9.1 Develop a business case for advancing women in the workplace based on a company-specific assessment
Content
Description of Best Practices
Familiarize all senior leadership with the global evidence for the business case for advancing women in the workplace
Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the company to identify gaps and opportunities to improve balanced representation of men and women
Develop a specific business case unique to the organization based on the assessment
Conduct a cost-benefit analysis of any different treatment of men and women to support the business case (e.g., benefits vs. employee turnover and decreased productivity and costs of workplace violence and harassment)
Communicate the assessment findings and business case across the organization
Identify priority areas for measurement, define indicators, and gather baseline and regular periodic data
Challenges of Implementation
Precise attribution of benefits will not always be feasible
Additional resources may be required for effective measurement
There may be resistance to initiatives to address imbalances until such time that the business case has been developed
What Success Looks Like
Senior leadership and employees understand the business case for advancing women in the workplace and support company initiatives in this regard
Resources and Tools
Guide: Four for Women: A Framework for Evaluating Companies’ Impact on the Women They Employ (Wharton School of Business)
Guide (incl. Additional Resources): Minimum Standards (Practitioners Collaborative)
Guide (incl. Case Studies): Future of Work: A Discussion Guide for Leaders (Champions of Change)
Guide: Water Operations (World Bank Group)
Tool: Women’s Empowerment Principles Analysis Tool (United Nations Global Compact & UN Women)
Tool: Developing a Business Case for Advancing Women's Workforce Participation (USAID)
Case Study: Female Perspectives Raise Revenue for Indian Power Utility: How BRPL made the Business Case (USAID)
Case Study: Women in Utilities: A Driving Force for Workforce Modernization. A Case Study of Three Utilities in the Danube Region (World Bank Group)
Case Study: Smart Solutions Reduce Employee Absenteeism and Turnover in Solomon Islands (World Bank)
Case Study: Employing Women Catalyzes Change at a Chemical Plant in India (World Bank Group)
Example (incl. Additional Resources): Women on Boards and in Business Leadership (IFC)
Report/Study (incl. Case Studies): Understanding the Business Case (UN Women)
Report/Study (incl. Sample Indicators and Company Case Studies): Investing in Women’s Employment (IFC)
Report/Study: The Business Case (Australian Government)
Report/Study: Quick Take: Why Diversity and Inclusion Matter (Catalyst)
Report/Study: Women in the Workplace 2019 (LeanIn and McKinsey & Company)
Report/Study: How to Calculate the Cost to Business of Violence in Papua New Guinea (ODI)
Report/Study: The Business Case for Change (ILO)
Report/Study: Women in Water Utilities: Breaking Barriers (World Bank Group)
Report/Study: The Untapped Resource (The International Water Association)
Report/Study: Handbook on Organizational Change (ILO International Training Centre)
Report/Study: We Lead: Five Women Who Drove Company Success in the Middle East and North Africa and How Good Corporate Governance Helped (IFC)
Report/Study: Women as Levers for Change (FP Analytics)
Report/Study: Occupational Segregation (Washington Center for Equitable Growth)
Study/Report: Executive Briefing: The Business Case for Smart Solutions in the Private Sector (World Bank)
Report/Study: The Costs of Sexual Harassment to Business: An In-Depth Look at the Workplace (International Center for Research on Women, ICRW)
Report/Study: One-Pager of Women in Water Utilities (World Bank)
Report/Study: Women on Boards Research Study in Egypt (IFC)
Report/Study: Women on Boards in Nigeria (IFC)
Article: It Starts at Home (Harvard Business Review)
Article: What Makes a Team Smarter? More Women (Harvard Business Review)
Article: Still Looking for Room at the Top: Ten Years of Research on Women in the Workplace (McKinsey & Company)
Article: Innovate! Run a Strategic Debate for the C-Suite (Forbes)
Article: Making the Case for Women in the Energy Sector (USAID)
Article: Empowering Women to Reduce an Energy Utility’s Commercial Losses (World Bank)
Article: How to Build a Women-Powered, Green-Energy Transition (Mail & Guardian)
Webinar: Water Workforce (The International Water Association)
Video: Comorian Women Help Transform Power Utility (World Bank)