Culture is a vital organizational component that sets the standard for the values and behaviors that permeate all aspects of an organization. With the Great Resignation impacting companies worldwide, it is more important than ever to consider your company culture's role in creating an equitable and inclusive work environment.

Gender-related inequities exist in the workplace. These inequities can impact job satisfaction, whether it is unequal pay, disparities in representation, or a lack of diversity within leadership roles. Organizations need to focus on systemic changes to tackle the root causes of inequity to ensure employees feel fulfilled and respected at work.

In Promoting a Culture of Equity in the #MeToo Era: Moving Beyond Responding to Gender-Related Workplace Issues to Tackling Root Causes, Kellie McElhaney and colleagues explore ways to solve inequities within the workplace.

Gender is about power. Formal and informal systems precipitate the inequities related to gender, whether it be social customs, legal codes, organizational structures, or other factors. Workplace policies and practices can reinforce these inequitable power dynamics. For example, employees responsible for caring for family members may have to use flexible work policies and may be punished for using them.

What can you do to impact real change? Take action of root causes of inequity by:

• Making changes to institutional policies by ensuring that gender discrimination isn’t reinforced or made possible by policies
• Ensuring the workplace community fosters equity through raising awareness and questioning unconscious biases
• Encouraging individuals to address their own biases and enforcing policies that support all genders

Explore this case study produced by the Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership to learn more about promoting a culture of equity and how one organization, Boston Consulting Group, managed to make systemic changes to tackle equity.