Part 1: Why we need more women in the workplace

Understanding the benefits of equality at work and why we should be making the workforce accessible

 Did you know that women with disabilities experience up to 10 times more gender-based violence than those without disabilities? This statistic alone is enough to discourage women living with any kind of disability to try to enter the workforce. But we do need women in the workplace!

This article explores the realities that women face when it comes to building a career. We’ll also delve into the benefits that workplaces experience when they make a commitment to diversity.

Let’s dive in and look at the facts…

 Men with disability are 51.3% more likely to be employed than women with disability who have a 44.4% employment rate.

Additionally, women with disability have a much higher rate of part-time employment. 56% of women with disability who are employed are on part-time employment. Compared to 22% of employed men with disability who are working part-time.

This is due to the barriers that women face when trying to gain employment. These are barriers that begin with the hiring process and continue all the way through the life cycle of their employment, including retention, promotion, pay, and access to training.

Luckily, the world is changing and slowly industries are becoming more inclusive.

But does it matter?

 You might be asking yourself, why is diversity and inclusion in the workplace so important? The main reason is that organisations will miss out on opportunities if they don’t get the gender balance right. Here’s why…

Being more inclusive results in a larger talent pool to choose from

 When organisations encourage people from all different walks of life to join them, they have access to a much larger group of potential people to hire. Additionally giving their business access to a large diverse pool of talent.

Different perspectives result in innovation

When a group of like-minded people come together, their shared experiences often cause them to think the same, come up with similar ideas, and derive similar conclusions. It’s difficult to be innovative when there is a lack of diversity.

When you put a group of people together from different backgrounds and lived experiences, you encourage new ideas and fresh perspectives.

A better reflection of your actual audience

If your business has a diverse audience and customer base, then your team should reflect this. When you include people on your team who are similar to your actual customers, you will be improving your communication and messaging to those people.

Increased profitability 

When it comes to your bottom line, diversity matters. Did you know that gender-diverse companies are 21% more likely to experience above-average profitability?

Our Women in the Workplace stream launched in February 2022! This new membership focuses, not only on skills for employment for women with intellectual disability, but it will also teach invaluable skills required to work towards one’s overall independence.

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