#BeBoldForChange
This International Women’s Day we celebrate progressive HR policies that empower women and create change. Today we are reflecting on the fact that our path to success was blazed by a lifelong feminist, with a fierce determination to #BeBoldForChange.
At the moment, there are only 18 female world leaders (or one-in-ten), women get paid on average 87 cents for every dollar made by a man, and only 8.5% of top-level corporate jobs in Canada are held by women. This is not the kind of world we want to live in. We need to help women break through the glass ceiling and to continue the feminist legacy to embolden women and disrupt the standard.
To set the scene for what was the make-or-break point in the early days of our company, consider this: at the risk of Metrics failing in her absence, Regan, a nursing mother at the time, had to call an executive meeting to regain corporate control by firing a senior male associate and restructuring the all male company—just three weeks after her son James was born. To return the company to its proper course, Regan dedicated long hours to growing the business with her son James by her side (and on her breast), and was often the subject of criticism amongst her peers who felt she was compromising her dedication to maternity.
Times of adversity help shape the future and from this experience the code of Metrics was written; in part advocating that a work-life balance should never be compromised for any employee, of any gender. Our female CEO and COO have worked together to write our HR manual. They use feminist perspective to design our policies and ended up promoting freedom and happiness in all our staff.
Our HR policies have developed as the company has grown but at the root is a dedication to fostering a team of people who love their work, live their best lives and respect the people and process. But how do you make sure you have the right people sitting around the table? In a mathematics and technology-heavy industry where men dominate, how do we hire women? We believe growth only works with a strong foundation based on grounded ideals. For Metrics, these include:
Gender diversity: talk about it
Our executive team is actively involved in the dialogue for gender diversity amongst our staff. Metrics disrupts the traditional accounting model with progressive innovation strategies that bring businesses to the future, and we need to practice what we preach. We need to seek out, hire, and mentor women in high-paying, professional fields: accounting, bookkeeping and financial technology. We need to lead the way and show that compromising equality to accept the status quo is never a solution.
Talent-based hiring
Given discriminations in résumé preparation—as per the oft quoted: “Men apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them”—we’ve established a talent-based hiring system. We hire people according to their ability to achieve—not on their stated accomplishments and skills. We believe this is best-practice in hiring, as it alleviates the systematic discrimination that puts female candidates at a disadvantage.
Improved workplace policies
We understand that although work is a necessity, life exists during and beyond regular 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. hours. We are advocates for improved workplace policies and have adopted unlimited time-off, flexible work hours, options to work remotely, and policies to allow for childcare and family leave. In return, we ask for a dedication to hard work, a commitment to quality and transparent communication to keep our processes running smoothly.
Liberate through education and job skills
At Metrics Academy our mandate is to empower people through financial technology. Graduates of the Academy will be able to join our Bookkeepers Collective and attain flexible careers that allow for raising kids, while being active participants in the job market. A graduate of our Bookkeeper program, will have the ability to earn $57,000 in 48 weeks, at 30 hours per week, working from home with no fixed schedule. We aim to liberate marginalized people by helping them gain skills and training to keep them in the workforce and provide for a better standard of living.
Our #BeBoldForChange pledge this International Women’s Day, is to challenge businesses of all sizes to review their HR policies and to create work environments that support and empower all employees. We’d love to hear from you, if you are willing to accept the challenge: info@getmetrics.
Sources:
CBC News: StatsCan on gender pay gap: Women earn 87¢ to men’s $1
CBC News: Women now hold 8.5% of Canada’s top jobs
Harvard Business Review: Why Women Don’t Apply for Jobs Unless They’re 100% Qualified
