- Does the ratio of women to non-women match your local census polls?
- Do women's tenures match that of non-women?
- Do women's salaries match that of non-women?
- Do women write code?
- Do women make business decisions without approval?
- Does your company's marketing portray women similarly to non-women?
- Do office conversations refrain from pointing out differences between women and non-women?
- Can a woman either challenge or embrace her traditional gender role without drawing special attention/comments?
- Are women able to openly discuss problems with how they are treated and are those issues acted upon afterwards?
- When a woman requests consideration for a uniquely female personal matter, are those requests honored?
- Are women given the same level of respect as non-women?
This one is fairly self-explanatory. An inclusive team will strive to reflect roughly the same distribution as the local population.
As an initial goal, examine your organization in terms of proportion of women and non-women vs. degrees awarded to women vs. non-women in your organization's field. For example, a manufacturing firm would do well if 25% of its engineers were women if ~25% of Mechanical Engineering degrees are awarded to women.
While degrees may or may not be the best metric, and using this metric may only be passing the buck of sexism to the education system, it's at least a good starting point.
If an organization finds that they have a higher turnover among women employees, it's time to examine the root cause of that turnover. Are women employees not receiving the same opportunities for advancement, training, etc.? If not, they have a strong incentive to seek employment elsewhere.
Studies in the United States reveal that women are paid only 77% of what non-women are paid for the same work, and in the European Union women are paid 16.4% less than their equally qualified non-women counterparts. Pay equity is an essential feature of inclusive teams and failure to provide your women employees with competitive pay will contribute to higher employee turnover (see question 2).
While all roles in an organization are required to make the business successful, are women concentrated in non-technical areas of the organization, such as marketing, sales or administration?
Many technical organizations operate on the principle of "ask for forgiveness, not for permission." Are women expected to seek approval for their decisions whereas non-women are not? Are women given the power to contribute as equal members of the organization or are they all concentrated in areas where their work is directed?
Are women frequently the "clueless users" in your help videos? Are women in your marketing materials shown wearing revealing clothing whereas non-women are not? Is emphasis paid to a woman's appearance in your collateral versus how a non-woman is presented?
Conversations that regularly focus on the differences between types of team members are an example of othering behavior.
8. Can a woman either challenge or embrace her traditional gender role without drawing special attention/comments?
This question can be interpreted in both a positive and negative way. Are women rewarded only if they act like "one of the boys" and engaging in non-traditional women's behaviors, such as going to strip clubs? Are women rewarded for embracing their traditional role, such as receiving a promotion for wearing revealing clothing? If a woman enters your office with a short hair cut, does her appearance become the subject of discussion, with people wondering aloud why she would make such a choice?
9. Are women able to openly discuss problems with how they are treated and are those issues acted upon afterwards?
In every team, people will say and do things that will cause friction with other team members. If women bring up these matters, are they discouraged from doing so to keep the peace? Are they told to "lighten up", or that they must grow a thicker skin and not take things so personally?
Assuming women are not discouraged from airing grievances with co-workers or management, are these concerns taken seriously? In the case of a co-worker, does the behavior that caused consternation cease? In the case of a discussion with management, is appropriate disciplinary action taken or is the issue aired and then simply ignored?
10. When a woman requests consideration for a uniquely female personal matter, are those requests honored?
There are some things in life which may only be relevant to women. Does the team accommodate those concerns and treat the with equal merit to other concerns which might be more generally shared by the team?
For example: breast feeding is something that only women do and breast feeding concerns might become part of the daily activities of a woman on your team. Does your office provide facilities for nursing mothers to breast feed or express milk (pump)? If not and such facilities are requested, is a solution created that is not simply a response to "use the toilets"? Are her concerns understood and dealt with vs being dismissed?
Are women regularly interrupted or talked over in discussions? Are their statements and ideas dismissed without examining them based on their merit? If a woman asks a question, are the responses sarcastic or phrased in a way to come off as looking-down-upon the woman?