Advice for women starting their careers

I was probably 20 when I had lunch with a few friends and the topic of the gender pay gap came up. We flippantly agreed we didn’t think our gender would ever affect how much we were paid or the opportunities we were given.

I was ambitious, tenacious (sometimes undeservedly so) and found that if I put my hand up for enough experiences, some would stick. The world had changed, I thought, with the heady confidence of someone raised on Girlosophy and the Spice Girls.

This same group of friends have had a slow realisation — between redundancies, maternity leave stints and the difficult decision to take on a caring role for our own parents — that gender statistics are increasingly writ large in our own lives.

Statistics like the fact that women retire with 23% less superannuation compared with men. Or that the national gender pay gap is at 13.3%. Recent LinkedIn data ?reveals that women hold 32% of leadership roles worldwide — an increase of just 1 percentage point since 2016.?

If I could reach through time and talk to these 20-year-olds, I’m not sure I would tell them that actually, we will retire with less super than a non-primary carer or that we would all face barriers that exemplify the statistics.

We asked experts to share advice for women in the early stages of their career. They are featured in this year’s article covering conversations we should be having this International Women's Day .

MindTribes Pty Ltd CEO Div Pillay : "I hope the days are gone for you to sit silently in a room while senior men and women teach you all they think you need to know.

"There is always a learning curve, for everyone, you might have something to give others who are more mature in their career — an insight they are missing that is in their blind spot or something innovative that they would not have even thought of yet.

"Know the value you bring, don't be afraid to bring your voice respectfully to the table, so that others see your value and find various senior sponsors early on in your career.

"Your workplace is likely not free of gender inequality and even though you may not have experienced any form of discrimination yet, equip yourself to navigate future bias so the impact to you is not so great.

"Go with grace, keep moving forward and pull up other women behind you, but not at the expense of yourself — this gender equality fight is not yours to bear."

The Parenthood CEO Georgie Dent : "Be bold and ambitious about what sets your heart on fire and let yourself be guided by opportunities.

"Do not panic if you don't know exactly what it is you want to do every day.

"I've kept myself open to opportunities, taken a few leaps of faith, had breaks in intensity and somehow over the past 15 years have built a career I love. It is unrealistic to imagine every day at 'work' to be an absolute joy but also spending your life in a job you don't like isn't living. Knowing what makes you tick is key."

Team Heroine and Correct The Internet Founder Rebecca Sowden : “Put your hand up even if you don't think you are ready to put your hand up for a role or an opportunity.

"It's the decades-long systems that make you or others doubt or gate-keep your ability.

"Work hard to rewire the historic systems and structures that have been built with a male-first lens that may stop you from reaching your potential.”

Bree Gorman Consulting Managing Director Bree Gorman :

“We have spent enough time and money telling women what they need to know to 'get ahead'.

"It's time organisations owned the problem.

"We don't need to fix the women. We need to fix our systems, processes and policies that continue to expand the privilege gap, maintain the status quo and foster homogeneity.”

What advice do you have for women at the start of their careers? Share your thoughts below and check out LinkedIn News Australia's International Women's Day article here .

To celebrate International Women's Day, there are a number of LinkedIn Learning Courses that will be unlocked throughout the month of March. These are my top picks below.

• A national four-day work week trial could be on the cards as part of a major shake up to the country's workplace laws. Read the story here .
• New research has added to growing evidence of the health impacts of shift work on employees. Read the story here .

Reporting: Cayla Dengate