Ask HR: How Can HR Help Empower Women at Work?

Ask HR: Zena, Can HR help empower women at work? And if so, how? Absolutely! Human Resources should be dedicated to giving all employees the tools they need to be successful at work, and focusing on empowering women is no different. Within the last few weeks, the word “feminist” has popped up in popular culture more than ever in my lifetime. Currently, there is special attention given to women’s issues, and there is no better time to address how HR departments can be instrumental in empowering women at work.  

• One way HR can help is by taking an honest look at company leadership. If women are not fairly represented in leadership roles, then there is a problem. Some companies are required by law to have Affirmative Action Plans to address the lack of women in leadership roles. However, all organizations, even those not officially required to, should step back, take a good look at their workforce, and make sure female employees are given the same opportunities to run the business as men. HR should work with managers to identify high-performing female employees with leadership potential and create a roadmap to get them into management positions. Implementing a formal training and development plan to make sure that women are being promoted to managers is just one resource that HR departments can use to make sure that women are fairly represented on the management level.

• Another tool that HR departments can utilize to empower women is creating a mentoring program. In some industries and companies there may be very few women in senior positions, therefore women do not have access to female leadership. A mentoring program that matches women leaders with female mentees is a great tool to create a formal relationship that is mutually beneficial. The mentee will have access to a mentor with experience and expertise that could be instrumental in the mentee’s growth. Likewise, the mentor will have access to the issues and concerns that the mentee and other females like her face on a daily basis. In smaller companies, a formal program may not be necessary but Human Resources could be instrumental in introducing female employees with other female role models in the organization.

• There are several other tools that Human Resources departments could use to empower women such as lunch and learns, roundtable discussions, and seminars. However, I encourage women not to wait for HR to empower female employees at their company(yes). Start empowering yourself today! Simple steps such as reaching out to a female leader in your company and asking them questions about how they got to their current position, is a great start to empowering yourself and owning your career. Start a lunch club where you share tools and resources on how to do your job better, be a better businesswoman and leader.

My savvy tip is that empowering women begins with empowering yourself. If your company is not giving you all the resources you need, then be the go-getter that you know you are, and go get what you need to be successful.

Thanks, Zena!