Much has been made recently about creating "diversity" in the workplace, including gender diversity. While some may have a vague understanding of the importance of diversity, the reality is we actually feel far more comfortable in a homogeneous environment - or around people we are most similar to.
When it comes to women in the workplace, why are they so important? Here are 4 things women bring to the table in the workspace.
1. Women add more tools to the toolbox
Problem solving is one of the many ways in which men and women tend to approach things very differently. At one time, we wanted to believe one was right and one was wrong, but instead they are more like a hammer and a screwdriver. Neither is "right" or "wrong" but one can handle a certain range of tasks more effectively than the other. Granted, you can take the end of a heavy screwdriver and use it to bang in a nail, but there is little doubt the hammer is more effective. Similarly, you can take the claw end of a hammer and pry out a screw, but there is little doubt the screwdriver is more effective for removing a screw.
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2. Women are more likely to care about "feelings"
Imagine a business owner wants to move their company to a new building located 20 minutes from the current one. Perhaps moving will save them money, allow them to give their current employees more space, hire new employees and expand the company
. From the employer's perspective, it might be a win-win-win all the way around. On the other hand, the employees may feel that the extra 20 minute commute will cut into already scarce family and free time. If the employees are unhappy about the move, they can easily undermine any benefits that might be accomplished by the move. Women are more likely to care about how other employees feel about the move rather than just the bottom line. In the end, this can actually save a business a significant amount of money - not to mention headaches and hassles. 
3. Diversity creates a greater willingness to try something new
For the most part, people hate change. When a group shapes itself around what is the same about it (homogeneity) it automatically creates a distaste for anything that is different - and that includes anything new. You do things the way they have always been done because that's how they've always been done. When you change up the types of people involved in working together, you inherently foster a willingness to try something new. Sometimes, you may even find that new thing thing is far superior to the old thing. The switch from older CPU databases to a GPU database was a long time coming for some businesses, but those that did make the switch found themselves with a far superior product. 4. They tend to be "communal" rather than "top-down" leaders
We have this image of leadership as being the single person who stands in front of a group and leads, or is somehow "above" the people they are leading. This is one type of leadership, but it is not the only kind of leadership. Women often lead from within, or are "communal" leaders. Unfortunately, this also means they are often not recognized as being leaders and this is a mistake. When women create an atmosphere in which people work well together, they often do their best work, which is most definitely good for the corporate bottom line.There is little doubt that women can bring a huge benefit to workplaces, but in many cases, the value that they bring is not always viewed as being valuable. It is often hard to place a specific dollar figure on the value that women bring to the table, which is why it is not always seen as valuable. It is important, however, to begin to recognize the very real value that women bring to the workplace and to recognize that in the end i most definitely has a significant impact on the corporate bottom line.
By 
Lindsey Patterson |
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Author Bio - Lindsey is a freelance writer specializing in business and consumer technology. | |
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