Most people would like to be recognized for their contribution to the success of their teams, and overall company or just having left a mark in their domain/field of work! This is equally applicable in women’s personal space as well.
I once heard a leader say that women crave “praise”, give them that and they are happy and out of your way! That infuriated me but also got me thinking! Is the same true?
As women got into professional arenas and started working it was a ‘fair and square game’ in their mind; although unconscious biases existed and they had to fight for reward, recognition and advancement at every step of the way. We have traveled a long distance but even today there is much to be done for pay parity.
Recently, a women entrepreneur and co-founder of one of the country’s unicorns who I am coaching mentioned that she felt that something was amiss when it came to fulfillment at work. On the surface she has it all – glowing press coverage and accolades galore but on probing her I realized that when it came to the commercials, her other (male) co-founder was making much more money. She wondered if this was a price she was paying for having taken a few years off to have kids! She has brought much more value to the company, built a team from scratch but… when it comes to the rewards, she gets less than her fair share. And the percentage of talented women receiving not a fair deal at work is globally very high! My estimate (more than 50%) having interacted with power women globally.
First and foremost, let us always make it clear that women too love money and financial rewards as much as their male counterparts. What we choose to do with it is not under discussion here. In today’s day and age, if anyone asks you for ideas there are several non-monetary awards to choose from as well.
These include
1. Promotion or new job responsibilities: recognizes an individual’s hard work and dedication and gives them more responsibility and opportunities for advancement.
2. Time off or paid leave: allows the person to take time away from work to relax and recharge.
3. Training & development opportunities: provides the individual with the opportunity to develop new skills and knowledge that can help them to advance in their career or personal life (attend physically or virtually)
4. Give them State of the art Remote Access Tools to be equally productive while working from home!
5. Awards or trophies, Social-media shoutouts, or Influencer Status
It’s important to note that these are a few of the many ways to reward someone. It all depends on the context and the person as every individual has their own preferences and priorities as to what they value.
(This article first appeared on the WiP page on 30th January, 2023. I am the founder of WiP which is a cohort of like minded talented women who help each other grow in a fun filled, judgement free manner!)