What Women Look for at the Workplace

Discrimination is still an issue faced by women at the workplace, especially in jobs that are traditionally dominated by men. The stigma that a woman cannot carry out the work as well as their male counterpart is pervasive and often cripples the career advancement opportunities of highly capable women. Transparency is key when it comes to the criteria for career progression, providing a clear framework for both men and women on what qualifies them for a promotion

Well it is common knowledge that anyone who is seeking a new job will be concerned about the culture of the company that they are applying to. How much money they will earn and what role and title they will hold are other key considerations. Beyond these obvious gender neutral commonalities of job-seekers, there are marked distinctions between male and female job-seekers, according to placement consultants and HR professionals.

Saturday Fare spoke to a couple of HR professionals to understand the cardinal things that women professionals look for while scouting for/and choosing a place of work. "More than men, women tend to use social media in their job search. However, men appear to rely more heavily on LinkedIn than women. At the same time, women tend to rely on their friends or family more (than men) and they are also more likely to use employee review sites," says Debjani Haldar who works as HR head with a pharmaceutical company.

According to Debjani, women report that the most common reasons for them to leave a job include either changes in their personal life or a dislike of their employment situation. On the other hand, men are more likely (than women) to leave because they are seeking more money or a promotion. "Also more women than men say that when they are looking for a new job, lack of benefits and work-life balance are deal-breakers. More men say that the most important non-negotiable is their salary," reveals Debjani.

Hence employers who are looking to increase their appeal to potential female recruits must realise the importance of being transparent about topics such as benefits and work-life balance. "While it's obviously crucial to pay and promote employees fairly, employers interested in better retaining women must also understand how their existing female employees feel about their benefits and work-life balance," observes Debjani.

Today we witness a lot of public proclamations by companies that say they want to improve gender diversity and equality. "Well if those employers want to realise their promises, taking into account the ways that women look for jobs and evaluate potential new employers is probably an important first step," suggests Nidhi Agarwal who is an HR at a real estate firm.

So what are the things that appeal to women? "Flexibility with respect to work arrangements tops the list. Flexible work arrangements are increasingly adopted by employers in a bid to retain talented women employees especially after they take on their new roles as working mothers; who often struggle to achieve a good balance between family and career," says Nidhi.

Transparency in career advancement opportunities comes next. "Discrimination is still an issue faced by women at the workplace, especially in jobs that are traditionally dominated by men. The stigma that a woman cannot carry out the work as well as their male counterpart is pervasive and often cripples the career advancement opportunities of highly capable women. Transparency is key when it comes to the criteria for career progression, providing a clear framework for both men and women on what qualifies them for a promotion," says Debjani. Nidhi reveals that women often consciously and subconsciously look for women role models at the workplace.

Elaborating on the logic, Nidhi says, "Knowing that women are represented in the company's leadership speaks volumes about a company's employment practices. If other women are thriving at a workplace, it will form an impression that all capable women will stand to succeed in the organisation, subject to hard work. Role models in the workplace need not always be career-centric. For instance company-supported groups for working mothers will also provide a safe space for them to exchange tips on how to better manage family and work."

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