5.7 Provide on-the-job learning opportunities, such as job shadowing and job rotations, especially for business areas in which women are underrepresented
Content
Description of Best Practices
On-the-job learning opportunities create exposure for women to working areas in which women are underrepresented or where the company wants to attract more women and expose managers and staff in these company segments to women as potential colleagues, which may reduce resistance to hire more women
These opportunities may include:
- Job-shadowing[1] (single days or for a certain period of time)
- Working on different job locations and in different business segments for a limited period of time
- Buddying with somebody from a different department and/or business segment with structured exchange facilitation to learn about the specifics of their work
- Cross-functional project assignments or other assignments that require the person to collaborate more closely with other departments
- Research or data collection assignments that expose the person to other business areas and support their understanding of the specifics of these business areas
Develop high-quality programs with a clear structure including:
- Clear strategy and targets and quality standards for each program in place
- One person in charge of coordinating the program, acting as point of contact for learners and supporters
- Identification of target group and suitable supporters and quality matching process in place
- Training or clear instructions for supporters
- Constant evaluation and integration of feedback from learners and supporters
Instruct supporters to create a positive image of the job area and act as role models with regards to gender values in their role, as ambassadors for a specific job area
Job rotations can also increase opportunities for women to work for more than one supervisor and increase opportunities for more unbiased and fair evaluation of their performance
Challenges of Implementation
Supporters may not be aware of their role as ambassadors and role models for their specific business area
Supporters may face comments or jokes from co-workers due to cultural boundaries between women and men
Supporters may experience their role as burdensome, especially in cases of bad matching
What Success Looks Like
A variety of on-the-job-training opportunities are in place supporting women to leverage their skills through interpersonal learning and exposure to working areas within the company, in which women are underrepresented or more women are desired to work
Supporters of on-the-job-learning opportunities have been trained/instructed to act as role models with regards to gender and as ambassadors for their business area
Feedback from supporters and candidates is positive
Women become interested in working in one of the job areas they were exposed to
Managers’ mindset of working areas with less women is more supportive of having women in their departments
Resources and Tools
Example: Sodexo North America Hosts National Job Shadowing Program to Promote Professional Development for Women (Sodexo US)
Article: Job Shadowing – Why the Big Fuss? (FundiConnect)
[1] JOB SHADOWING. Type of on-the-job employee job training in which a new employee, or an employee desiring to become familiar with a different job, follows and observes a trained and experienced employee. (Source: The Balance Careers, Job Shadowing is Effective On-The-Job Training)