With International Women’s Day on the horizon, let’s discuss powering up our game to champion women’s education and training – irrespective of seniority, language spoken or where you’re located. We’ve been inspired by the heavy hitters like McKinsey’s “Women in the Workplace 2023” and Deloitte’s “Women at Work 2023: A Global Outlook,” and we’re here to share how Learnship can help you make some serious waves.
The Lay of the Land: Women’s Education and Professional Growth
It’s no secret that the corporate playground isn’t exactly fair. McKinsey points out the infamous “broken” rung—that sneaky first step into management where women often slip. Deloitte echoes this, noting the pervasive “always on” culture that’s especially draining for women. And oh, the microaggressions—those tiny cuts that leave deep scars.
According to the UN, closing gender gaps in employment could boost GDP per capita by 20 per cent and closing gaps in care and expanding services with decent jobs could spark almost 300 million jobs by 2035. Encouraging five percent more women to enter the workforce might have an 8% positive impact on emerging markets’ economy. However, there is not enough money to close these kinds of gender disparities. In reality, the UN’s yearly stocktake of progress towards gender equality across the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) finds an “alarming” $360 billion annual deficit in expenditure on gender-equality measures by 2030.
The IWD theme of this year’s International Women’s Day on March 8 is “Inspire Inclusion,” whereas the UN theme is “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress.” As a company with decades of experience in providing corporate training to companies, we believe in the power of investing in your employees and facilitating inclusion. Plus, language training can help with mental wellness and personal growth.
How Training Helps
Companies have a unique influence to change this narrative. How, you ask? Let’s break it down:
Inclusive Training for the Win
Think training sessions that mirror the real challenges women face, making the learning journey relatable and impactful.
Flex Those Schedules
Advocate for learning programs as flexible as a gymnast, acknowledging the juggling act many women perform daily.
Mentorship with Muscle
Facilitate connections that matter, pairing rising stars with seasoned pros who can guide them through the corporate labyrinth.
In 2020 the need for training was magnified due to COVID, with many employees suddenly working remotely. How we work, the roles undertaken, the cadence of meetings, the need to communicate virtually, was suddenly under review. It was a whole new level of digital transformation, happening to many companies at the same time. According to the McKinsey study in 2023, roughly 80 percent of women want to be promoted to the next level, compared with 70 percent in 2019. Meaning women became more ambitious and flexibility models contributed to this.
AI is the more recent shift, with generative AI specifically challenging the current landscape of work and in many cases removing more menial tasks, allowing us to upskill and redefine job roles. Both have offered a level of flexibility, beneficial to women that may have children, be carers, have disabilities and otherwise. However, there have been numerous reports on AI displaying concerning gender bias – triggering a call to ensure that such systems and tools are developed with gender equality in mind. The truth is there will forever be pivots and changes, access to education is key to help employees adapt and grow – and based on the statistics – women tend to need this more.
Learnship enables these transformations, one training session at a time. Examples include language and multicultural communication skills training saving Hanes over $300,000, helping Chinese talent at Hirschmann Automotive scale up their English skills within six months, and improving English skills at CEMEX to save over 40,000 working hours a year. Learnship’s offers effectiveness in delivering tailored language learning solutions. Find out more by visiting our case studies.
Strategies for the Changemakers
Be Data-Driven
Use those insights from McKinsey and Deloitte as your North Star, use your internal data to tailor your L&D strategies to meet the real needs out there.
Embrace the Change
Keep your training fresh and in tune with the times. The world’s evolving, and so should our learning approaches.
Win Leadership Over
Convince your higher-ups that supporting women’s education isn’t just good karma; it’s good business. Picture it as convincing them to invest in the next big thing before it goes mainstream.
Let’s make this International Women’s Day a recommitment to making sure that women get access to the training they need to excel and fulfil their dreams.