Checking Your Blind Spots: Identifying Gender Gaps in the Workplace

Checking Your Blind Spots

IDENTIFYING GENDER GAPS IN THE WORKPLACE

But there’s good news, too. Our research

uncovered evidence of positive impressions of the industry, including: •

High level of alignment between the

qualities career-seeking women value

most in a job and what the trucking sector has to offer;

Introduction

•

Positive experiences and success stories

•

High confidence that women’s

from industry veterans;

TIPS TO GET STARTED First, you need an honest commitment to gender equity and bridging the

gender gap within your organization for your teams, customers and the general public to trust your intentions.

Get started with the following steps: 1.

LEADERSHIP BUY-IN: articulate your leadership team’s commitment

participation in the industry will increase

internally and externally;

over time; •

Recognition that many employers are

2.

ensure actions are meaningful and

This toolkit will help employers understand

It’s no secret that women are under-represented in the trucking and logistics industry. While the broader Canadian workforce is split fairly evenly between men and women, women make up only 16% of the trucking workforce and a mere 4% of drivers. Recent research

gender equity in their workplaces. It includes the following tools to help you assess your company’s current state with respect to gender equity: •

by Trucking HR Canada has shown that numerous factors influence women’s desire to work in our industry.

The biggest barriers to women’s

•

Skepticism about women’s opportunities to

•

An unappealing image when compared to

•

On-the-job safety concerns

•

Lack of awareness about the many

participation are:

02

other industries;

different jobs opportunities;

advance in trucking;

related to harassment and other

Questions to prompt an honest

discussion about gender equity with your leadership team;

•

A gender-focused SWOT analysis

•

Survey questions to deploy within

•

Guidelines for policy implementation

ASSIGN RESPONSIBILITY: Appoint a champion or team of champions to

taking steps to address equity concerns.

the issues and perspectives that affect

GET AND COMMUNICATE

on-going; 3.

SET GOALS: Establish long-term and short-term goals to track progress and success;

4. SEEK INPUT: Ask for feedback from your teams on what you’re doing well and where improvement is needed.

framework;

your teams; and review.

discriminatory behaviours; •

Job impacts on work-life balance and family responsibilities.

CHECKING YOUR BLIND SPOTS: IDENTIFYING GENDER GAPS IN THE WORKPLACE

03

Questions to Facilitate Honest Discussions

•

What safety concerns might exist for

•

Do the actions and behaviours of the

women that don’t exist for men?

leadership team support or contradict the

company’s commitment to gender equity?

•

•

Who do our policies and practices benefit most and why? What practices might

equity, start by having an honest discussion with senior leaders.

Asking tough questions can help you understand where action needs to be taken. Here are some questions you can use to facilitate that discussion.

•

Do all employees feel welcome and

included? Do they feel like they belong?

•

What circumstances might cause them to not feel included or like they belong?

•

Do we provide the tools and training

required to help women succeed in nontraditional roles?

04

Are gender inequities currently addressed within the organization? When, how often,

•

Is there a champion for gender equity

initiatives within our organization? Is it the

right person? Are other people required to help move these initiatives forward and

opportunity within your organization.

×

Absenteeism;

×

Management, leadership, and

could be driving our decision-making and What are some of the advantages we

could gain as an employer by focusing

Is access to training, development,

information, systems, and leadership job function and type?

•

Are our pay practices equitable?

•

Does our leadership team and board

•

Are we providing training to help

reflect our commitment to gender equity? employees recognize discrimination and unconscious bias?

and by whom?

the gender gap and identify areas of

Are there stereotypes of women that

consistent for all employees regardless of

•

by gender. They can help you quantify

Employee turnover;

more women?

To understand where your company stands with respect to gender

your company can track and analyze

×

our efforts on attracting and retaining •

Here are some examples of metrics

restrict women from thriving here?

practices? What are they?

•

IMPORTANT STATISTICS

board participation; ×

Participation by occupation type;

×

Candidate applications for new roles;

×

Promotions;

×

Employee complaints — by type and impact;

×

Pay equity — comp-ratios and market gaps.

You may also want to look at the impact of age, marital status, and education on the above.

What specific efforts are we making to overcome the gender gap here?

What’s missing?

•

Do we have measures and metrics

(statistics) that will illustrate when we are bridging the gap?

gain more buy-in?

CHECKING YOUR BLIND SPOTS: IDENTIFYING GENDER GAPS IN THE WORKPLACE

05

WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITIES

•

•

What identified gaps exist in our practices that other organizations (within and outside of the industry) do?

Conducting a SWOT Analysis

•

•

the gender gap. When answering the questions below, consider different perspectives (i.e. clients, applicants, leaders, employees, vendors).

In what ways do we already support

women in our workplace? List them all.

•

What do female employees appreciate

•

Are there focused efforts being made to

about our workplace?

gaps – for example within a specific

vendors, candidates, and employees.

•

What are the real and/or potential biases

•

•

Who champions our efforts in this area?

•

Have we achieved any recognition or

awards for being a best-in-class employer for women?

more focused and intentional effort on

Is there an opportunity for media coverage or awards associated with strong gender practices?

•

that exist currently within the organization

Are there subsidies or grants available for focused gender efforts?

that need to be addressed? Consider the

THREATS

management, occupation type.

•

What are our competitors doing better

impressions our company needs to

•

What threat does this pose to the business?

work for us?

•

Are there gaps in legislative compliance

following: male/female, management/non-

•

What specific problems can we solve with gender equity within our company?

employment practices – (promotions, turnover, absenteeism)?

improved gender equity practices?

Consider the perspective of customers,

What are some of the negative industry overcome to encourage more women to

than we are?

that we need to be aware of and fix? What are they?

•

STRENGTHS •

Do our statistics suggest any significant occupation (truck drivers) or within our

The SWOT Analysis is a commonly used framework to help identify organization. It can also help you dig deeper into specific issues, such as

for employing women in our organization

or within specific roles in the organization?

•

the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats within an

What are some of the limitations we face

What can the company gain from

Is there a possibility for negative PR? What could it be and how strong is the possibility?

•

How does our gender gap impact

customer and vendor perceptions of the company?

help eliminate the gender gap here? What are they?

06

CHECKING YOUR BLIND SPOTS: IDENTIFYING GENDER GAPS IN THE WORKPLACE

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For each of the statements below, select a rating from 1 to 5 where 1 = Strongly Disagree and 5 = Strongly Agree.

Gender Equity Employee Survey Questions Direct feedback from your team can clarify how gender equity is perceived at your company. This can help you understand the impacts of your practices and policies and pinpoint where to prioritize efforts.

(Note: replace “Company” with the name of your organization.)

“Company” prioritizes gender equity and gender equity issues.

1

2

3

4

5

Senior Leadership at “Company” champions gender equity.

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

There are clear opportunities for advancement for me here.

1

2

3

4

5

I feel like I belong here.

1

2

3

4

5

I feel physically safe here.

1

2

3

4

5

I feel psychologically safe here.

1

2

3

4

5

My skills and capabilities are fully utilized here.

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

My manager demonstrates through action that gender equity is a top priority at “Company.”

I am comfortable reporting a personal experience with gender-

based discrimination, violence, harassment, or sexual harassment.

I am comfortable reporting an instance of gender-based

discrimination, violence, harassment or sexual harassment that I witnessed.

QUESTIONS TO ASK MAY INCLUDE: Do you identify as: O

Male

O

Female

O

Nonbinary

O

Prefer not to say

08

Asking for respondents to self-identify will allow you to understand experience and opinion differences between male and female employees.

CHECKING YOUR BLIND SPOTS: IDENTIFYING GENDER GAPS IN THE WORKPLACE

09

For each of the statements below, select a rating from 1 to 5 where 1 = Definitely Would Not and

Please respond to the questions below by answering yes or no.

I have personally experienced gender-based discrimination at “Company.”

I have witnessed gender-based discrimination of someone else while they were employed at “Company.”

I have witnessed gender-based discrimination of a vendor, customer, or supplier of “Company.”

I have experienced violence or harassment at “Company” based on my gender.

I have experienced sexual harassment at “Company.”

5 = Definitely Would Agree.

Yes Yes

No No

How likely are you to recommend “Company” as a place to work for men?

How likely are you to recommend “Company” as a place to work Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

for women?

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

What in your opinion is “Company” doing well in terms of attracting, promoting, and retaining women? Please write your thoughts in the text box below.

If you answered yes to any of the above, please provide any details you’re comfortable sharing in the text box below.

What efforts can “Company” take to better attract, promote, and retain women? Please write your thoughts in the text box below.

Do you know how to report any personal or witnessed experiences of gender-based discrimination, harassment, or sexual harassment?

10

Yes

No

CHECKING YOUR BLIND SPOTS: IDENTIFYING GENDER GAPS IN THE WORKPLACE

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REVIEWING CURRENT POLICIES Even well-intentioned policies can house underlying biases that undermine equity

The following policies form a solid foundation

We recommend conducting an organization-

Some are mandatory for federally regulated

goals and disadvantage female employees.

Policy Review Guidelines

wide policy review to address those concerns.

Consider establishing a project team with

diverse perspectives to lead the review. When reviewing policies, reflect on the following:

operations.

Outdated policies may reinforce biases and

limit your ability to achieve Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) goals, such as gender equity.

The following guidelines can help you review

workplaces, but all are recommended for

organizations that want to show they are taking gender equity seriously. Use the links below for templates from Trucking HR Canada to help you develop many of these policies.

How might this policy impact men and/or women differently?

•

Pay Equity Policy

•

Are any gender-based stereotypes

•

Workplace Harassment and Violence

•

Does the policy use gender-

•

Medical Leave Policy

•

Personal Leave Policy

•

Flexible Work and/or Remote Work Policy

goals related to the current gender gap?

•

Parental Leave Policy

Are behaviour expectations that

•

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy

•

Code of Conduct

•

Health and Safety Policy (including

•

Recruiting and Hiring Policy

•

Training and Development Policy

Policies provide guidance to support good conduct in the workplace They establish standards and ensure consistency across business

to support gender equity in the workplace.

•

•

and clarify expectations for employers, managers, and employees.

POLICIES TO HELP BRIDGE THE GENDER GAP

•

expressed within the policy? inclusive language?

Is there something that can be included within the policy to help us achieve our

support gender inclusivity outlined in relevant policies?

Prevention Policy

Psychological Safety)

(including Promotions)

and improve company policies to support equity goals.

12

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Next Steps This toolkit is meant to help you understand and define your company’s current state with respect to gender equity. Once you’ve completed your gap analysis, it’s time to take action: •

Organize the data you gathered into

themes to help you prioritize and address specific areas of concern.

•

Engage diverse team members to

brainstorm solutions and generate ideas.

•

Look to other industries for proven actions

•

Liaise with other organizations to determine

and strategies that might also work for you. if there are industry-wide actions that can be taken to make a larger impact.

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•

Communicate your action plans and

any successes internally and externally

to demonstrate on-going commitment and progress.

For more support in achieving your equity

goals, check out Trucking HR Canada’s HR Resource Library.

104-720 Belfast Rd.

Ottawa, Ontario K1G 0Z5 (613) 244-4800

theteam@truckinghr.com truckinghr.com Copyright © 2024 Trucking Human Resources Canada All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication, whether it is reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (including electronic, mechanical, photographic, photocopying or recording), without the prior written permission of the Trucking Human Resources Canada, is an infringement of copyright law.

Funding for this project is made possible thanks to the federal Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) program.