The conversations around glass ceilings, gender inequalities and pay gaps are as old as the misogyny that inspired them. Thankfully, in the workplace, those prejudiced stereotypes are fading fast, and the conversation is changing to reflect the incredible changes that women inspire when they lead the way.
Indeed, we witness this every day from the exceptional women throughout the different departments at Signbox, who contribute so much to our continued success. As more women have been appointed over the years our creativity and achievements have flourished.
Encouraging a more diverse and inclusive workplace is what has contributed to our growth, progression, and achievements over the past 15 years. Naturally men and women offer different ways of working and viewpoints and incorporating a gender balanced workforce has encouraged a more cohesive working environment. With a wider range of opinions, attributes and skillsets being brought to the table this has improved the quality and service we can offer our clients.
With the increase of female employees at Signbox over the years, this has changed and improved the company culture to be one of collaboration and inclusivity. Encouraging team members to step forward with their ideas, supporting one another and working in a more cohesive way.
We’re thinking out of the Signbox if you will.
There are undoubtedly different skillsets and emotional attributes at play, but when it comes to more tangible evidence, we can look to a case that has made the news in 2021. Illustrating why, when the going gets tough, you’ll be in safe hands with a woman on side and at the helm.
Although 2020 and ’21 will be defined by the Covid pandemic, dig deeper and you’ll discover how women defined their nations’ responses to it. An analysis of 194 countries* published by the Centre for Economic Research and World Economic Forum highlighted their ‘systematically and significantly better’ Covid-19 outcomes, which could have saved twice as many lives as nations led by men.
With insights relating to GDP, population, annual health spends and gender equality among the datasets considered, the quick reactions and early lockdown successes of female-led countries, such as New Zealand, Denmark, Taiwan and Finland, performed way better.
Add a range of comparables to the mix and whichever way the stats were analysed, the success of the female leaders remained strong. In essence, the report’s authors suggest that while female leaders were ‘risk averse with regard to lives’, hence the earlier lockdowns, crucially they were ‘more willing to take risks in the domain of the economy’. Recognising that women who make it beyond the glass ceiling and other metaphors, who take opportunities and considered risks and who, using their palette of soft skills and proclivity for effective collaboration, get the job done better.
Research shows that this follows the same trend into the corporate sector and as highlighted in a Harvard Review article “firms with more women in senior positions are more profitable, more socially responsible and provide safer, higher quality customer experiences”.
So why is it that companies with more female executives are proven to me more successful in so many different areas? For the same reasons that countries run by females are also achieving so much! The traditional female attributes which were once looked down upon for being “timid” and “weak” are what seems to be pushing companies forward in a bigger and better way.
Naturally women work well in a team, are good listeners, less egotistical, more risk averse and are open to change and these female traits not only have a positive impact on the company culture and overall working environment but also increase company profitability.
Women have learnt over the years to succeed in the workplace you need to be twice as good as your male colleagues in order to be seen by a once very male dominated management team. Working longer hours, always going that extra mile, pushing themselves forward by offering innovative ideas, anything to stand out from the crowd. This has ensured resilience and an exceptional work ethic which has stayed with them throughout their career, however high they climb.
The workplace has improved a lot over the years, however we still have a lot of work to do before we can achieve gender equality. Taking the time to talk about these topics and to celebrate women in the workplace can only bring positive change.
As the way we work at Signbox and, as fierce proponents of gender equality, we can say from experience that having creative, talented professional women up front and centre is undoubtedly one of the secrets to our success.
It’s a sign of the times.
*https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3617953
**https://hbr.org/2021/05/banks-with-more-women-on-their-boards-commit-less-fraud
