We hear so much about equality these days, but how many of equally know how to define it, especially in the workplace? We’re living in a time when women are fighting for equal pay and equal recognition, but men are also fighting to be heard above colleagues who may be more extroverted or outspoken than they are.
Of course, equality isn’t all about gender, it’s about ensuring that everyone is treated the same, regardless of their race, their religion, their sexual preferences, a disability or anything else. Every person should be paid the same, should have the same opportunities, and should be treated the same way. Despite that, there may need to be adjustments to a person’s working environment to ensure comfort and safety, e.g. a person in a wheelchair may need adjustments made to executive desks they’re going to sit at, etc.
Despite the importance of equality, there are still glaring gaps in the contemporary office workplace in certain situations.
Check out this infographic which focuses on gender inequality in particular.
Source: https://gender.bitc.org.uk/all-resources/factsheets/women-and-work-facts
As you can see, despite the fact that we might all think we’re equal, there is still a big pay gap between the sexes. According to this infographic by Opportunity Now, for every £1 earned by a man, a woman earns 81p instead. Over a year that adds up to quite a lot lost.
Whilst pay differences are down to the employer to address and rectify, there are certain equality issues which may come into play in the general office environment too. So, how can you ensure an equal lay of the land for all across the board within your office environment?
How to Encourage Equality in The Office
The good news is that most people are open minded and sensible enough to treat everyone with respect and not to single anyone out for a perceived difference. Despite that, it’s still important to press home the importance of equality overall.
Creating an office environment with corporate furniture which ensures comfort and support for all is one way to do this indirectly; by ensuring everyone has the same type of professional office desks and other equipment, you’re not creating a ‘one is better than another’ mind-set.
When this occurs, you can have conflict within the office setting, and even bullying, which is something no office wants to see.
Aside from the environment you create, you should also think about the following process:
- Look carefully at the employees you have in your workplace – can you identify any so-called minority group? For instance, do you have one or more employees who have a disability? Do you have an equal split of men and women, or more towards one side?
Do you have any other differences which you can clearly see?
- Increase awareness of equity and diversity by forming a focus group of manager and staff collectively.
This support group should produce a policy on equal employment rules and opportunities for staff
- Circulate this policy and allow other members of staff to give their feedback, taking it all into consideration, before ratifying as final
- In future recruitment drives, ensure that you recruit across the board, and don’t focus towards one gender, or one group
- Create a training session about issues relating to diversity and incorporate it into your employees’ mandatory training
By focusing on equality and bringing more attention towards diversity and diversity-related issues, you’re raising awareness and knocking down barriers and old-fashioned ideas. Women need to be able to shine as brightly as men have traditionally in the past, and minority groups within your employment need to feel sure they have the same opportunities as everyone else, without barriers in their way.
You should also make sure that you give staff a place to go as an outlet for their frustration and stress too. It’s normal for staff to sometimes feel overwhelmed or annoyed at something which has happened in the workplace, not necessarily related to diversity, but giving them space to go and have a time out will help to control issues and stop them spiralling out of control needlessly. You can create zones with good quality office furniture for comfort, or you can think about purchasing office breakout furniture too, and creating an entirely separate space. Both will work as well as one another.
Equality in the workplace has never been more in the spotlight than it is at the current time and every employer needs to be aware of the impact it can have.