workplace ecosystem. As leaders, we have a responsibility to provide opportunities to honor and celebrate the unique differences men and women bring to the table. By increasing visibility, you'll begin to see your organization become healthier, increase employee engagement, and attract and retain more high-quality female employees and leaders.

1. Women play a crucial part in a healthy organizational culture

Women can bring many valuable benefits to the workforce. Some positive traits women are often strong in include:

• • Compassion and empathy
  • The ability to foster safe and respectful workplaces
  • Conflict resolution and compromising skills
  • Soft skills, including professionalism, networking, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking
  • Organizational skills

Men can be strong in these areas, as well, but often women possess these as especially strong competencies.  Of course, these benefits only scratch the surface of what women bring to the table. Not only do women bring positive qualities to team dynamics and overall workplace culture, but also increase profit. Research shows company profits can be close to 50% higher when women are well represented at the top.

Additionally, women are more likely to embrace employee-friendly policies and programs, advocate for racial and gender diversity, and mentor and sponsor other women as well as operate as overall champions of diversity and inclusion.

2. Diverse workplaces have high employee engagement

A healthy culture requires diversity - it allows for all individuals to feel a sense of belonging and meaning. Diversity also promotes differing thoughts and opinions and opens the doors to creativity. At BCWI, we’ve identified 8 drivers for a flourishing culture and measure organizational health using the BCWI Employee Engagement Survey. There are several questions on the BCWI Employee Engagement Survey related to diversity, including:

Question 5: I am very satisfied to use the opportunities I have to use my spiritual gifts in my role (Life-Giving Work).

Question 18: I am satisfied with the recognition I receive for doing a good job (Uplifting Growth and Development).

Question 20: In the past year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow (Uplifting Growth and Development).

Question 43: Diversity is clearly valued by people at My Organization (Healthy Communication).

Employees are asking about diversity, and we’ve seen this in results from our culture surveys. As the cultural climate begins to change and the importance of diversity continues to increase, your organization cannot afford to do nothing. Providing opportunities for women to speak up and speak for your organization publicly is an important first step toward increasing your employee engagement and overall positive perceptions of diversity.

3. Visible women increase hiring potential

When job seekers are looking for new opportunities, they are evaluating diversity. In fact, the majority of job seekers (70%) value a commitment to diversity in potential employers. As the pool of talented Christian women continues to grow, making sure women are visible ensures that potential hires see your commitment to diversity. At the same time, job seekers interested in Christian organizations are seeking you out because they want to be able to use their God-given gifts and talents in the workplace. This means having opportunities to speak publicly, lead prayer or devotionals, facilitate meetings, and more - regardless of their gender.

Ultimately, as women are seeking new job opportunities they are looking to see themselves in your organization. They are asking themselves: Are there women advancing to the positions I aspire to? Will I feel safe and included? The more visible women you have, the more likely other women will believe they can also succeed at your organization.

Wrap Up

 Over the past few years, we’ve begun to see a shift in what defines workplace diversity. Now more than ever, employees and potential hires care about what organizations are doing to encourage a diverse workplace. If you want to remain competitive and relevant in a changing culture, you have to be willing to give visibility to the women on your team.

For a more detailed strategy for increasing visibility, download our free resource Raising Visibility: Uplifting the Talent of Women on your Teams.