Why We Need Women in the Workplace

Why we’re amazing employees, innovators, leaders, and business owners.

Last week, Emily, Kalie, and I were invited to a Her Champion lunch at The Ranchmen's Club in Calgary hosted by the YW of Calgary with special guests Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey who brought ringside insights from the Harvey Weinstein trial where he had been convicted the week before.

I’m certain the location was intentional. The Ranchmen's Club was, of course, a men’s club. It was founded in 1890 and allowed no woman to grace its doors until 1925 when the Lady Associate membership was created, giving women limited privileges, and confining them to the new Sports Annex, ladies lounge, and ladies dining room.

Eventually, in 1993 members voted 147 to 24 to allow women to join The Club as full voting members. 

From the #MeToo movement to women-only venture capital funds, the work world seems to finally be changing for women. Of course, women in Canada have been saying that since they got the vote in 1918. But we keep saying it and we keep changing it. Sometimes it’s little by little, as in the case of wage parity and sometimes it’s big and sweeping as in the case of #MeToo. 

Whatever the case, we're using our voices and we’re not stopping until we are heard.

Who are we in the world of work?

Women make up 48% of the workforce in Canada. 63% of Canadian women have a tertiary (education beyond the high school level) degree compared to 50% of men. We are showing up in ever greater numbers in middle management roles and professional positions. Great news right?

On the flip side, we hold 26% of senior leadership roles and 26% of board of director positions in the private sector. When it comes to parliament, women hold just 25% of political seats. In 2017, we earned 72% of male earnings at the tertiary education level. So we still have a long way to go.

These are the statistics in spite of the fact that studies show that women-led businesses are more successful on most metrics than those that are male-led. Here we’re talking soft metrics as well as those that are traditionally considered important and measured in our male-dominated world.

Women make up 51% of the population yet control 30% of the world’s wealth. Companies founded by us financially outperform those founded by our male counterparts by 63%. Return on equity and return on capital increase by 66% and 53% respectively. Those are the hard numbers that investors, shareholders, and banks care about. You can read more about this here!  

But what is it often like for women and work?

In summary, depending on the workplace, it’s a very mixed bag.

Have you ever been in a meeting where you shared an idea or expressed an opinion that was completely ignored? Only to have one of your male colleagues express that thought a few minutes later (yes! someone heard you) to the enthusiastic acknowledgement of him and his great idea?

Have you ever been on a team that completed a project where when the bosses talk about the project, the men on the team are appreciated and celebrated and the women barely mentioned? 

Have you consistently been given the task of recording the minutes in meetings, not because you’re the junior person (you’re not) but because, well, you’re female?

Those are all, in the scheme of things, relatively benign when compared to the sexual harassment that many, many of us have been subjected to in the workplace.

The financial world, silicon valley, the entertainment industry, everywhere you look there are countless stories of talented, qualified women having been passed over for work in favour of a man (and coincidentally, of sexual harassment). I know, I’m not telling you anything new here.

But I digress. While we’re celebrating women this month, it’s worth mentioning our strengths and our impact in the world of work. Because these things are lesser known, and if they were more known, well, it just might start to change things faster.

So what are some of the benefits of women in the workplace? A 2014 MIT study on workplace diversity found that when companies had even gender splits, revenue can increase by up to 41%.

What specifically are some of positive impacts of a diverse workplace?

Improved performance overall - Almost anyone who has led, trained or coached women will tell you that women take both direction and feedback better. Do you know what that usually translates to? Better performance. We know that we don’t come with all the answers and we’re usually open to other people’s ideas and opinions and use them to at least inform our decisions and actions.

A better work environment - We often find it easier to appreciate others and feel more comfortable saying so. We can be very empathetic and compassionate and focused on other people and their needs.

A focus on growth and development - We are used to having to go the extra mile to climb the corporate ladder and we put 100% into what we do. Mostly because that’s the right thing to do but also because we have to do at least that to be noticed and to get those opportunities that we know we can ace.

Better employee engagement and retention - We like to make an organization a better place to work. We care about and connect with our company’s impact on the world, it’s organizational culture and vibe. Aligned with that, we are concerned with our own and others’ job satisfaction, meaningful work, work and life challenges and potential burnout.

More creative teams - Diverse teams, where all are encouraged to contribute, generate more creative ideas and solutions. This usually translates to a more positive organizational culture, greater job satisfaction, and even higher profits.

One of the most interesting things about diverse groups in the workplace and what really contrasts diverse groups vs homogeneous ones is that the better performing (diverse) groups reported less confidence in their performance. Having a diversity of opinions and ideas made them question themselves and their outcomes – but their solutions and choices were the right ones. 

Sarah Jessica Parker shared a truth when she said, “Trying to be a man is a waste of a woman.” That’s not to say that we’re better than men, we’re just different in some ways.  And some of those ways make us better at certain things. So let’s raise our voices and celebrate that.