inclusive behaviours | Voice At The Table

How To Make Sure You’re Heard At Work

Being Heard in a Challenging Exchange
In an Harvard Business Review paper entitled How To Make Sure You’re Heard In a Difficult Conversation, Amy Gallo suggests we focus on what matters to us and express things that way.

It’s easy to point fingers and lay blame at others’ feet. The trouble is, no-one likes to be at the receiving end of criticism, so if they think that you’re criticising them, they won’t be in listening mode. If you can, however, voice what niggles you about the situation, people will be much more inclined to hear and even take responsibility for their action. So, instead of saying ‘Since I’ve been here, you’ve promoted only white men’ try saying ‘I feel like I’m being passed up for promotion for my colleagues who appear to be doing exactly the same as I do’.

As part of any difficult exchange, it’s important to maintain one’s composure and focus on getting to a constructive solution. So, once you’ve identified what you want out of the situation, think about what words will take you off-track and what kind of communication will convey the opposite of what you want to achieve. Is your body language betraying your true feelings about what you hear and hence steering you off course? Is the pitch of your voice giving away heightened emotions that would not be conducive to the desired outcome?

Keeping your eye on the prize makes it easier to ensure you use the right words and gestures. Using phrases that gently swipe away any derailing attempts will make it easier to stay on course. Gallo suggests using phrases like these to avoid escalation:

“You may be right, but I’d like to understand more.”
“I have a completely different perspective, but clearly you think this is unfair, so how can we fix this?”
“I’m not sure how this connects to what we’ve been talking about. Can you help me make the connection?”
“I’d like to give my reaction to what you’ve said so far, and see what you think.”
“This may be more my perception than yours, but when you said ‘X,’ I felt . . .”
“Is there anything I can say or do that might convince you to consider other options here?”

Being Heard in a Meeting
One thing we often do, when it’s our time to present ideas or provide an update, is talk too quickly. We sometimes feel the need to fill every space we get with words. Yet, if you take a look around and observe how people with influence speak, you will probably notice that they speak slowly. And clearly. They pause a lot, giving their audience a chance to catch up with their words.

Speaking without haste doesn’t just give people the chance to properly understand what you’re saying, it also gives the speaker an air of confidence and gravitas. It makes the content of what is being said more persuasive.

We also tend to speed up when we’re nervous, so if we intentionally slow ourselves down, we will come across more confidently – and that will impact how what we say is heard.

Another thing we tend to do, particularly when slightly nervous, is to either use no physical gestures or exaggerate them. Gestures are important as they emphasize our points for us quite neatly – but only if they’re consistent with what we’re saying. They’re particularly useful when we finish one point and go onto another, if we transition through a ‘neutral’ state when our body is quite still and at ease, before moving on to the next point that might introduce more gestures.

Finally, it’s helpful to give the listeners a structure, so they know exactly where they are at all times.

Start by introducing the topic. (I’m going to talk you through our launch of an internal comms campaign to introduce our new values.)
Tell them what you’ll be discussing. (I’ll be covering 3 different ways in which we plan to do this: First, …)
When you’ve finished the first point, take a short pause, then conclude before moving to the next point. (So this is point 1. The second way is….).
Once you’ve covered everything you wanted to say, summarise. (So, to summarise, we will be launching in 3 ways, 1…2… and 3…).
Now signal that you’ve finished and open it up to whatever should come next. (I’m happy to take any questions, comments or observations.)

In short, bearing in mind how what we’re saying is being heard will vastly improve our chance of being listened to.

Inclusive Progression: How Empathy Can Help

By Inge Woudstra

Who makes up the senior team in your organisation?

Many organisations have noticed that the homogeneity of their people becomes particularly stark in more senior roles. The existence of a Gender Pay Gap across many sectors in the UK is a clear example of this lack of diversity.

When working with our clients on addressing this situation, we come across the common perception that they are working within a truly meritocratic system: You do your job well, receive a positive performance evaluation and then you are asked to take on a more senior role or larger project.

Yet in focus groups, another picture emerges. Some people recognise the process as described. Many, however, tell us that progression seems completely subjective. They tell us that, in order to progress in their organisation, it’s important to be visible, know the right people and be the ‘right sort of person’. Not only do these factors tend to be more decisive than performance, they also skew perception of what good performance entails.

So how can we solve this and ensure that it’s not just the dominant group – the group that tends to be better connected and informed – that is the beneficiary of this ‘meritocracy’?

How do we make the system more equitable by giving everyone a fairer chance of advancement?

How Empathy can help make progression more equitable

Let’s apply the first of our 8 Inclusive Behaviours℠ – Empathy – to help with the answer.

To do this, we must put ourselves in the shoes of those who find it harder to be visible, bond with the ‘right’ people or be ‘the right sort of person’. We must ask ourselves: what can we do to make it easier for them to progress without the need to be ‘part of the club’?

Here are 5 ideas that have worked for a number of our clients:

Make the progression process more transparent.

Many employees report that they don’t know exactly what it takes to progress in their organisation and that the process is opaque at best! Empathetic managers will realise that this can be discouraging and daunting for team members who would like to progress but don’t know how. In this case, we recommended companies set out clearly what experience, skills and capabilities are required to progress. One example of this would be to design career progression maps that show various pathways to more senior roles. Another example is to list the requisite capabilities, skills and experiences required for the various levels of seniority. In this way, every employee knows what experience and skills they need to amass and demonstrate in order to progress.

Find ways to allocate work more equitably.

This is especially important for projects that offer greater visibility or vital experience. For instance, consider ways that high profile projects can be rotated so everyone has a chance to work on them. The aim is to encourage everyone to step up, whilst understanding that not everyone is comfortable putting themselves forward. When that happens, the more coveted projects are no longer only available to those who have asked for them.

Publish job roles widely.

When job roles are visible to all, the chance to apply is there for everyone. It becomes less important if someone is tipped off about a job opening and gives equal opportunity to those who don’t know ‘the right people’.

Formalise (parts of) the progression process.

When the process is more formal, it’s less subjective, meaning that the contribution of those who are less visible will be more easily seen. For instance, consider publishing clear performance criteria that are measured objectively and communicated widely. Ideally use ways to assess skills that do not rely on interviews alone. For example, use role plays with real life scenarios or ask the candidate to do a particular task that is required for the role, such as a client presentation, working out a financial business case or designing an image for a computer game. Another example of formalising the progression process would be to set up a formal sponsorship system where senior leaders get actively involved in the progression of a minority staff member.

Reduce the risk of failing in the next role.

People from underrepresented groups might be particularly reluctant to take a chance on a more senior role in case they don’t succeed in it. Organisations that are empathetic to this found that it helps to reduce the risk of a new step. One such company, for example, offers shadowing opportunities ahead of progression. Another offers a six-month trial period in a new role, after which the person can choose to return to their previous role and salary.

Empathy Training and Coaching

We recommend that you accompany these process changes with training for managers. Process changes are susceptible to sabotage if there isn’t a genuine understanding of the reasons for the change, and empathy for those that will benefit from it, but this can all be addressed with training. Once the premise is accepted and the changes adhered to, they help reinforce more empathetic, inclusive behaviour by managers and colleagues.

If you think your organisation’s progression process is not as inclusive as it should be, why not schedule a 30 minute call to talk to Inge about it?

Our TABLE Has Five Legs

We’re living in exceptional times. Our world was already changing at a pace that was difficult to maintain, but since the onset of Covid19, traditional thinking and working has been uprooted and deposited as a new challenge. But this also presents us with an opportunity: an opportunity to test our resolve, our systems and processes. It is also a chance to discard convention that is inconsistent with the future direction of society’s travel and calibrate organisational culture with purpose.

Our new destination is to make companies more agile, reactive to societal changes, with a beacon of leadership that proposes a more inclusive future for all stakeholders.

I’m talking about evolving our organisations into TABLE organisations, reshaping relationships with customers, staff and other stakeholders.

A TABLE is one that exhibits the following characteristics: T – THINKING with reflection A – ACTING with purpose B – BEHAVING inclusively L – LOOKING diverse E – EXPRESSING EMOTION

T=Thinking With Reflection

A TABLE organisation is one that allows time for thinking and reflection. It has a culture that welcomes a coaching-style approach to leadership and encourages everyone involved to take individual responsibility for their actions. At the same time, it is led with the benefit of experience and reflection, as well as an appetite for thinking and learning. The Black Lives Matter movement, for instance, has given us an excellent opportunity to pause, reflect and institute impactful changes that address the persisting challenges around racism.

A=Acting with Purpose

In the words of Simon Sinek, a TABLE organisation starts with “why”. The “why” is the purpose.

A purpose that is specific to the particular organisation can act as a litmus test for all organisational activity, constantly asking the question: is this consistent with our purpose or are we straying away from it?

During lockdown, the overriding purpose of most companies has been to ensure both staff and customers are coping well, are connected to each other and are safe. With such a narrow focus and purpose, many leaders were surprised at how quickly they could set up channels of communication, how much empathy colleagues and bosses displayed, how dedicated and motivated everyone was and, in the end, how well everyone coped.

An organisation that unites behind a clear and stated purpose is better equipped to motivate and pull in the same direction. And that became crystal clear during the lockdown.

B=Behaving Inclusively

Most of us think of ourselves as being inclusive. And for the most part we are, so long as it doesn’t require much effort. We encourage and support, we extend rules and policies and we welcome a few token individuals that make our circle more diverse.

But rarely are these efforts enough.

When I talk about “behaving inclusively”, I mean going the extra mile to understand what we don’t know or see and then another mile to develop new habits that allow us to better understand and cater to people from vastly different backgrounds.

L= Looking Diverse

Diversity is the reward for inclusion. An inclusive culture is able to attract, retain and promote a diverse population.

Diversity increases the level of creativity and innovation, begets new ideas and offers previously unnoticed experiences and opinions. It is the gateway to a more complete set of data.

The more diverse and inclusive an organisation, the more information it has to utilise for the fulfilment of its purpose. Lack of diversity at the top therefore, limits what we can achieve.

E= Expressing Emotion

An organisation that is in touch with its feelings, that is unafraid of expressing decisions and motivations in terms of emotions will be better equipped to attract the talent of tomorrow. Emotional and psychological safety is a large part of today’s and tomorrow’s well-oiled, well-functioning organisation. Creating and demonstrating safe space conversations that allow colleagues to express how they feel are valuable tools for leaders who want to attract bright talent. An organisation that speaks from the heart and the mind will be better equipped to deliver on its purpose for more of its stakeholders.

Does your organisation have 5 legs?

To find out which of the 5 legs of your TABLE organisation are more stable and which require more support, get in touch with me.

Meanwhile, in the rest of the world… Let’s Steer a Course Towards Accelerating Gender Parity

You’ve seen these figures before: 100 years to close the overall gender gap, 257 to close the economic gender gap. It’s beyond our lifetime and too long to wait. What can be done to accelerate the closing of these gaps – or rather, chasms – by us, our companies and our governments?

Many countries, including the UK, are well placed to reap the benefits of their investment in female education and harness the gender balance opportunities made possible by the changing nature of work. So far, they – and we – have failed to do so.

But if the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we can do things differently! We can work from home without disrupting the flow of business, we can reverse the signs of environmental damage to our planet, we can slow down, look up and ‘smell the roses’ once in a while. And, yes, we can accelerate the closing of these unspeakable gaps.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has already launched a programme with a number of countries to do just that. Suitably named the Closing the Gender Gap Accelerator, the programme is designed to pull together global and national public and private action that narrows these gaps. To date, the WEF has managed to secure commitment from nine governments around the world to join the Accelerator programme (its goal is 15 by the end of this year). Only one of the nine is a G20 country – and it is not the UK.

My point is that the tools and solutions to help accelerate the closing of these gaps are available to us, but for some reason, we are not taking the necessary steps to implement them – either on a national or more local front.

One of my worries is that the lessons we have and are continuing to learn from the pandemic will not be captured by our society. I worry that we will all return to work and life in the same way we did before Covid-19. This would be a lost opportunity; to reset our values, our priorities and our trajectories and to look at our lives from a different perspective and to realise that they could be different.

In April, I wrote about the fact that the new way in which we have started to interact with each other as a result of having to work and live from/at home has made us more empathetic, more accepting and more kind. We have reverted to what it means to be human and have injected that humanity into our work. We have become more tolerant of the daily disruptions in our work from children and pets; our “offices” show glimpses of who we are as people; we’re reconnecting with nature and with ourselves – our emotions and philosophies – as much as with distant friends and family. In other words, we’re bringing more of ourselves to work and are accepting of who that is, of us as well as our colleagues. Our managers are learning to lead with humour and be more comfortable with being less serious all the time. We care about the emotional and physical state of our colleagues and bend over backwards to help them cope.

I classify all this as inclusive behaviours. And, while we may feel that it’s not within our powers (query as to whether this is true) to persuade our CEOs and MPs to join the WEF’s commitment to accelerate the closing of gender parity gaps, what we most certainly can do is preserve how we interact with and treat each other when we go back to our desks in the office, and continue to nurture those inclusive behaviours that we have started to develop.

Inclusion leads to greater appreciation of diversity which makes programmes like the WEF’s Closing the Gender Parity Accelerators feasible and impactful.

Learn more about the WEF Accelerator programme and how your company can get involved.

Watch a short WEF video on the gender parity gap.

How do men benefit from women at work?

I recently had a conversation with a male colleague whose wife gave up her very lucrative professional job to look after their children and, when she decided to return to the work force, she went to work in an environment in which she could never match her previous earning potential or career aspirations. Digging a bit deeper, my colleague explained that, when they first got married, his wife was an up-and-coming professional, working for a prestigious financial institution, with aspirations for her own career progression and growth. Then, when she fell pregnant with their first child, she felt ostracised and actively (albeit inconspicuously) squeezed out of her team and her job. This evidenced itself by assuming she had neither interest nor energy to work on high-profile projects, regarding her as not pulling her weight in the team, and changing behaviour towards her to such an extent that she no longer felt welcome in the team and the organisation. No-one in the company stood up for her and other than to confront the situation through formal means, the only sensible solution to her was to leave the work force. The wife’s confidence was shattered to such an extent that when she decided to resume her career, a career in the financial sector – or any other corporate environment – was no longer an attractive proposition.

My colleague told me this story when I shared with him what I had heard about another young colleague in our company who was expecting her first child and facing unprecedented difficulties and challenges from her previously supportive line manager. My colleague was dismayed by this behaviour and stated that, not only is this appalling behaviour towards the women in question, it is detrimental to the company, and most of all, detrimental to marriages. My colleague wanted very much to share the financial burden of having a family in London with his once equally capable wife, but has wound up in a situation where he is the sole bread winner, fearing to compromise his job, given financial family burdens. The colleague felt resentful towards his wife’s old manager who pulled the rug from under her feet and the company that let it happen. The colleague was now in a position where he could no longer pursue his passions, share in the upbringing of their children, or – being the main breadwinner of the family – hope for any kind of work-life balance.

This story opened my eyes to the exponential impact that corporate treatment of women might have on society. I realised that it’s not only women who might aspire to a reasonable work-life balance; more and more men recognise the value of sharing a home life with their spouse a more fulfilling proposition than dedicating their entire existence to the corporate beast. The generation behind me is certainly looking for this kind of balance, as other male colleagues have and continue to demonstrate. Yet corporate culture doesn’t recognise the fact that the kind of things that women are traditionally known to fight for – flexible yet meaningful work so that they can attend to more than just one priority – are also secret aspirations of today’s professional males. Unfortunately, as things stand, it wouldn’t do for a professional man to admit this to his line manager or even another male colleague as he would instantly be deemed uncommitted to his career and company. But I have no doubt that these conversations do take place among friends and families.

I therefore strongly believe that all the changes that we, professional women, are fighting for in the corporate world, will eventually benefit not only our own gender but also our male friends and colleagues. And the sooner the old-fashioned corporate thinking changes, the sooner will companies be able to start building a work place and work force that is equipped for the future.

Realising vision: Some thoughts on women, vision and communication***

It’s International Women’s Day and the Twittersphere is alive with noise, a global virtual pulse is sounding, at once celebratory and sobering as the challenge of establishing equality remains a pressing, urgent need. Today is both a marker of a redressing of the past and an imagining of a hopeful future; a vision of a future where gender equality is the norm. As the global community comes together and speaks, it feels like a relevant moment to look afresh at how, as women, we establish and communicate vision, and the opportunity for this vital communication to lead to powerful shifts in our lives. I wonder then – what is the role of women in imagining and voicing our version of the future? Can we imagine or identify ourselves as having ‘vision’, and what are our perceptions of the barriers to having or expressing our individual vision?

Communicating our ideas

Working in Innovation, I find the gulf between expression of ideas, thoughts, dreams, and how they are actually manifested as tangible ‘things’, fascinating. The idea of communicating a compelling vision to encourage others to get on board and support it, is of course, central to getting the idea from abstract to real territory, but ideas can fall short of actuality at any point in the journey; if that idea, no matter how strong, is never communicated, it will never see the light of day. In the context of bringing ideas to life through communication, I am interested in how women perceive the particular challenges of having and voicing vision given some of the specific conditioning we may have grown up with, and the assumptions we may be sub-consciously be making about our own capacity to be capable of articulating vision.

Celebrating women with vision

We all have our own inner or outer role models and inspirations when it comes to women we perceive has having or embodying vision. Shami Chakrabarti, of Human Rights group, Liberty comes immediately to mind for me. Her fierce leadership, steadfast belief in her mission and passion in communicating her beliefs, make her a remarkable leader and visionary for change and someone who makes me somehow feel more alive just by hearing her speak. A barrister for the Home Office, she joined Liberty the day before the 9/11 attacks putting herself right at the centre of the debate on protecting civil liberties and has since led the way in tirelessly campaigning for human rights.

Chakrabarti is just one of countless courageous female leaders of spirit and determination. Yet despite all the progress made in ground-breaking, selfless acts of vision and innovation which women have led in the face of wide-spread cultural, political and social inequality for generations, ‘vision’ is still not a word which women are widely associated with or celebrated for. It’s a sign of the challenge that still remains,that of all the words used to describe the millions of passionate, trail-blazing, futuristic, progressive achievements of women worldwide, women are still not associated with being ‘activators’ or ‘envisioners’ of change to the same degree as men in similar roles of influence. Why is this when women have been actively leading, imagining, defining, indeed ‘visioning’ their futures for eons? Is it that, or that women are not forthcoming enough in challenging the conditioning they are subject to, to establish themselves more visibly as being visionary in behaviour or is it even more complex; a result of pervasive social conditioning which tells us that women with vision are the exception, and not the rule?

Challenges/barriers

‘Unusual competence in discernment or perception; intelligent foresight’ is one succinct dictionary definition of ‘vision’ I came across, a description which implies acute intuition, wisdom and an ability to hone instincts to make accurate predictions is at the heart; it implies a sense of unwavering belief, a certainty. Reading this, I am reminded of the Harvard Business Review article I read recently, ‘Women and the Vision Thing‘, where the author highlights the issues of women in certain business contexts, who lacking a conviction of their ideas, fail to actively sell them, due to the fear of not being seen to be accurate or of being wrong. As vision demands a clear communication, and not simply a steadfast belief of an idea, it’s not unimaginable to consider women might feel a strong sense of inhibition in certain pressurised business and social environments, to rise to the putting the idea out there part of the process. Understandable, given the bias both men and women can hold towards seeing men and not women as leaders, and the huge inequality still seen in the lack of women in positions of senior leadership across industries worldwide. In this context, it would be no surprise that many great female visions could fall down at this crucial communication hurdle due to a perceived sense of judgment or lack of safety.

Creating new ‘vision’ channels

Communication being so crucial to the ‘life’ of visions and ideas, I wonder about the possibility of creating safer and more supportive communities and channels for women to express and realise visionary ideas and how the web, and social media platforms may facilitate some of these more active communications of vision from women. “Inspired by’ is just one such channel I have been enjoying recently; a series of short features published by Intelligent Life Magazine online, presenting a varied conversational angle on the issue of leadership, vision and inspiration for women. It’s a thoughtful insight some of the perceptions women have of other women they consider influential, inspiring and visionary. In one memorable feature, Jasmine Whitbread salutes the vision of Eglantyne Jebb*, the modern minded founder of Save the Children. Here she describes what Jebb imagined of the organisation she wanted to build;

‘Her vision was a powerful, international organisation that, as she put it, “could reach to the farthest corners of the world”

but it is the combination of vision, pragmatism and communication tactics, that Whitbread marks out as unique;

‘What’s so impressive about Eglantyne Jebb—even her name is wonderfully evocative—is how far ahead of her time she was. Her principles, her pragmatic management skills and her communication tactics were just so modern’

It’s interesting that Whitbread sees Jebb, as in essence, uninhibited in both her approach and realisation of her vision. I wonder, given the inevitable pressures and inequalities of her time, how this ‘modernity’ of vision manifested itself, and how, it resulted in a powerful legacy and realisation for Save the Children that is so profound and long lasting?

I’m intrigued by these examples of ‘vision made real’ and how a combination of passion with a capability to voice that aspiration, belief or idea is so fundamental to the process of being seen to be a person of vision regardless of context or obstacles. In the case of Jebb, maybe Save the Children would never have been born, had the articulation of her far-reaching vision not been voiced so clearly and with such ambition. What is clear, is for vision to be impactful, it needs to be articulated. Without that, our most dynamic and differentiated visions of the future may run the risk of amounting only to fleeting aspirations, thought but not heard.

Sources:Eglantyne Jebb (1876-1928) founded Save the Children in Britain in 1919, when the post-war economic blockade led to children starving across Europe

*** Guest Blog by Laura Hewitt, an Innovation Fundraising Manager at NSPCC – the UK’s leading charity specialising in child protection and the prevention of cruelty to children. Laura is part of a team responsible for creating and delivering innovative new fundraising products across the UK, to engage new audiences in supporting the NSPCC’s vital work. Views expressed are my own and not those of the NSPCC.

Women’s Contribution to the Economy Cannot be Overlooked

Governments tell us that the economy must not forget to tap into a growing pool of buying power: that of working women. Last year, the Economist pointed out that

In the next decade nearly 1 billion women are likely to enter the global labour force. But their economic potential is largely unrealised. According to a report by Booz & Company, a consultancy, if female employment rates matched those of men, GDP would increase by 5% in America and 9% in Japan by 2020. The impact would be even larger for developing countries, home to most of the world’s women who lack adequate education and support (social and political). Increasing female employment would increase GDP significantly in countries like India and Egypt, where female labour-participation rates are below 30%. These countries rank low in Booz’s index of women’s economic empowerment.

But in order to realise this economic potential, organisations must gradually embrace a cultural change that will make the working environment an attractive proposition to the pool of female talent. By this I mean the following:

Flexible Working
The number one reason that women cite for not working in the corporate world is the lack of flexibility that corporate culture affords women workers. Let’s not deny the fact that women are and will likely continue to be the primary carers for their families. This means that working women do and will likely continue to have conflicting (at best!) priorities towards both their families and their jobs. If women operate in a world that does not allow them to carefully balance their responsibilities in such a way that each one of their priorities is realised, women will simply give up on the less flexible (and, to them, less important) one: their jobs.
To avoid this, businesses need to rethink their strategies and culture and ask themselves: what is it really that they don’t like about flexible working. Once that’s determined, and after some soul searching, businesses need to decide whether these reasons are a justifiable business cost. Because, let’s not kid ourselves, the loss of opportunity to employ a woman in a flexible arrangement translates to a business cost – in the form of replacement/recruitment costs, costs of training and investment in a new employee and the potential repeated cost if the lost job were to go to another woman.
In my experience, when managers face up to the detrimental aspects of not embracing flexible working, they quickly realise the potential business cost and change their attitude. And when that happens, business start to realise that “flexible working” isn’t a dirty word but a necessity that pays dividends.
Cultural Differences
We have all heard of unconscious bias – the brain’s ability to short-cut judgments based on previous experiences. Unconscious bias is one of the main reasons that the top layers of companies resemble a club or brotherhood the members of which are (in thinking terms) facsimiles of each other. Companies are gradually starting to realise that this kind of leadership isn’t necessarily good for business, as the lack of diversified thought may lead (and has in many cases) to unsound decision making. But how to change this?
One of the best ways to change is to support and empower women to take up some of those positions at the top of organisations. To develop the pipeline, companies need to change their views of women; they need to realise that women communicate differently; that women are not as likely to put themselves forward for promotion as men, despite being equally as capable and qualified; that women’s negotiation style is different; that speaking softly doesn’t mean women aren’t sure of what they’re saying. In other words, companies need to realise that there are “cultural” differences between men and women and not “penalise” them for these differences.
Boost Confidence
On average, women tend to be less confident about their abilities than men. They regularly (statistically-speaking) second-guess themselves and their decisions. This often leads to a fear of saying what they’re thinking, of going for the promotion or a new job, or of asking for what they believe they deserve.
If companies want to realise the most from their female talent, they should consider investing in support for women, such as mentoring programs, coaching and other developmental training that increases confidence and profile. Sponsorship programs have been proven to be very successful in promoting women. Cross-industry mentoring has also proven successful. Teaching women how to network and leverage their networks would also improve the confidence game.

In summary, in order to encourage women to work and participate in the economy , there are a number of measures that organisations should embrace to pave the way for women to take part in the game and, thus, in the economy.

Voice At The Table