Women Are Asked To Do More

Written by: Sophie Warwick.

Commitments to culture, engagement, and a sense of community are all key drivers of company success. They empower team members to experience a greater sense of belonging which leads to increased productivity and enjoyment at work. However, employees don’t always feel recognized for their efforts contributing to these important initiatives. The individual consistently organizing the company socials can go unrecognized, even when many of their colleagues are attributing their engagement at work to social events.

Additionally, this work tends to fall more often on women. Women are asked to do more non-promotable tasks at work. Non-promotable tasks are those that are not directly correlated to role responsibilities and are not being formally assessed in performance evaluations. These can be organizing work socials, picking up coffees for meetings, administrative tasks unrelated to their role, and even Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) work. Below I’ve outlined my recommendations to reduce the amount of non-promotable tasks women are asked to do at work.

1. If the same person is always being asked to take meeting notes, think about why that person has been selected. Is this task formally part of their role description? Do they consistently volunteer because they enjoy that role? If the answer to both of these questions is no, then this is likely not the person that should be taking notes and bias may be impacting why they are being selected.

   
   

   When I was working as a structural engineer, I often was one of few women and worked in multiple workplaces with small teams. There often was limited administrative support and so those tasks needed to be taken on by other team members. However, they typically were assigned to me. I’d receive calls from other offices that there was a package downstairs that needed picking up, asked to organize work lunches, or to pick up coffee before a meeting. I wasn’t the most junior person in the team, not that that would be a justification either, but I was the only woman.

   
   

   I don’t think that anyone assigned these tasks to me maliciously. I do believe that bias played a strong role in the selection process though. Women are often seen as connectors and organizers at work. They have a greater expectation to foster community and deliver on administrative tasks. Inadvertently, many people see women as the best person for these roles. The problem is, when these tasks aren’t part of someone’s formal role description then they can prevent that individual from performing to their highest potential. They are overloaded with additional work and distracted from important role functions.

   
   

2. If a corporate initiative is providing significant value, those delivering it should be formally recognized. Cultural and DEI initiatives are in many workplaces considered to be high strategic priorities. Therefore, they should be recognized in performance evaluations. We recommend including metrics for DEI contributions as part of all performance reviews. This allows leaders to identify the efforts their team members are contributing in this area. Additionally, it allows recognition of the important professional skills many individuals develop by participating. For example, leaders of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are developing critical communication and leadership skills.

   
   

   The other advantage of formal recognition is that it signals to all employees that this is a value they should prioritize. For example, in a consulting environment where client relationships are paramount, all employees appreciate the need to build and maintain their networks because it drives a key company metric. When DEI programs are included in evaluation criteria, it encourages all employees to participate, not just those who are members of underrepresented groups. If something is going to increase someone’s ability to move up in the organization, they will prioritize it.

   
   

3. If the work doesn’t fall under a specific person’s role scope already, it should be shared equitably between team members. When teams are small there often is very limited administrative support. In this situation, we recommend distributing tasks between all team members and clearly communicating relative responsibility. This can be achieved by taking turns on each task. For example, alternating weeks where someone is responsible for picking up coffee. Or it can be achieved by assigning each task to a specific person. For example, one person takes notes in team meetings, and another person signs for and picks up office deliveries. These commitments should be documented somewhere and discussed as a group to make sure everyone feels comfortable with the task they’re owning. This structure reduces burnout, inequities, and leads to more enjoyment at work.

   
   
   
   

Need support in creating more equitable workplaces that support equal delineation of all responsibilities? Reach out to us at The Thoughtful Co today at contact@thethoughtfulco.net.