The recent change in the way the gender pay gap is reported in the UK has increased the global focus on gender diversity. Canadian law firm, McCarthy Tetrault leads in this space, and part of leading is always striving for better.
And for anyone in doubt of the benefits that a balanced workforce brings, according to research undertaken by Korn Ferry HayGroup (now ZS), women score higher than men on nearly all emotional intelligence competencies. This matters, because research shows that leaders with strong emotional intelligence create conditions that inspire team members to stay with and contribute to an organisation.
Applying the requirements of a more balanced workforce, where everyone has the same opportunities, including the opportunity to travel, highlights a conundrum: should there be a separate policy for female travellers?
On the whole businesses are being careful not to single out specific groups, instead providing policies that enable all employees to travel safely.
Generally, Reed & Mackay’s clients have a diversity policy that applies to all business activity rather than singling anyone out in a travel policy. “We provide destination briefings which we recommend clients share with employees. These cover everything from cultural awareness to physical safety and health, ensuring an inclusive approach to providing travellers with the information they need to best prepare for a business trip,” says global director client services Alex Cousins.
And yet the risk is real. “Corporates who do not provide appropriate advice or training for female or LGBTQ travellers are failing in their duty of care. Whilst there is the obvious cost of dealing with incidents, in the worst case this could lead to employees leaving the organisation, legal rebuttal or indeed reputational damage,” said CEO of Maiden Voyage, Carolyn Pearson.
Pearson commented, “We work with a lot of well versed travel risk managers, male and female who really understand and want to deal with the risks implicating different traveller segments. Unfortunately, too many companies are largely concentrating on cost reduction and compliance as opposed to duty of care. Concentrate on duty of care and companies will have a strong case for driving compliance which is in everyone’s interest.”