Accenture Philippines released key findings from its “Better to Belong” study, which had in focus women’s experiences in the workplace and how the workplace sustains equality in work and business.
Accenture technology lead in Africa and Asia Pacific Ambe Tierro said the pandemic has amplified issues that affected women the hardest.
“And so there’s no better time to pay attention on gender-related issues, especially for women than today. That is what we want to underscore especially as we celebrate women’s month, now that the issues are more relevant in our present time,” she said.
She underscored the depth of a woman’s multi-faceted role at home and in the workplace, where juggling tasks from work to home and from home to work has taken its toll on working women—moms, single women and the rest.
In the study, Accenture found that creating an inclusive organization where women can thrive must be at the top of a CEO’s agenda, not that it sounds demanding, but if not properly addressed, the talent gap, among genders, will only continue to grow.
Respondents in the survey revealed a feeling of inadequacy, that women are significantly less “net better off” and report less belonging than employees overall, like not feeling respected by peers and not having a senior leader help advance their careers.
About 29 percent of women report lower support across the talent lifecycle compared to 26 percent of men while 20 percent of women report dissatisfaction with their job compared to 17 percent of men.
When leaders support women during moments that matter—onboarding, rewards, transferring, life events, leaving—and support them every day, they leave them NBO. When women feel NBO at work, their potential can be maximized by 4.7 times.
Tierro said while the NBO concept is not unique to women, as this benefits anybody even the men and the binary genders, focusing on women will allow industries, enterprises to address the rest of the workforce.
Leaders leave people NBO by being curious about their unique situations and the external forces such as economic inequality, racism, and environmental disasters that shape their work lives, which is a general tip-off found to be helpful for the corporate place and in any office set-up, as well.
An important understanding revealed by the study was that people who work for companies that leave them NBO, show a 1.9-times increase in trust for their company, a 1.7-times increase in job satisfaction, and a 1.6-times increase in believing their organization is a great place to work. This can double the impact of work outcomes.
The study shows that leaders have a huge opportunity to increase women’s human potential. When they get the traditional moments that matter right, they can drive up NBO by 3.6 times, according to the study. When day-to-day experiences are maximized, they can drive up NBO by almost five times.
Accenture developed an NBO framework and found 10 everyday experience levers to help leaders unlock their people’s full potential. These include empowerment, communication, diversity, customer-centric, skilling, dependence, governance, technology, self-efficacy, and growth mindset.
In the Philippines, Accenture has already surpassed its gender equality goal with women making up more than half of the organization as of fiscal year 2021, four years advanced from its goal of achieving a gender-balanced workforce by 2025.
“Accenture is strongly committed to cultivating a culture of equality and creating an inclusive organization where women feel they belong, can advance, and thrive. We support them at all stages of their careers in the company and make sure that we engage in open, honest and meaningful conversations. By doing so, we empower the women in the organization to take charge of their careers and inspire other women to do the same,” Tierro said.
Accenture reiterates its commitment to be the most inclusive and diverse employer in the information technology and business process management industry in the Philippines.