How Ready Are You to Retain Women in Your Workforce?

It’s hard to imagine what our workplaces would look like if half of the female employees quit, let alone how business would function without these team members. The Kane Insights: State of Working Women in Wisconsin report revealed that such a workforce crisis is a looming possibility for Wisconsin employers. Our research found that 50% of working women in Wisconsin are considering quitting their jobs, a number that’s 25% higher than the national average. 

The good news is that “considering” does not have to mean “quitting.” Employers have the opportunity to make changes to retain women in their workforce. National jobs reports show just how important this commitment is. While record numbers of employees continue to quit their jobs, most are not leaving the workforce entirely. They’re choosing to work for different employers. What's becoming more clear as these trends play out is that it's time for employers to ask what their employees need, and, in this case, what their female employees in particular need to be retained.

Taking intentional steps to become an employer of choice for women may be the most important commitment your company makes for 2022, but how ready are you for the change that comes with this? Below are a few areas to consider.

Culture

Your company’s mission, vision, values and behaviors all contribute to its culture. Our research shows that working women of all demographics in Wisconsin want to work for organizations with a culture based not just on profits, products and services, but also on purpose. 88% of Wisconsin working women agree that it’s important to work for an organization that is intentional about making a positive impact in the world. This is especially important for GenZ, 49% of whom made choices about work based on personal ethics. 

Ask: Does your company’s culture align with what working women say is important to them?

Capacity for change 

Evaluate how much capacity your organization has for change. Are leaders open and willing to change? Do team members have capacity, or are they burned out and overwhelmed? If an organization and its leaders don’t have the capacity to change, new initiatives are at risk of not being well thought out, executed or supported. 68% of Wisconsin working women report high levels of stress today and 61% report that their stress levels impact productivity. 

Ask: Do we have the capacity to make meaningful changes to retain working women? What’s the risk if we don’t create capacity? 

Managers’ style

Leaders and managers in your organization set the tone for your culture and employee behaviors. They also play a vital role when any change needs to occur. 

Ask: If we make retaining women in our workforce a company priority, are all of our managers ready to make this effort successful? If not, what do they need?

Outcomes of previous change 

The outcomes of previous transformative efforts in your company can be a barometer for change in the future. Assess the success of change in the past, document factors that contributed both to successes and failures. 

Ask: When we look at major change initiatives in the past, have we measured outcomes? What have been the factors that contributed to our success or failure? 

Awareness and willingness to support change

Lack of awareness can play a major role in an organization’s ability to effectively implement change. Company leaders may understand and embrace new priorities, but when change isn’t clearly communicated across an organization and employees don’t understand their role in change or what change means for them, new efforts are less likely to be successful. 88% of working women in Wisconsin say senior management communication is important to them. However, 25% are not satisfied with the level of communication from their employer. 

Ask: How well do we communicate about change to our employees? How well do we help them understand why change is happening and their role in helping change be successful?

National trends show that employers around the country are adding jobs back as they work to bring their businesses back to capacity. Getting to full employment today, however, means employers need to let go of the old ways of managing and hiring, and think about what they stand for, why employees would want to work for them, and then be ready to change.

Are you ready to learn about becoming an employer of choice for working women in Wisconsin? Schedule a consultation.