Change Management Coaching for Gender Equality Guide

This guide helps change management coaches support organizations to adapt, create, and implement gender equitable policies and practices at each phase of the employee life cycle.

Women represent half of the world’s employment potential; effectively developing this talent will increase an organization's competitive advantage. A growing body of evidence demonstrates a correlation between gender diversity at the executive level and company performance. A recent study by McKinsey analyzed more than 1,000 companies in 12 countries and concluded that gender-diverse companies are more likely to outperform their national industry average in terms of profitability.

Despite the evidence demonstrating women’s value in the workforce, women continue to encounter structural barriers to participating in the world economy, particularly in industries traditionally dominated by men.

Change Management Coaching for Organizational Gender Equity

Increasing gender equality and women’s empowerment in male-dominated industries requires commitment, a tailored strategy, and the support of an experienced change management coach.

Through the Engendering Industries program, USAID created a practical coaching guide to be used by individuals or firms who are supporting organizations to increase gender equality in the workplace. The guide helps coaches work with organizations to review and identify opportunities in the eight phases of the employee life cycle (ELC) and the four organizational enablers of gender equality. The guide also provides a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis template and sample documents, such as a scope of work for a change management coach, letter of collaboration, and coaching plan.

This guide should be used alongside Delivering Gender Equality: A Best Practices Framework for Male-Dominated Industries, a USAID resource that helps organizations establish a roadmap for sustained progress in integrating gender equity throughout operations and corporate structures. The Best Practices Framework, which outlines over 130 actions known to increase gender equality in the workplace, guides the evidence-based implementation of strategic activities at each phase of the ELC.