According to our 2023 Tech Market Report, 36% of our Tech Community said that a rewarding and innovative benefits package was the second most influential factor when identifying a new employer, with base salary coming first. More candidates are now interested in what the company’s benefits are to get a good feel for how diverse their workforce is.
So how can you enhance your benefits package to attract more women? We’ve curated some of the best benefits on the market, taking examples shared in our most recent diversity focused roundtable events in London and Manchester, and across our client portfolio.
Flexible Working
Domestic & General allow their employees to work from anywhere during August and December to allow flexibility over the holiday months to support a work-life balance for busy working parents.
Zoopla have adopted a core hour working day known as ‘Everyday Flex' which allows their team to have flexibility and come together from 10:00am until 4:00pm which has seen their employees spend more time with their children, feel better about balancing work and homeschooling, have flexibility to do what they want outside of those core hours such as hit the gym and also enjoy digital detox walks.
Childcare
Ever heard of Bubble? Founded in 2015 to support working parents, Bubble is a dedicated app that allows parents to find reliable and trusted babysitters to support with their childcare needs during working hours. Uber have recently partnered with Bubble to encourage more female drivers and they have added Bubble as part of their benefits package to offer 10 hours of free childcare on the app.
Recent data shared by Bubble shows that 75% of parents say that better childcare support would make them more productive and 87% of parents say childcare support would make them more loyal to their employers.
Maternity & Fertility
MoneySuperMarket offers extended paternity: all eligible parents, irrespective of gender or the way in which they became parents, can take up to 6 months of shared parental leave each - at full pay.
Zoopla have recently launched Menopause support as part of their company benefits. Including a new policy on menopause and the transitional period right before it.
At Beauty Pie, employees of all genders who have completed two years of service will be offered £2,500/$2,500 to spend on their fertility journey. Fertility challenges affect millions of people and undergoing a diagnosis or treatment while juggling a career can be difficult. The money can be used towards appointments, diagnosis and treatment.
At Zenith, employees can now expense hormone replacement therapy prescriptions fees. The company will also host dedicated drop-in sessions with experts including their in-house GP’s, to allow individuals to connect and share stories and coping strategies.
Training & Career Progression
A recent study found that women leaders are becoming increasingly willing to switch jobs for better career progression & advancement opportunities. Women value self-development and look for learning and development opportunities within their role. Ensuring a clear career path is mapped out with upskilling and promotion opportunities is key to retaining women in tech.
The benefits of having a clear career path in place allows women to grow in their careers as many women leave tech roles due to not having opportunities to progress – currently, just 26% of workers in tech are women with even fewer women in tech leadership roles at just 16%. Highlighting what your L&D budget is within the job description will help to attract more female candidates as female applicants typically apply to job roles if they feel that they have 9 out of 10 of the role requirements on the spec.
Mentoring
Having internal mentoring and leadership programmes within your business is a good way to retain tech talent and for companies in which female role models are limited, having a mentoring scheme or leadership programme can encourage a confidence boost and help women to develop their leadership skills or take the next step in their career.
There are plenty of external networking and mentoring schemes available to get started and it’s important for women to have colleagues and mentors who they can learn from, both internal and externally.
Burns Sheehan Futures Programme
- 46 mentors & mentees successfully paired
- 120+ hours of collaboration
- 95% of participants would reccommend the programme
- Dozens of leading companies featured including FT.com, AutoTrader, Trainline, Zoopla, Sky, Unmind, Healios & Bionic.
Our Futures Mentoring Programme was created to help inspire and accelerate the learning environment for the future leaders in the Technology community. Our core mission is to help close the equality gap for women, people of colour, people with disabilities and many other marginalised groups to reach their full potential in work, however, this programme is open to anyone from any background, so please don’t be deterred from applying.
Through one-to-one mentoring sessions (in person or online), partners gain valuable skills and expand their network, opening up opportunities to explore fresh perspectives and mindsets. If you'd like to get involved, fill out the form on our DEI page, here.
Having better benefits in place for prospective candidates is the first step in attracting a more diverse workforce. With candidates becoming more and more interested in the company benefits to get a good understanding of what the company culture and ethos is, taking steps to diversify your benefits will help to both encourage more Women into your workforce and ensure that you’re retaining the female tech talent that you currently have.
If you want to discuss innovative ways to vamp up your benefits package to attract a more diverse workforce, or share insights on what other companies are currently offering, get in touch with Charlotte or one of the team - we'd love to hear from you!
📧charlotte@burnssheehan.co.uk
