COURTESY / BANK OF AMERICA
April Paradis is senior vice president for global human resources at Bank of America in Maine.
April 19, 2021
How investing in women makes good business sense
By April Paradis, Bank of America
Investing in women makes good business sense because diverse and inclusive workplaces are essential in meeting the needs of today’s diverse clients, communities and other key stakeholders.
Data supports the fact that companies that create a strong culture of diversity reap the benefits of greater innovation, stronger employee engagement and productivity and a positive impact on the bottom line.
Women own a third of all businesses worldwide, make up just over half of the workforce, and yet 1-in-4 women have considered leaving the workforce due to the coronavirus, which would equate to a 12.5% reduction in the labor force. It’s why we continue to invest every day in helping women make meaningful contributions within our company and in their communities at large.
From a purely practical perspective, companies cannot afford to ignore half the workforce. The negative implications of not bringing talented women to the workforce, investing in their career growth, and providing a range of supportive benefits to meet their needs, would be numerous.
Higher education partnerships
The answers don’t have to come from within. For example, the bank partners with more than 350 colleges and universities around the world to recruit diverse talent. One such program, the Women’s Executive Development Program, leverages the faculty of Columbia Business School to engage, develop, retain and support the career advancement of high-potential talent. Mary Tripp, one of my teammates here in Maine, recently participated in the program and was afforded the opportunity to expand her network, hone her existing expertise and further develop critical skills needed to progress her career.
Retention and development
What sounds like a no-brainer in concept can be anything but in application because programs need to be tailored to different segments of your workforce. What a woman needs for career development can differ greatly from a man or even from women of different generations or backgrounds. To that end, companies should create programs and networking opportunities that are designed specifically to support the retention and career development of female employees, such as a LEAD (Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Development) for Women Employee Network.
Benefits
An effective diversity and inclusion program goes beyond recruitment and development. It includes progressive workplace policies and benefits, so all employees feel supported in managing their responsibilities both at work and at home. For example, paid maternity, paternity and adoption leave are essential to a 21st-century benefits package. We also cannot discount the disproportionate impact coronavirus has had on female professionals, many of whom have borne the brunt of childcare, elder care, and homeschooling demands brought by the pandemic.
Capital Investment
Again, the solution does not always have to come from within or be of direct benefit to your company. By supporting and engaging with organizations whose mission is to empower women professionals can be mutually beneficial. Here are some of the organizations we partner with to support women entrepreneurs with capital and resources to help them grow their businesses:
- The Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program provides access to affordable loans to grow their business.
- Through the Bank of America Institute for Women’s Entrepreneurship at Cornell, 50,000 women entrepreneurs receive free, online learning to help advance their businesses.
- The Global Ambassadors Program, in partnership with Vital Voices, connects women leaders of social enterprises and small businesses to mentoring, to help them build business acumen and realize their economic potential.
- The Cherie Blair Foundation’s Mentoring Women in Business Programme connects women entrepreneurs around the world to online mentoring.
- The National Women’s Business Conference hosted by the National Association of Women Business Owners works to propel women entrepreneurs into economic, social, and political spheres of power.
- Paradigm for ParitySM, is an organization committed to achieving gender parity across all levels of corporate leadership.
- Girls Who Code provides high school-aged girls an opportunity to learn skills in digital technology and robotics, and gain exposure to women engineers and entrepreneurs at the bank.
- Locally, the Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute helps young women develop skills required to be leaders in their lives, families, careers, and communities, and currently serves 540 girls from 36 schools across the state.
- Jobs for Maine Graduates (JMG) partners with public education institutions and private businesses to offer results-driven solutions to ensure all Maine students graduate, earn post-secondary credentials and pursue meaningful careers.
The common theme to these concepts is commitment. While no single company has all the answers, we know that collaboration and a commitment to diversity will have a lasting impact not just on your company, but also the people and communities you serve.
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