Many firms are continuing to keep a focus on talent diversity and inclusivity in the current environment to ensure effective performance outcomes. As a result, it has been determined that inclusion, particularly through a focus on women, is the most useful tool for fostering creativity and assuring competitive advantage. As a result of the emphasis on inclusivity, it is now crucial for firms to understand what employees expect from them. Adopting numerous procedures to improve a female talent's morale within the company has been of vital importance. In most businesses, apart from focusing on the policies favorable to women in the workplace, there has been the adoption of effective strategies focused on making the workplace attractive to women. Therefore, the aim of this paper will be to examine the effects of different policies on the morale and the recruitment and retention process for female talent.
Recruiting and retaining female talent has been an effective initiative towards promotion of inclusivity and driving talent across the organizational spectrum (Low & Sanchez, 2015). Across the US, appreciation of gender inclusivity has become a fundamental facet towards sustenance of an enabling environment. Diverse policies have worked towards transforming the workplace and ensuring that there is retention of the various talents.
Maternity Leave Policies and their Effects on Recruitment and Retention of Female Talent
The maternity leave policies have been of utmost importance regarding policies focused on women in the workplace. In the US, there are various maternity leave policies such as the Paid Maternity Leave that boosts employee morale and translating to retention. First, through the policy, there has been the provision of job protection (Keefe, 2016). Job security emanates from the terms of the policy that stipulate and promote freedom for women to resume their duties after the period of leave. There are major direct and positive effects in the analysis of the paid maternity leave policies that promote an enabling environment for women during their maternity.
Effects of Maternity Leave Policies
Increase in Retention Leeson, (2009) emphasizes that the direct implications of the maternity leave policies, since their inception, have been the growth in retention since the policy is favourable to the female employees. The prospect of the increase in retention translates to an increase in work experience coupled with work tenure. Maternity leave policies, as per Robila, (2013) have the potential to turn into the feeling of job security among women. Women who face an environment of assurance in their work placement transform the positivity regarding the organization of operation to heightened productivity. Further, there is the outcome of maintenance of effective job matches and sustenance of competitive remuneration as a result of the various positive policies.Inducing a Return-to-Work Attitude The maternity policies, as per the research by Low & Sanchez (2015), have revealed that they have the capability of inducing women to return to the employment scene. Women who had otherwise left the employment sector are incentivized to resume their professional duties. A vibrant labor market is necessary towards the transformation of the quality of human capital.Career Development through a Flexible Working Environment Flexible working has become a fundamental tool towards boosting employment across the gender divide. As per Low & Sanchez (2015), a flexible working environment can enhance the employment of women through enabling them to make the necessary adjustments to accommodate for further training and development. Further, the various maternity policies have led to a transformative environment whereby women adopt strategic initiatives to adjust their home and work responsibilities to further their education.
Fusulier, (2011) believes that in the current technological environment, aspects such as online courses have led to a profoundly enabling environment for women. Women can effectively and efficiently take a three-month online course, which can have a profound implication on their work placement. Hence, flexibility brought about by the maternity leave policies has led to women adopting distinctive flexible working options. The flexible working options have been effective towards bringing down the distinctive barriers that are preventive for women towards entering and remaining in the labor market after having children. For women, the demographic, economic, and social development has meant that the standard manner in which work prevails has been positively impactful on the mode of livelihood. Leeson, (2009) observes that policy makers across the US have led to a transformative environment whereby the changing needs of women are met to compete effectively in the labor market with their male counterparts.
Potential Negative Implications on the Wages for Women
It is fundamental to acknowledge that employers are keen on the implications of the maternity leave policies on the cost of operation. Fusulier, (2011) observes that in the first years of the policies, a majority of the employers are focused on developing an in-depth understanding of the implications on the costs of operations if there were no tax-funded social insurance benefit. Without the government input towards ensuring tax benefits, a majority of the organizations have been passing on the costs to women through lower wages. As such, in some organizations, there are substantial wage cuts during the maternity leave period.
Equal Pay Policies
Keefe, (2016) asserts that in the present environment, acquiring and retaining extensively high-quality talent has become critical towards organizational success. Specifically, from the evaluation of the American market, it has become increasingly ruthless with the available skills becoming diverse. Hence, employers have had to adopt initiatives that are more selective of their choices since the prospect of ineffective recruitment decisions can lead to long-term negative outcomes in performance. Further, human resource managers have had to grapple with a labor market in which incentive-based initiatives are critical towards maintaining the highly-talented individuals. Hence, in an American society whereby women are competing on a similar level with men for the different job placements, organizations have had to adopt distinctive initiative to sustain a competitive edge and to attract female talent.The conformity to the equal pay policies has been of the same significance in attracting female talent. In reference to Hyde, (1995), the equal pay policies such as Equal Pay Act of 1963 have been undergoing significant amendments to suit the changing demands of the contemporary environment.
Despite the fact that the pay parity has not been obtained significantly across America between the different genders, there have been major strides made in the various states. The demand for immediate action was evident since the 1960s to adopt equal pay policies that are favorable for women and geared towards the promotion of equality in the workplace (Robila, 2013). In the basic understanding of the concept of equal pay, the policies emphasize on the notion that no individual ought to be paid less due to their disparity in age, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. In the present environment, there are elements of inequality in the payment process as evident from the fact that women on average, who work full time, earn 23 percent less in every dollar that their male counterparts do (Keefe, 2016). The differences in payment have led to organizations in the private sector to adopt various initiatives towards incentivizing female talent into their workplace. As such, organizations have realized that the equal pay policies are an effective marketing tool that can translate to a positive image for their operations. Of utmost importance has been the prospect that ensuring equal pay prevails can have positive implications for both the organizations and the female employees in the following ways:
Retention of Talented Female Employees
Talent attraction and retention, as per Low & Sanchez, (2015) is not a level playing field as a result of globalization. Globalization has had significant implications for organizations in their quest to retain talented employees (Robila, 2013). Accordingly, there is the emergence of poaching of both male and female employees by organizations to ensure a competitive edge in their operations. In a market place whereby the need for innovation is critical to remain relevant in the global arena, sustenance of equal pay has become a strategic tool in the operational dynamics of organizations. As per Hyde, (1995) women in the human resource sector have the perception that gender discrimination prevails in the employment sector. Therefore, any instance of discrimination in pay, specifically for talented employees, may be a determinant factor to seek greener pastures. Hence, organizations adopting various initiatives such as ensuring that nurturing inclusivity and equality is in their goals and missions in the remuneration process have retained and attracted the best talent.
Generating Opportunity for Career Progression
Across the US, equal pay policies have led to organizations re-evaluating their human resource policies. In a competitive market place, Keefe, (2016) emphasizes that three shining operational pillars have emerged as strategic approaches towards retention of female talent. Developing avenues for career progression, competitive wages, and ensuring a culture of flexibility to ensure work-life balance prevails have emerged from the equal pay policies. To ensure that organizations attract the best and brightest female talents, it has become obvious for organizations that there is a need to adopt the three pillars in their employment policies (Robila, 2013). In the growing employment sector, specifically in the US, there have been more women than men skilled to meet the demands of the white collar market. Leeson, (2009) emphasizes that women are competing at an equal or higher rate translating to higher female graduates as compared to men. Therefore, organizational human resource managers have been viewing the ongoing trend as an effective tool towards emphasizing on career progression as a way of retaining female talent. Opportunities for career progression, as per Low & Sanchez, (2015) are becoming an incentive for the majority of female talent to leave their former employers. Employers quickly realize that traditional gender stereotypes are an obstacle towards ensuring heightened productivity and competing effectively in the global market.
Transparency in Disclosure in the Payment Process
With the contemporary policies on equal pay having extensive pressure on the various organizations; it has become strategically viable to ensure transparency in disclosure of pay. Organizations, through the increasing need to maintain a positive public image and attract talent from the different genders, had to adopt disclosure on their fair and equal pay policies. Low & Sanchez, (2015) emphasize that adopting various measures geared towards closing the gap in the recruitment practices has translated to an enabling environment in their human resource practices. Further, the emphasis on disclosure among the various organizations has translated to incentives for women to monitor and choose the right organizations that meet their payment needs. Accordingly, the emphasis on transparency in the disclosure process has led to an avenue whereby employers are quick to fix any pay discrepancies through establishing a process that is preventative (Keefe, 2016). Organizations that have been transforming their operational guidelines have managed to attract, retain, and maintain a positive reputation in the employment scene, which is critical in the operational process.
Conclusion
Female talent empowerment is a contemporary issue in the global arena. From the US to various nations globally, it has become fundamental to adopt various policies to meet the various needs of women in the work place. Through the above analysis, the focus on paid maternity leave and equal pay policies has had tremendous positive implications on the morale of women. Most importantly, the policies have led to necessary changes in the operational dynamics of organizations to ensure that recruitment and retention of female talent prevails. Opportunities for career progression and inclusivity in the employment process are some of the positive implications emanating from the various policies.
References
Fusulier, B. (2011). The European directive: making supra-national parental leave policy. The politics of parental leave policies. Children, parenting, gender and the labor market, 243-258. doi:10.1332/policypress/9781847420671.003.0015Gordon, V. (2016;2013;). Maternity leave: Policy and practice (1st ed.). GB: CRC Press.
Hyde, J. S. (1995). Presidential Address. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 19(3), 299-313. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1995.tb00077.x
Keefe, J. (2016). Family-friendly workplaces are good for business. New Hampshire Business
Review, 38(24), 24
Leeson, W. (2009). Family-Friendly Workplaces: Recruiting and Retaining Top Faculty through
Flexible Policies. Anthropology News, 50(8), 3-4. doi:10.1111/j.155 3502.2009.50803_2.x
Low, H., & Sánchez-Marcos, V. (2015). Female labor market outcomes and the impact of
maternity policies. IZA Journal of Labor Economics, 4(1). doi:10.1186/s40172-015-0029-1
Robila, M. (2014;2013;). Handbook of family policies across the globe (2013;1;2014; Ed.). New York, NY: Springer Verlag. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-6771-7
