7 ways to empower female leaders in the workplace

By Pamela Phillips, MD of de Jong Phillips

As a female leader in the workplace, I am very conscientious that this journey hasn’t been easy for me and is a hard journey for many future female leaders. I have worked in some very male-dominated environments and have had to fight for my place in many meetings, conversations and key decision-making moments. I know my journey isn’t unique and there are many others that are still struggling to become a leader or even be considered for leadership positions. Without using too many sweeping statements, I think we can all easily acknowledge that there are still many inequalities in leadership across many companies.

Female leadership in 2022: How can we empower future female leaders?

This isn’t about blame and it isn’t necessarily about reminiscing about the past. But, we do know that for too long men have exclusively led the way for many reasons. In 2022, this doesn’t need to continue. A fairer and more inclusive approach to leadership must be adopted.

This is about looking forward, being proactive and providing the right environments for our female colleagues to flourish in the way that they want and deserve. We need to ensure women have the space they need to grow and to feel confident to be the best they can be. This is not just the right thing to do – we will create better businesses because of it.

Being open to new ideas to enable change in the workplace

I firmly believe this is about making real changes rather than just being inspirational. As a female leader of a small accountancy practice, I have learnt and seen many effective ways to empower female colleagues. De Jong Phillips specialises in supporting creative agencies and encourages them to be more sustainable and resilient so that they can be as successful as possible. I have worked with many agencies and seen mistakes made but I’ve also seen ways that management has been willing to try new things to support their female colleagues. I think there’s still a lot to learn for many organisations – ultimately though, as leaders, we need to keep trying.

Here are my 7 ways to empower female leaders in the workplace…

1. Create a female-led mentoring programme

The best way to empower someone is to inspire them with real-life stories and tangible tips that have worked in reality. When I talk about creating a female-led mentoring programme this doesn’t have to be a huge or super formal programme – it can be as simple as encouraging current female leaders to mentor more junior staff. Flourishing female leaders need to be able to look up to individuals beyond their Managers. This is especially true if their Management team is male-dominated.

Your mentoring programme can be as big or as small as required. This could be internal or external and should encourage junior staff to work with senior staff. It could also work well for creating inter-team relationships too.

People are naturally empowered when they are encouraged and when they have relatable people to be inspired by. This needs to be about putting female leadership in the spotlight. This needs to be a hot topic in your organisation so that it’s constantly in colleagues’ minds.

2. Ensure leadership teams are gender equal

The ideal leadership team should have a good mix of gender, age and diversity. This is easy to say, but are you doing the right things to make this happen? You need to

consciously recruit senior females to break the current male-dominated narrative.

How can you make this change though? I encourage you to talk openly about the benefits of female leadership in your organisation e.g. emotional intelligence, empathy, multi-tasking etc. By bringing the benefits to the forefront then decision makers will realise that this makes good business sense too.

There may be a period of internal campaigning to get to the stage where you are actively promoting or recruiting female leaders. If this feels like a huge challenge, perhaps it’s time to talk to your female workforce directly. Why not as your female colleagues what would make them want to become a leader?

3. Lead by example

This is a good business practice in many scenarios. But, this is especially true when trying to empower female leaders. I encourage you to be open and inclusive in group settings. Ask for everyone’s opinions in meetings.

Create opportunities for female colleagues when you can. Can a junior member of staff shadow you for the day? Could you ask a female mid-manager to present a specific report in a board meeting? Could you invite more female colleagues to external conferences and events?

Tell your story often! You don’t always have to be stoic when you’re a leader. Share your stories of success and don’t forget to include the mistakes you made and the worries you had. This will help others be inspired and encourage them to realise their own potential.

4. Keep good every day habits

To enable real change in your organisation it’s about adopting small everyday habits as well as campaigning for a shift in decision-making. There are many everyday ways you can inspire and empower your female colleagues.

My favourites include:

• Be a good listener – really listen to your female colleagues. Silence is your friend!
• Ask for feedback regularly. Don’t assume you know what your female colleagues want.
• Don’t be afraid to talk about female-centric issues around menstruation, fertility or menopause (for example). The more taboo these subjects are the more likely female colleagues are going to view them as a barrier to climbing the ladder.

5. Recruit with diversity, inclusion and equality in mind

This is a huge topic and one that could be a whole series of blogs. This is an area that must not be ignored though. In 2022 we must be thinking about diversity and equality when we are recruiting. By recruiting the right people and not the same people – we are creating a better workforce and a better platform for future female leaders.

Some important factors to consider here:

• Ensure you are on top of your gender pay gap. There shouldn’t be one ideally!
• Be conscious of stereotyping/unconscious bias. Are you leaning towards male applicants for more technical or operational positions? Ask yourself why you might be doing this.
• Ensure the language used in your job profiles is attractive to both males and females. Do you offer flexible working hours and good parental leave for example?

6. Promote flexibility and part-time working

This is great for so many groups of people – e.g. carers, colleagues close to retirement or those with long-term disabilities or conditions. 40% of women in the workforce are part-time workers. Are you doing enough to promote this option?

Create a culture based on output rather than hours so there isn’t pressure to stay late. Spread responsibilities – so that it’s not just full-time staff taking the lead on important projects. And, remember there are many benefits to employing part time workers and promoting a flexible working environment. You will recruit a more diverse talent pool and you will have happier employees.

7. Create benefits and policies for parents

For many female leaders when they decide they want to become a Mother they often feel like they have to make a decision to pause their career or to take a step back. I am really passionate about promoting the fact that you can be both a successful leader and a really good Mum. Workplaces need to create opportunities for flexibility and to create a culture where ‘part-time’ isn’t frowned upon or seen as less credible. Mums can actually have some of the most incredible leadership qualities out there.

To truly empower future female leaders you need to enable them to flourish both in and out of work. There are some key factors to consider here:

• Adopt robust parental leave policies: It’s important that new Mums and Dads can feel they can take time out to concentrate on their families and that this won’t affect the trajectory of their career.
• Promote flexible working: Parents lead extremely busy lives and having extra flexibility can really help improve their output and drive at work. Do you offer flexi-time so that parents can work around their children’s school hours or make up time if their children are poorly and need to take unexpected time off?
• Celebrate parents and their families: Truly embrace and encourage your colleagues that are parents. Make them feel included and that their children aren’t a hindrance to their careers. Have you thought about hosting family staff parties? E.g. an annual summer event for colleagues to invite their families too.

Final thoughts…

At de Jong Phillips I always try to share my story and use it to inspire others. I am very proud of being a female leader and I want to do everything I can to encourage others and support male colleagues who want to help too. I think we all play a part in encouraging our female colleagues to become the next generation of leaders. Are you doing enough?

Ultimately it’s about encouragement, giving people the room to grow and leading by example so leadership doesn’t feel impossible or unattainable.