Empowerment for Women: Eight Areas of Action

Empowerment for Women: Eight Areas of Action

September 20, 2023 – "How can we become a more attractive employer for highly qualified women?" "How can we ensure that there is also an emotional bond between them and our organization?" These questions are currently on the minds of many companies.

I feel this, among other things, from the growing demand for my training "Confident in Business: Empowerment Training for Women" (see also here). Increasingly, I am being booked not only by (large) industrial and service companies but also by public authorities such as the Ministry of the Environment in Dresden as a speaker and lecturer on the topic of "Empowerment for Women."

The Relevance of the Topic "Empowerment for Women" is Recognized

The response to the episode of my podcast "Business Secrets" featuring Ines Imdahl, the author of the book "Why Women Will Save the World and Men Are Indispensable," was correspondingly great, in which I discussed this topic with her.

Below are some areas of action mentioned where companies should take initiative so that women not only find their way to them as an employer but also feel at home there because they are accepted, respected, and can truly be effective.

Female Empowerment: A Multifaceted Task

Empowerment Area of Action 1: Comprehensive Equal Opportunities. Companies should, no, must ensure that women in their organization have the same opportunities as men to not only attain leadership or key positions but also to effectively and satisfactorily perform in these roles. This requires more than offering them the same pay and advancement opportunities and having terms like "diversity," "equal opportunity," "work-life balance," and "compatibility of family and career" regularly featured in corporate publications.

Empowerment Area of Action 2: New Mindset. Stereotypes and prejudices often still shape everyday actions in companies. For example, there is the notion that women are less assertive and stress-resistant than men or that they have a lower affinity for technology than men (even if they have a degree from a technical university). While such stereotypes are less frequently articulated today compared to the past, they still significantly influence the everyday interactions of the genders within companies. It is therefore crucial to regularly address these issues and overcome them through appropriate training and coaching.

Empowerment Area of Action 3: Systematic Cultural Change. By regularly capturing and analyzing person-specific, functional, and career-related data by gender, problem areas can be identified so that targeted countermeasures can be taken—not only with the aim of statistically increasing the percentage of women but also enhancing the acceptance and appreciation of women; additionally, increasing their emotional attachment to the organization, which in turn lengthens their tenure.

Empowerment Area of Action 4: Even More Flexible Work Models. In this area, many positive changes have occurred from a female perspective in most companies in recent years. Examples include telecommuting, a 4-day work week, caregiving breaks, and shared leadership. Nonetheless, companies must not relent in creating the necessary conditions so that women can not only take on top or key positions despite their frequent dual burden but also do so satisfactorily in the long term—engaging in dialogue with the women affected to consider their individual life situations.

Empowerment Area of Action 5: Support in Network Building. Companies should promote internal networks for women where they can exchange ideas and support each other—not only across departments but also across locations. Modern information and communication technology offers numerous possibilities for this.

Empowerment Area of Action 6: Mentoring and Coaching. Companies should also promote mentoring and coaching programs in which experienced (or established) female leaders share their knowledge and experiences with younger (or new) female colleagues. For even now, it holds true: women in leadership and key positions, for example, at the project manager level face sometimes different challenges than men—especially when the majority of employees and leaders in the respective organization or in the area where they work are still men.

Empowerment Area of Action 7: Visibility and Impact. For women to gain wide acceptance and appreciation across departments, the results of their actions must also be made visible. In this regard, their employers should actively support them through corresponding publications in the intranet or in corporate publications. However, women should also become more active themselves in marketing themselves and their achievements. Social media, among other platforms, offers them many opportunities for this.

Empowerment Area of Action 8: Role Model Function of Management. It still holds that upper management significantly shapes the culture of an organization. Therefore, it is important that, for example, management actively engages for (more) women in leadership/key positions; furthermore, that they serve as role models for their organization in terms of high appreciation for women and their contributions—among other things, by actively supporting female talents in the organization and seeking dialogue with them.

Female Empowerment Requires a Different Corporate and Leadership Culture

In the dynamic modern work environment, the collaboration of both genders plays a key role in the success of companies—not only due to the shortage of skilled workers and leaders. The objective is not to displace men but to make coexistence and leadership in companies more diverse and inclusive.

Strengthening the position of women in leadership/key positions requires a comprehensive and long-term strategy that ranges from a change in corporate culture to concrete support and promotion measures. This development process must also be evaluated to ensure that the changes achieved are sustainable.

Author: Barbara Liebermeister

About the Author:
Barbara Liebermeister is the founder and director of the Institute for Leadership Culture in the Digital Age (IFIDZ) – and a thought leader when it comes to modern leadership. With her developed concept Alpha Intelligence®, she summarizes the crucial intelligences of successful leaders in the digital transformation: human, effective, and future-proof.

As a long-time manager, consultant, and coach, she brings practical experience and assists companies in rethinking their leadership culture—scientifically based, individualized, and with a clear focus on what really works. Whether as an author of several specialist books, a speaker on stages, or a lecturer at renowned universities such as RWTH Aachen, Hochschule Kempten, and many more—Barbara combines in-depth knowledge with a large portion of personality.

She is a mentor at Hessian universities, was nominated for the #digitalfemaleleader Award, and received the Wolfgang-Heilmann Award for the digital leadership analysis tool LEADT with her team. Her motivation: to make leadership more human and simultaneously future-proof.