Women are underrepresented in leadership positions — and not just in technical professions.
We can’t afford to miss out on a single talent. Having more women in companies means not only greater diversity of opinion and perspective, but also equal participation and fair opportunities.
Let’s stop accepting the status quo and start changing it together! Careers can be supported — and women especially need to be promoted.
Many of us have experienced what it’s like to have someone see our potential, believe in us, connect us with others, and open doors for us.
We can all be those kinds of supporters, encouragers, and enablers!
Opening doors isn’t that hard. The key is to become aware of injustices in the workplace — and to recognize your own power to shape things, even if it seems small.
Are you a hiring manager or work in recruiting?
▶ Become a game-changer with new language:
Include phrases like “career changers welcome,” “open to full-time, part-time, or job sharing,” or “we want to become more diverse and particularly welcome applications from people who have experienced discrimination — whether due to migration background, disability, being BIPoC, LGBTQIA+, stateless…” in your job postings. Using gender-inclusive language also sends a strong message.
▶ Ensure equal consideration in every hiring round.
If there aren’t enough women in the candidate pool, pause the process until a qualified woman is found. This forces you and your team to look more closely — and to promote more women internally. Studies show that women are more often promoted based on actual performance, while men are promoted based on potential.
▶ Increase women’s visibility at events.
Men should get into the habit of only agreeing to speak on panels that are gender-balanced. Or agree formally, but assign a female expert from your team to represent you, and then cancel your own participation at the last minute — sending her instead.
▶ Listening is a powerful way to open doors.
Reach out to female employees and ask what they need, what they want. Not every woman aims for the executive board. For some, it may be more important right now to manage the double burden of children or caregiving. Ask if they need more flexible work hours or other support. Create a welcoming culture for everyone.
▶ Open your networks, invite women in, and actively pull them up.
▶ Make it a habit to recommend one qualified woman every day (or a non-binary person or someone who isn’t already in the spotlight): for a promotion, a project, a scholarship.
▶ Don’t just act as a manager.
Be a sparring partner, a mentor, or a sponsor for women. Provide guidance, show them goals and the paths to achieve them. Be an empathetic coach — and turn your company into an “employer of choice.”
▶ Be the person you wished for (or were lucky to have) at pivotal moments in your own career.
It’s always possible to make a difference — you just have to want to!
Even if it takes effort and hard work.
Through our work with herCAREER, we’re proud to be part of this journey — for companies and candidates alike!
Posted by Natascha Hoffner, Founder & CEO of herCAREER | Recipient of the FTAfelicitas Award from Femtec.Alumnae e.V. | LinkedIn Top Voice 2020 | Editor of the “Women of the Year” books published by Callwey Verlag
published on LinkedIn on 11.06.2025
