How organisations can build a culture of equity

Organisations must do more to improve the health and safety of female employees or risk a detrimental impact on their workforce.

Dr Irene Lai, Group Medical Director at International SOS, said, “Creating tailored wellbeing initiatives that respond directly to women’s specific health requirements can go a long way in increasing female employee engagement and ensuring that women feel supported and understood in the workplace.”

According to International SOS, top health concerns for female employees in 2022 included infectious diseases, respiratory illnesses, heart attacks, accidents and injuries, as well as mental health.

READ: Hybrid work empowering women in the workforce

To help organisations promote women’s health and safety and to create a culture that promotes awareness and equity, International SOS has offered organisations some useful tips:

1.  Understand the healthcare support and benefits your workforce needs and regularly review wellbeing programmes.

2.  Build a culture of inclusion that encourages open communication to reduce taboos and stigma.

3.  Provide pre-travel training to ensure that traveling employees understand the potential risks in their destinations.

4.  Promote health by providing employees with accurate information about health risks.

5.  Encourage a healthy lifestyle that motivates employees to adopt healthy lifestyle habits.

6.  Provide Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and mental health counselling that provide support, guidance and information on a wide range of work related and personal issues.