Equity's Price Tag: Are Businesses Ready to Pay for Real Change?

This year, the UN calls for the world to ‘Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress’ with a clear message that the only way to start closing the gender gap (in all areas, not just income) is to invest in change. Meanwhile, Hunt has called for councils in England to CUT spending on consultants and diversity schemes. With budgets under pressure, businesses must plan and prioritise a broad range of investments to deliver notable progress in gender equity.

Businesses in our sector have gone wild with policy but how many are putting the same focus into understanding the commercial reality of delivering against their commitments? Whilst we are primarily talking about monetary investment; it is also the investment of time and the commitment to staying true to equality in the face of other business priorities. This will divide those who will crawl along the road to gender equity and those who accelerate ahead of the pack.

An important route to achieving gender balance in business is to prioritise it from the start, at the point of recruitment. Strategies to ensure gender balance at the applicant level can include insisting on an evenly gendered split of CVs to level the playing field from the beginning. However, this can result in accepting longer lead times to recruit (especially in roles demanding specialised skillsets) and the business must therefore accept other commercial risks to stay true to its commitment to diversity.

Progressive businesses have long recognised the requirement for market-leading maternity and paternity policies to attract and retain talent. However, many still need to catch up on the additional investment requirements needed around these policies to ensure they do not exist in isolation. As well as a competitive benefits package, investments into coaching pre and post maternity leave are important for the successful integration and progression of women returners. Whilst a lot of the investment is focused on the people on either mat or pat leave, businesses must also prepare for additional resources required to both cover any resource gaps and also allow for both flexible and part-time working.

To retain a diverse group of women, it is essential to consider the range of areas of investment that will ensure all women are supported and can achieve their potential. This requires budget planning for significant and diverse training efforts including mentoring programmes; cultural diversity training; and leadership coaching to enable women to have the same opportunities to progress.

In the area of female health, there has been a significant rise in the implementation of female health policies. However, to be successful in changing the experience of women in business, there is also the requirement for an ongoing programme of company-wide training for all managers to deliver ongoing, adequate support.


Such a range of investments allows for all employees regardless of gender to be involved in the company's progress towards equity. They empower conversation and enable behavioural change.

Will you invest in change?

Celine Saturnino is managing director at Total Media.