5 reasons why gender equality is everyone's issue

Thursday October 05, 2017 , 3 min Read

As the pillars of patriarchy begin to shake, there has begun a global consensus on the need to make the world a level-playing field for people of all genders and sexuality. With discourse on gender equality becoming evident, organisations are ensuring that workplaces are more accessible and employees enjoy the same resources, rewards and opportunities irrespective of their gender. Even though we've made a significant progress towards gender equality in the last few years, gender gaps are still prevalent in most corporations. Women are stifled with limited career advancements and pay parity still in limbo.

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Here are five reasons why men should concern themselves with gender equality as much as women.

Diversity leads to a more varied thought process

It has been proven that more diverse and inclusive teams consistently produce more successful and accurate solutions to complex situations. Gender-diverse teams are also less likely to make significant mistakes as compared to homogeneous teams. For example, when it comes to reviewing the certain technology, a woman's opinion on the subject can make all the difference.

Men benefit as well

It's not just the women who have something to gain from the fight for gender equality. This issue has perks for men as well. For example, men can demand a paid paternal leave similar to what the women employees of the company are entitled to. Just because you're not giving birth to a child, doesn't make you any less of a parent.

Gender equality is a stepping stone to gender fluidity

Gender equality also means being inclusive of trans-employees. Our companies need to be more embracing of the LGBTQ community. Companies should re-examine their policies and see if those policies also benefit these employees. If they don't, change is in order. Our country will never be able to take pride in the true sense of gender equality until people from all walks of lives are welcomed at all places with open arms.

It reduces employee turnover

An organization that promotes gender diversity is more likely to attract a larger number of prospects. However, if a company refuses to treat its women as equal to men, then they are sure to face a higher employee turnover and consequently increased expenses as a result of bringing new employees on board.

It makes better business sense

Today, women are increasingly more highly educated than men. Leverage your company's competitive advantage in the long run by attracting and retaining the best talent, irrespective of gender. A 2011 study by Catalyst found that companies with more women board directors outperformed those with the least on return on sales by 16 per cent and return on invested capital by 26 per cent.

It is every employee's right to feel comfortable at his/her workplace. Let's not wait till 2050 to realize the importance of gender equality. Let us all, men and women, fight the fight starting today.

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