While the Top 50 is all about creating professional environments where women want to work, many organisations find that woman-friendly workplaces end up being good places for everyone.

In many cases this is because initiatives led by women bring benefits to male staff, for example by encouraging flexible working for all; in others, it’s because an awareness of what makes a workplace positive for women leads naturally into consideration of broader issues around being an employer of choice.

Bill Haney, European commercial director at Thomson Financial, a part of the Thomson Corporation, is one of those who says that companies should aim to be positive places for all of their employees. He ties this explicitly to clients’ needs: they expect to work with diverse teams, therefore Thomson’s ability to provide such teams increases the likelihood that they will win business.

Clients also expect stable relationships with their contacts, meaning that improving retention through flexible working and supporting women on return from maternity leave is also a good idea, he says.

All of this contributes to the business’s growth, which in turn benefits both men and women. “All of us come to work to win,” Haney says. “And the way we win is to have as many diverse experiences as we can at the table... [and] that makes everyone money.”

Stephen Sidebottom, head of HR at Nomura, agrees that a diverse workforce is best placed to develop innovative ideas. As a result, the bank aims to be a place where talented people want to work regardless of their sex, age or background.

“My view is that it is about providing the best opportunities for people to perform,” Sidebottom says. This also means removing barriers that constrain people’s performance through flexible working policies that recognise workers’ individual needs.

Mark Nobbs, head of operational training at Prudential UK, says that organisations should avoid assuming that flexible working is simply about making life easier for women with children, as both men and women benefit from such policies. Prudential underlines this by offering a “you choose” package of benefits that allows staff to tailor their package to suit them, with options including extra holidays, childcare vouchers, money and discounts on cars or computers.

In many companies flexible working was sparked by women’s needs even though it is now available to all staff. Neil Amos, a consultant at PA Consulting and its business sponsor for diversity and inclusion, says that gender acted as a starting point for a number of broader issues at the firm.

“Family-friendly policies were triggered by women, but really they are important for all staff,” he says. Staff in one of the firm’s women’s networks raised the possibility of doing work around personal branding – a topic that is now being considered for a seminar that would be open to all staff.

“Women have highlighted issues that we have then decided to look at across the organisation,” he says.

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