Unlocking Success: Why Hiring Women is a Profit-Boosting Power Move for Your Company

Diversity is such a loaded buzzword in the corporate world. It sounds like a cliche that HR spits out at their yearly presentation, or a lazy political complaint made by the oldest, grumpiest man in the office. With so much baggage behind it, throwing out the D word can make anyone instantly roll their eyes.

Despite the loaded terms overuse, it is something that corporate America needs to be talking about. For far too long, companies have done their part to keep the glass ceiling firmly in place by favoring white men over everyone else. Given America's history, it's no surprise. Still, if corporations are going to move forward, it's time to make the obvious changes. 

However, we all know that companies don't make decisions based on what's best for the world, their workers, or humanity. They care about their bottom line and worship the almighty dollar. Hiring a diverse staff is not just about fairness and meeting quotas. The truth is that diversity helps corporations perform better, work smarter, and make more money. An intersectional staff has a broader range of soft skills, work styles, and unique insights and ideas. By employing women and people of color, companies can better reach those target demographics. Let's be honest. If you don't understand what someone needs, you can't sell it to them. 

Women bring diverse perspectives and problem-solving skills to the workplace.

Women have a different way of looking at the world than men, meaning they often have unique approaches to problem-solving and diverse perspectives. While this has been an excuse for hundreds of years to keep women out, the truth is that women given a seat at the table usually perform as well or better than men. McKinsey research found that the top ¼ of companies for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to have above-average profits. Going even further, they found that companies with more than 30% of their leadership comprised of women outperform those that don't (McKinsey).

When companies give women a seat at the table, they consistently demonstrate their value. The fact is that companies with more women in their leadership earn more profit. This leadership and ingenuity can be seen in companies like Canva, Best Buy, Babbel, and Walgreens. All four companies have women at the helm while expanding, redirecting their companies, and securing profits at a time when other companies have suffered. 

Women often have strong attention to detail and are skilled project managers. 

Women are relationship specialists, masters of facilitating connection points between people, resources, and relationships. This is why women are such effective and efficient leaders. Their attention to detail is uncanny, and their ability to track, evaluate and manage change is impressive. 

Women have been managing homes and families for hundreds of years. Even when they were explicitly excluded from the workforce, those homemakers could produce and sell products, swap, barter, and begin from-home businesses that kept their families afloat during the most challenging times. 

It makes sense when you think about it. The average stay-at-home mother manages multiple schedules, a household budget, travel arrangements, and childcare, supplying food and activities, cleaning and taking care of the property, children's development and entertainment, and more. After all that, managing a department or project is a breeze. 

It's not that being homemakers made them expert project managers, but rather their natural project management skills allowed them to juggle the many hats of a home and family manager while working to support their families. Often, women are able to balance the stress of handling many projects with ease. 

Women often have high emotional intelligence, which can help create a positive work culture.

According to Forbes article by Dr. Shawn Andrews, when measuring strengths, "women tend to score higher than men in areas of empathy, interpersonal relationships, and social responsibility."

Women tend to have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, which can improve team dynamics, allowing interpersonal conflicts to be resolved quicker and without escalation. This kind of emotional intelligence ensures the team stays efficient while providing a more enjoyable and supportive work environment. When workers are happy and taken care of, they are more productive. 

Often, women put the community's needs above their individual needs. They are hard-wired to survive and adapt to fast-changing environments and take their community with them. This skill means that when women lead, organizations can change and grow rapidly. The company or team will thrive and adapt to new challenges and team members will feel more supported. 

This isn't just a benefit within a company. Women are often good at building and maintaining relationships with clients as well. Since women understand a problem and the emotions surrounding it from a different perspective, they can better manage and maintain happy client relationships through comprehensive customer support. 

Women have more loyal to their companies and are willing to stay longer without job hopping.

A survey conducted by the AVTAR group in India shows that women have a significantly lower attrition rate across all seniority levels. Basically, women stay at a company longer and are more loyal to their company. 

Employee loyalty is fleeting and extremely valuable in a work culture that touts the benefits of job hopping every other year. When a company invests resources and money into training and promoting women, they often get a better return on investment. A woman promoted to leadership is likelier to stay and try to make positive change rather than volley that into a higher-paid opportunity at a competitor. 

Women can expand a company's reach through relationship building. 

In my professional journey, I've seen how my female colleagues have built strong networks based on genuine connections and trust. Women are expert networkers. We've all heard the misogynistic stereotype that women talk too much. Gab gab gab gab gab, women never shut up right? The truth is that women do talk to each other. We are masters of navigating social situations without competing with each other. Women use networking as a tool to plant ideas and foster collaboration. Women often establish sturdy relationships at the initial networking stages by opening doors for one another and sharing information. They follow up and make sure they sow their seeds of ideas in the most fertile networking ground, watering it with follow-up and continued relationship development. 

This is great for finding partners and project stakeholders, but it can also ensure your company has a direct line to the best and brightest women in your industry. This networking can directly translate to hiring the most qualified industry professionals before competitors. 

How can you ensure your business is benefiting from diverse hiring?

If it feels like your company is a bit of a boy's club, and you want to grow more inclusive, here are some easy ways to ensure that women have a fair chance. 

Review and update your hiring practices to remove any unconscious biases. Women shouldn't have to hide their first names or keep their children a secret for fear of rejection at the initial hiring process stages.

Develop mentorship and training programs to support female employees. This goes hand in hand with encouraging a work culture that values open communication, empathy, and collaboration. Employees shouldn't feel they have to compete with each other. When support, mentorship, and collaboration are valued by leadership, more women will take opportunities and lift the company up with themselves. 

Foster networking opportunities and promote women's professional development. Women are often excluded from informal but important professional gatherings. Make a conscious effort to host events that don't feel exclusive to men. 

Lastly, recognize and celebrate the achievements of your female employees. It sounds simple, but companies often overlook women's work because someone bigger or louder takes the credit. Make a conscious effort to see and value your employees for their work, not their attention-seeking or assertive behavior. 

By taking these steps and making a conscious effort to include women in your workforce, you'll contribute to breaking the glass ceiling and helping your company grow and succeed in today's competitive landscape. Remember, when women thrive, businesses thrive too.