If a workplace has been traditionally male dominated for a long time like the Oil & Gas and some engineering industries, there may be heavily entrenched behaviors and ideas that will need revising as more and more women enter the company. It’s important to consider constructing a gender-neutral policy.
It’s quite common, for example, for a manager to refer to the “men” of the organization, which is no longer appropriate when there are both male and female employees.
Another thing that needs to be considered is the creation of an appropriate behaviour document (for example, outlining sexual harassment policies and definitions). While some women may not be at all offended by sexist jokes (even making some male-directed jokes of their own), others will be offended and upset, especially if they feel the jokes are directed towards them.
Similarly, if there haven’t been appropriate practices for sexual harassment put in place, some men won’t know where to draw the line between what is acceptable to a female employee and what is derogatory or downright threatening.
Sometimes it is a good idea to hire an external consultant who can come into the company and assess the need for change, and help address issues that may make the workplace challenging and uncomfortable for women, and at the same time, help the organisation look at ways they can attract more qualified female employees to ensure there is true equal opportunity in the organisation. This may or may not require the need for educational meetings with employees where appropriate behaviour and boundaries are made clear to all employees and managers in the organisation.
What happens when an organisation is forced to hire women to meet a “gender quota” and there are few qualified women suitable to fill positions? This may be a pressing issue for companies in the Oil & Gas and some niche engineering fields.
There are some fields in which very few women enter, and few are qualified for. Naturally, an employer needs to assure that all his employees are qualified individuals who are suited to the type of work offered. It may be frustrating to many employers that they have to turn down so many qualified men in the search for a female employee who may or may not be up to scratch. It’s extremely important that women should not be hired just to fill a “gap”, any female employees must be hired because of their suitability. If not, hiring them will backfire in the long term. While initially, it may be harder to attract well-qualified women for such roles, over time as more women enter the company it will become easier to attract other women (especially if female employees are able to attend school and university career days and speak with students about their career and their organisation).
While attracting and hiring qualified women in male-dominated industries can prove challenging, if it is handled well it can benefit the industry, and be a positive experience for all employees, male and female alike.
