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Creating a Workplace Culture that Attracts, Retains and Promotes Women
There are important reasons for making sure that workplaces attract
women. A workplace culture that is positive for women is good
for all employees and the employer because it helps:
- Attract the best people in a time of skills shortages;
- Compete effectively for resources, investment,
customers and market share;
- Improve decision-making by having more diverse
opinions around the table, and;
- Earn higher return through lower turnover costs,
less absenteeism and better results for training and incentive
dollars.
An individual's career choice is determined by a number of factors,
including socialization and the availability of role models. Despite
an increase in the number of women in the labour force, women
are often directed towards a university education and typically
lack role models to encourage them to consider careers in skilled
trades. As a result, women remain underrepresented in high-growth,
high-paid areas such as engineering, technologies, and the trades.
Talented and motivated women can represent a significant resource,
if we can collectively find a way to encourage them to enter and
remain in these occupations.
Even the most hospitable workplace cultures may not be immediately
able to attract large numbers of women because the pool of available
qualified women is still fairly small. Governments, training institutions
and industry groups across the country have implemented many initiatives
to encourage women to consider non-traditional occupations. These
are important for increasing the numbers of women available to
work in these fields. However, they must be complemented with
employer-based initiatives to encourage these women to remain
in those occupations.
Workplaces that Work presents a business case with evidence
of the bottom-line benefits of workplace cultures that attract
women. It also provides examples of success stories from across
the country and tips for how employers can effectively promote
change. These documents were developed for the use of Federal/Provincial/Territorial
Ministers responsible for the Status of Women, within their mandates
to encourage private sector employment leaders to create workplaces
that will attract, retain and promote women in high-growth industry
sectors that are facing serious skills shortages.
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For Employees & Employers
Note: Most links found on this page
are external to the Women's Directorate and the Government of
Manitoba site. The Government of Manitoba is not responsible for
the content of these sites.
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For more information on recruitment and retention of women workers,
or to download the report, "Workplaces That Work", please
visit:
Provinces & Territories
Federal
Observer
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