Attracting and retaining women in IT is challenging. Some of the most common reasons are slow salary growth, lack of career advancement, and limited opportunities to secure senior leadership roles.
Fortunately, you can take steps to help attract and retain women in IT. These suggestions can help.
Let your employees work remotely or hybrid. Include job-sharing options and a flexible schedule.
Letting your employees decide when and how to complete their projects shows your desire to fill your employees’ needs. It also demonstrates you trust your employees to finish their work on time.
Offer family-friendly leave policies. This provides your employees with time off to care for a sick child or tend to an aging parent’s needs.
Providing flexibility promotes employee engagement, performance, and productivity. It also helps attract and retain women in IT.
Provide equal pay for equal work. This helps attract and retain women in IT.
Many female employees who are mothers take time away from the workforce to raise their children. When these employees resume their careers, they often are paid less because of their absence.
Women with similar levels of education typically earn about the same amount in similar roles, regardless of whether these employees have children. In contrast, fathers typically earn more than other employees, including men without children, regardless of their education level. This significantly impacts the gender pay gap.
Female employees who are mothers tend to work fewer hours to fulfill family responsibilities than employees who do not have children. This often lowers the working mothers’ ability to earn income. As a result, an employee’s contributions and results should impact their compensation rather than the number of hours worked.
Provide additional support for your female employees to move up to leadership roles. Show that your employees’ knowledge, skills, and experience are valued and respected within your organization.
Offering a mentorship program for women helps develop them for your company’s more senior roles. Guiding these employees to meet the criteria for promotions encourages them to join your organization and remain long-term.
Supporting female employees’ career growth helps attract and retain women in IT. Having women in leadership positions encourages other women to work for your company.
Partner with RightStone to help attract and retain skilled IT employees. Get started today.