Gender diversity and ensuring equal representation is hugely important in today’s workplace. Having both women and men in your team and in leadership positions can give organisations different perspectives and ensure enhanced collaboration. At Swisslinx, we understand the importance of diversity and providing women with more representation. That’s why our workforce is over 60 per cent female. The workplace should reflect the world’s diversity, and companies that don’t invest in diversity will be limiting themselves to a smaller talent pool. However, taking control of your career is still important and there are plenty of strategies that women can take to advance.

Self-advocacy

In Switzerland, gender equality has made some progress with the share of management positions rising to 13% last year, compared to 10% in 2019. While women in leadership positions continue to rise, self-advocacy is still an essential skill to master, especially for women who want to move up in the workplace. It’s widely understood that male employees are often advocating for themselves more in the workplace. For that to change, businesses need to make a conscious effort to encourage women to ask for what they want. However, women can advocate for themselves in many ways, including asking for a higher salary and more challenging work, as well documenting contributions which then can be shown in performance reviews. Self-advocacy helps you become more visible and shows managers that you’re highly engaged, which can lead to greater opportunities.

Nurture professional relationships

Nurturing professional relationships has always been highly important in the workplace. The relationships you build have a direct impact on your long term success. Relationship-building also improves collaboration, morale and individual productivity, all of which are essential for performance and attaining more opportunities. Instead of thinking about promoting yourself, focus on how you can help others and make an impact on the people you’re working with, whether that’s a manager or a mentor. When you build strong relationships, you are creating a network of people who can vouch for your skills and abilities – which can be beneficial when it comes to securing promotions and new roles. No matter what the industry, whether it’s tech or finance, it’s essential that businesses pave the way for more diversity in the workplace.

Apply for high-level jobs

According to a Gender Intelligence Report conducted by the University of St Gallen, only 17% of top management posts are held by women and 23% middle management positions. While gender discrimination is one the biggest contributing factors for women missing out on higher positions, it’s a common belief that men are often more comfortable applying for higher-level jobs. Therefore, one of the fundamental ways that women can improve their career prospects is by applying for jobs when they don’t meet all of the criteria. If there’s a greater push for helping women move up in their careers combined with more applications themselves, this will certainly help improve representation in the office. While it could take many years for true gender equality in boardrooms, women should embrace their ambition and continue to learn to advance in their field.

Swisslinx can help you with your career

Swisslinx is a leading recruitment consultancy, specialising in financial services, digital and technology and healthcare and life sciences. We have a diverse team of recruitment consultants who have a deep knowledge of the sectors they recruit into. Over the years, we’ve established an excellent global reputation and we have a strong track record of providing the best recruitment solutions to our clients and candidates. We’ve proven to be an efficient and proactive talent partner that operates from a strong recruitment methodology that is consistently successful. To find out more about our services, contact us and browse our jobs today.