Podium Presentation - 10 minutes International Positive Psychology Association 8th IPPA World Congress 2023

Could a focus on wellbeing be a ‘course corrector’ for workplace gender equality initiatives? Case study: Mid-tier Australasian professional services firm 2018-2022 (#129)

Angelina Eynon 1 , Amanda Webb 2 , Antoinette Totta 3
  1. Positive Impact Facilitation & Coaching, Aranda, ACT, Australia
  2. Xplore for Success AND Positive Impact Facilitation & Coaching, Port Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  3. Head of DEI & Wellbeing, Antoinette Totta, Melbourne, Vic, Australia

Background

Women's leadership development programs are a popular tool within organisations’ approaches to diversity and inclusion. These programs aim to encourage and improve women's inclusion, participation, and representation in senior leadership positions. Often, they focus on teaching women to be more confident and assertive, offering tools for ‘fixing women’ to be better equipped to ‘play-the-game’ within organisational structures and systems set up decades ago, no longer relevant to the needs of a more diverse and ‘post’-pandemic working world.

Recent reports suggest that continuing on our current trajectory, gender equality (workplace and more broadly) will be take 100 years to achieve. It appears that approaching workplace gender equality from purely the perspective of fairness and common humanity has its limitations. The business case for gender equality has also long been established and though gaining some initial traction, momentum has dwindled.

How can we do better?

What happens when we also approach workplace gender equality using a wellbeing perspective?

Working together with our clients over the last ten years, we have been testing and tweaking this hypothesis. We don’t have conclusive answers; we certainly have many questions, some stories, some data and even plan to give a small sample of one of the many activities we do.

In this Apply session, we will share a case study from the client, practitioner and CEO perspectives.

Method

  • 75 women over five year period
  • Monthly workshops & 1:1 coaching
  • Pre & post reading, viewing, listening and practice.
  • Final participant presentation from integrating learning & outcomes

Tools used:

Wellbeing literacy; Psychological Capital; Self-efficacy; Meaning; self-compassion; VIA strengths; best self; positive leadership.

Results

  • Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ) increases of around 20%
  • Promotions data
  • Participant data / feedback forms
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