The research is clear: there’s an urgent need for gender parity in the global labor force. BCG helps organizations achieve this critical goal.
Increasing the number of women in the workplace improves outcomes for all levels of society. Building gender-inclusive workplaces unlocks greater prosperity, heightens resilience, and boosts socioeconomic progress. BCG’s gender equality consulting can help organizations close the gender gap in their workforces to the benefit of individuals and institutions everywhere.
Research from a variety of sources—both within and beyond BCG—helps illuminate the socioeconomic benefits of gender equality.
With the help of our gender equality consulting team, our clients learn which shifts they need to make—and where to focus investments—in order to increase gender diversity and inclusion.
The data is compelling, and most corporate leaders now understand that companies must strive for diversity if they want to acquire and retain talent, build employee engagement, and improve business performance. But for all the programs and efforts under way, few have been successful in closing the gender gap in work participation. Understanding what to do—and how—to achieve gender parity poses a considerable challenge.
While approximately 98% of employees said that their company had a gender diversity program in place, only 27% of the women surveyed reported that they have personally benefited from a diversity intervention.
The pandemic is only intensifying that challenge. Job losses, particularly in the service industry, and elevated caregiving responsibilities are squeezing all workers and hitting women the hardest. These pressures are forcing many women to leave or consider leaving the workforce, and they threaten to erase decades of gains made in gender equality.
With so much at stake and so many obstacles to overcome, clients turn to BCG for our deep expertise in driving measurable change in gender diversity and inclusion.
Recruiting is the sole focus of many companies’ gender equality efforts. BCG can help widen this lens while also delivering results in the areas of employee retention, advancement, and leadership commitment to diversity and gender inclusion.
We achieve these critical goals by working alongside clients to identify the current state of gender equality at their organizations. After drawing a strategic roadmap, we help our clients stride toward a more inclusive future.
Our holistic approach focuses on five building blocks for improving and accelerating diversity and inclusion initiatives. Using our Diversity and Inclusion Assessment for Leadership (DIAL) tool we help our clients:
Understand the starting point.
When it comes to gender issues, leaders’ beliefs don’t necessarily align with employee experiences. We uncover the truth.
Clarify the gaps.
We gather detailed data and deploy advanced analytics to assess the problem and set targets that will transform the organization.
Focus on inclusion.
We help frontline leaders build and sustain diverse, inclusive organizational cultures.
Company leaders must acknowledge their blind spots, respond to the needs of diverse groups, and focus on the measures that really work.
The challenge to juggle home and professional responsibilities continues.
Want to generate inventive new ideas that can win in the market? Build management teams comprising people with the widest possible range of backgrounds and perspectives.
Senior executives set the strategic agenda, but it’s up to line managers to implement change on the ground. No inclusion effort can succeed without their buy-in.
Providing employees with the latest digital skills will be critical to company success throughout this decade. It could also be a secret weapon in the struggle for gender diversity.
Companies can’t capture the real value of a diverse workforce until they create an organizational culture that welcomes everyone—truly everyone—to participate.
