Using the hashtag “MeToo,” women have spoken out on social media about their experiences with sexual harassment and assault. The issue is far more pervasive than many people (men) realized—and the workplace is often the scene of such behavior.
Source: Franck Camhi
Before you say your company treats all employees with respect, and has a culture where equal opportunity is the norm, and that #MeToo doesn’t—couldn’t—pertain to your organization, you may want to find out what women think of your company.
Digging Deeper
The website Fairygodboss, a job site for women, can help. It features company reviews, written by women.
It also includes statistics, based on site reviews: Among reviewers, 57 percent say companies treat women fairly and equally to men, while 55 percent of reviewers would recommend companies to other women.
Those aren’t very impressive numbers, are they?
The site includes reviews of some of the world’s top employers. In response to the question, “Are women and men treated equally?” one reviewer for a consumer goods conglomerate answered “no.”
It should be noted that this particular company has been recognized by the National Association of Female Executives (NAFE) as one of the Top 10 Companies for Executive Women for five consecutive years.
Before you dismiss the reviewer’s opinion, consider a comment she provides: “Recently, I have seen many strong and influential women leave the company to pursue other interests or positions, which has left a significant void of senior, high profile – high visibility women leaders in the company.”
Obtaining Insight
This not only lends credibility to her comment, it is valuable insight that could benefit the company, assuming they haven’t already been alerted to the situation—and assuming they read the review.
There are many review sites, as Joel Cheesman, founder of Ratedly, an app that monitors online employee reviews, pointed out at RecruitCon Road Trip East in Boston. And yes, Fairygodboss is only one of them. However, when it comes to understanding the perspective of women who work for your company, the site can prove helpful.
Although some companies approach review sites from the standpoint of protecting their brand and reputation, a better approach is to use these sites to consider employee perspective.
With women’s workplace issues in the news on almost a daily basis, it is beneficial for employers to take a close look at corporate culture. To this end, Fairygodboss may prove especially valuable.
Overall job satisfaction is part of each review, using a rating of zero to five wings.
Other Advantages
Additionally, the site serves as branding tool, if your company makes the grade.
Fairygodboss publishes a Best Companies for Women list, which is based on members’ anonymous surveys; results are displayed when there are more than 30 reviews. The list is updated every day.
It also publishes a Best Tech Companies for Women list, using the same criteria. It too is updated daily.
Women holding a wide range of positions submit site reviews. At Fairygodboss, $80,000 to $100,000 is the most common salary range; 24 percent of reviewers are in this category. But 9 percent of reviewers earn less than $25,000 annually; 22 percent of reviewers earn $25,000 to $50,000 annually; 16 percent make $100,000 to $150,000 per year; and 13 percent are in the +$150,000 category.
If you want to know what women think of your company, don’t just wing it. Fairygodboss provides information, grounded in reality.
RecruitCon Road Trip West, which takes place November 29 in San Francisco, includes a session on review sites.
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Paula Santonocito, Contributing Editor for Recruiting Daily Advisor, is a business journalist specializing in employment issues. She is the author of more than 1,000 articles on a wide range of human resource and career topics, with an emphasis on recruiting and hiring. Her articles have been featured in many global and domestic publications and information outlets, referenced in academic and legal publications as well as books, and translated into several languages. |