The silver bullet for gender balance.

Photo by Nicolas Comte at Unsplash

The silver bullet is this …

Get to work now on gender balance in your organization because there is no silver bullet.

Yes, that is correct. There. Is. No. Silver. Bullet.

There is no easy fix. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. And, there is not just one thing that you can do that will magically shift the balance of gender at your company.

But, please, don’t let this reality throw you into a tizzy fit that freezes you from doing anything about it all. Why? Because I know you care. I know that if you are reading this, you are smart and that you care about gender balance. You care that your sisters, daughters, wives and co-workers will thrive in environments that support them and value them for their full worth. You care that not just your organization will be better with gender balanced teams and executive boards, but that our world will be better too. Pure and simple, you care about people.

So, because you care and want to be the best employer with the best employees, then please know this; there are numerous steps that can be taken to shift the gender and culture dynamic of your company. These steps must be deliberate with no assumption of a quick fix. It can be done. It is achievable.

To increase gender balance means to begin tackling a series of interconnected issues that span structural, psychological, and societal realms. Companies are mini cultures and each company has its own customs, habits, norms, and challenges.

These different interconnected issues that can lead to challenges for women in organizations has been coined “ the systemic web of challenges” by INSEAD. These systemic challenges are found in the areas of organizational structures and practices, access to resources, psychological experiences, stigmatization of flex work, access to informal networks, organizational processes, workplace norms, systemic biases, and the problem of small numbers. Solving gender balance means we must address all these areas.

The good news is that they can be tackled simultaneously with no need for a linear step-by-step approach across categories. When interventions happen in one area there are positive ripple effects in other areas.

And, oh yes, it takes bravery. Bravery to add gender balance to your KPI’s and other performance dashboards. Bravery to tie gender balance to executive compensation. Bravery to commit to do everything you can to achieve gender balance in your organization and then to go do it.

The silver bullet does not exist but you can do this. Gender Balance is achievable and I know you care.

Originally published on Medium by Kristi Rible at: https://kristi-rible.medium.com/the-silver-bullet-for-gender-balance-30137e63a63