Employers should help work/life balance for diversity

Employers should be making it easier for employees to manage life commitments and work to improve diversity, according to Helen Schwarz, Director at Page Executive.

Discussing upcoming executive trends on the company’s website, Schwarz highlighted how a better work life balance will lead to improved diversity. “We need to make it easier and more acceptable to balance career and family, ensure women get mentors, sponsors and career development, and create workplace cultures where women feel valued,” she said. “As well as considering existing employees, it also requires businesses to take on new and innovative approaches to access more diverse talent pools.”

According to a Deloitte report published last year, women account for 15% of seats at the boardroom table globally. However, in companies with a female CEO, 29% of board roles are filled by women, suggesting that focusing on diversity and inclusion at the very top tier is the best way to facilitate change at more junior levels.

Esther Roman, HR Director at PageGroup, added that improving a company’s culture around diversity and inclusion needs to be married with appropriate leadership behaviours that promote the adoption of a culture built around fairness.