Photo by Arlington Research on Unsplash
by Angela Lovell.
Canadian companies are becoming more inclusive because they understand that a workforce with diverse viewpoints and backgrounds can strengthen their business and improve their profitability.
A UK study by McKinsey & Company showed that companies in the top 25 per cent in terms of gender diversity on executive teams were 25 per cent more profitable than those with less diversity. Companies with more than 30 per cent of women executives outperformed those with less than that number.
Labour shortages in agriculture are acute and getting worse, and although having a diverse workforce does attract employees from more diverse populations, it’s still a challenge to reach those populations and make them aware that there are opportunities for them.
MWAF offers recruitment and career services for employers and women seeking jobs in agriculture. They include a Career Board on the MWAF website where companies can post their job advertisements for a fee, but where job seekers can search for free.
“We can help companies attract more women employees,” says Laura Lazo, Chair and Co-Founder of MWAF. “Our Career Board is the most visited page on our website, and because we are diversified as an organization, a lot of women that go to the page are women with diverse backgrounds.”
A diverse workforce also helps businesses to make better decisions. Organizations with staff who have similar backgrounds may have lower creativity potential and, therefore, less agility to adapt to changes and relate to their customers.
As businesses embrace diversity in their workforce, they need new skills and knowledge that include being aware of their practices, their internal culture, policies, unconscious biases, and any potentially discriminatory behaviour.
MWAF can help companies, their managers and employees learn the skills they need to develop, implement and measure DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programs in their workplace. MWAF can connect them to internal and external DEI resources that will help them get started in the process, or evaluate and enhance their DEI culture.
As a diverse organization, MWAF can help you embrace DEI and become an employer of choice.
Contact MWAF today.
