Managing a Diverse Team - Women in the workplace

Background

The interviewee is female trainee solicitor, she was asked to take pretty much every task that is a non-promotable task. Note-taking is one of them, in meetings, she can't speak or say anything. Besides, even though she's a trainee attorney, she's required to serve as an organizer of team party. 

Workplace challenges

The interviewee's experience reflects how the role that female taking in the workplace are. Females disproportionately take on the unimportant, less visible tasks at work, the multitasking they are doing is far outstrips the men in a lot of cases. Their job takes time and effort but do little to increase company profits and boost their career.

In numerous work environments globally, men are often perceived as natural leaders and are promoted to higher positions in their careers, while women are frequently assigned less significant roles. Even in the present day, many women encounter a barrier in their careers that prevents them from advancing further, commonly known as the glass ceiling. This invisible barrier restricts their ability to succeed beyond a certain point, limiting their professional growth.

Additionally, a lot of women in the team would also be juggling having kids at home, being a working mum. Some juggling are trying to manage women's life when they are involved in many different activities which all demand their time. 

Strategies to support the worker

As a manager, there are several strategies can adopt to for working withthis person.

1. Provide resources and support for her to enhance her skills and knowledge. This can be done through training programs, workshops, conferences, or online cources. By investing in employee's professional development, it would create an evironment that fosters growth and career advancement.

2. Raise awareness and provide training on unconscious bias to all employees, including leaders and managers. Help individuals recognize their biases and take steps to mitigate their impact on decision-making processes, including promotions, assignments and recognition. In this way, female workers would not be prejudiced by the limitations of stereotypical thinking. At the same time, they can feel valued and supported by the company.

3. Establish formal or informal mentorship programs to connect experienced employees with those who can benefit from their guidance. This strategy could alleviate the interviewee's negative feelings about having only a minor role in the workplace, and could allow her and other employees to stockpile job skills and be ready to demonstrate their learning outcome when the occasion arises.

4. Promote a healthy work-life balance for all employees. Implement policies that support flexible work arrangements, such as remote work or flexible working hours, to accommodate the diverse needs of employees, including working parents. This strategy could reduce the occurence of working parents' lives being dominated by work and family matters, help them realize work-life balance and increase their job satisfaction.