MORE WOMEN in the WORKPLACE

JK’s top tips for making sure male dominated industries are a welcoming and safe place for female employees

JK Personnel have been providing recruitment and labour hire services to the Ballarat region for over 20 years, with a significant focus on blue collar positions, which are in more traditionally male dominated industries.

Over the past two years JK have seen a real increase in the desire for businesses to increase the diversity of their workplaces. These businesses see the value in diversity and want to provide more opportunity to women.

“We are also experiencing a growing problem with skills shortages, cutting off half the potential employee market exacerbates this problem, more diversity equals more options,” said Tim Walshe, Director at JK Personnel.

Sometimes businesses are not ready for the change or do not know where to start in attracting women to apply for work. Here are JK’s top tips for increasing the diversity of your workplace:

• Don’t overlook the basics – are there male and female amenities on the shop floor?
• Address the cultural challenges – this starts at the top, leadership needs to be on-board and this needs to be communicated
• Attraction – research tells us women are less likely to apply for jobs they do not have experience in, if you are happy to have someone with no experience, then don’t list experience in the advert.
• Make it clear – finish any advert with “We support a diverse workplace and encourage female applicants”
• Training and Support – change often results in resistance, be ready for it, provide training and support to your new female employees but also to the existing workforce to ensure a smooth change.