{"id":8212,"date":"2018-05-01T16:13:27","date_gmt":"2018-05-01T16:13:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monsterindia.com\/career-advice\/5-ways-to-tell-if-a-company-is-women-friendly-8212\/"},"modified":"2023-09-28T15:07:39","modified_gmt":"2023-09-28T09:37:39","slug":"5-ways-to-tell-if-a-company-is-women-friendly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/5-ways-to-tell-if-a-company-is-women-friendly\/","title":{"rendered":"5 ways to tell if a company is women-friendly"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"5<\/p>\n

As part of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia\u2019s ambitious plan to revamp its economy, the kingdom has set a goal of increasing women\u2019s participation in the workforce from 22% currently to 30% by the target year<\/a>. The UAE, too, is working hard to close the gender gap, with its \u2018Gender Balance Guide<\/a>\u2019 laying down benchmarks to enhance gender parity and promote women-friendly workplace policies.<\/span><\/p>\n

These efforts to create a more inclusive workplace have not gone unnoticed. Fifty percent of employees who participated in a Monster poll to rate how women-friendly their employers <\/span>are said their companies ranked \u201chighly\u201d on this front. While 27% gave their company \u2018average\u2019 ratings, only 10% said it was \u2018quite low\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a career woman, it is imperative that you choose to work in a company that believes in and promotes women-friendly policies in order to reach your fullest potential. If you\u2019re looking for a job, here\u2019s how to determine whether a company is women-friendly:<\/span><\/p>\n

The job ad
\n<\/strong><\/span>Companies that value a women-friendly or family-friendly work culture are generally quick to mention it upfront <\/span>on their job advertisements. Some of the other ways they may convey the same message <\/span>is through terms like \u2018work-life balance\u2019 and \u2018flexibility\u2019. If you see such words in a job ad, it could be worth it to explore the opportunity further.<\/span><\/p>\n

Company benefits
\n<\/strong><\/span>While maternity leave is mandated by law, keep an eye out for additional family-oriented benefits such as educational assistance for children, paid parental leave, childcare facilities, support groups for parents and expected parents, summer camps, family medical insurance, elder care for ageing parents and dependents, etc. all of which are strong indicators of a family-friendly company approach.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ask questions during the interview
\n<\/strong><\/span>Most people see job interviews as a process whose sole purpose is to allow employers to vet different candidates. But this view overlooks the fact that candidates too are expected to utilize this opportunity to determine whether the company is right for them or not<\/a>. Use the interview to obtain a clearer picture of where the company stands vis-\u00e0-vis women-friendly policies by posing questions about the daily routine on the job, the necessity of working on weekends, travel requirements, etc. While you\u2019re there, try and look around the place to see if you spot facilities like a cr\u00e8che or lactation room.<\/span><\/p>\n

Look up the company\u2019s harassment policy
\n<\/strong><\/span>Nothing harms a company\u2019s <\/span>organisational culture more than the looming threat of sexual harassment, which is why most good companies have their harassment policies listed right upfront\u2014usually on their websites. An effective sexual harassment policy should include a definition of sexual harassment, the objectives of the policy, examples of what constitute harassment and what does not, a description of the reporting and redressal mechanism, the consequences of sexual harassment, information about where the aggrieved can find help, and an unambiguous zero-tolerance message towards harassment incidents. Finding these details in the policy document could be a sign that the company takes the rights and well-being of its women employees seriously.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Tap into your professional network
\n<\/strong><\/span>Before accepting a job offer, tap into your professional network to gain some insight into the company culture. Find out whether they actively recruit women and if women are provided with adequate career development opportunities. Talking to people close to the <\/span>organisation will present you with a true picture of the company and allow you to clarify any doubts you may <\/span>harbour regarding working at the place.<\/span><\/p>\n

The presence of women in the top leadership is another strong indicator of a women-friendly workplace. Also, observe whether many women are present in the office and whether any of them are sitting on the interview panel. If possible, try and ask some of the women you see around you how long they\u2019ve been with the company\u2014the employee retention rates of women employees could be revealing of their level of satisfaction. Finally, don\u2019t ignore your intuition: it\u2019s better to avoid the company if something doesn\u2019t feel right even if you can\u2019t tell what it is.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As part of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia\u2019s ambitious plan to revamp its economy, the kingdom has set a goal of increasing women\u2019s participation in the workforce from 22% currently to 30% by the target year. The UAE, too, is working hard to close the gender gap, with its \u2018Gender Balance Guide\u2019 laying down benchmarks to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8212","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-career-women"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8212"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20872,"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8212\/revisions\/20872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.founditgulf.com\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}