Break The Bias - A spotlight on female-led SMEs for International Women's Day

In celebration of International Women's Day, we have teamed up with some of our fantastic women-led SMEs by inviting them to share their business insights, experiences along with their thoughts on how they are breaking the bias as women in business.

In this article we put the spotlight on Maria Del Mar Jones - Founder at Indelible Bouquet , the inspiring women behind Coaching Culture – Jo Wright , CEO and Sharon Woods , Head of Customer Success and finally, Charlotte Stiffell , founder of Charlotte Stiffell Limited.

We hope that this article both celebrates and inspires women in business everywhere!

Maria Del Mar Jones, Founder at Indelible Bouquet

Hi Maria, thanks for talking with us for IWD! Tell us about your career history.

My background is in sales and account management. I worked for over 16 years in a variety of sales management positions, but even back then I was creating artificial flower displays for friends and family on the side. I found that it helped me to escape the demands and stresses of my corporate career, and in 2016 I decided to pursue this passion full time. Over the past six years, I’ve gone from having a small cupboard to an expanding and thriving business supplying luxury lifelike silk florals and artificial plants/trees to a wide range of clients.

Tell us about the importance and your experience/challenges of creating a female led business

As a female entrepreneur and a mother, one of the main challenges is balancing business and family life. Now that my daughter is a bit older, I include her with some of the work-related tasks, such as preparing florals. She loves the colours and the textures and sometimes we have a bit of a dance or a sing whilst we’re doing it together.

It’s important to me to work with and support other women too, so we recruited several retired women to join the team. They love the buzz of the studio and wanted a creative outlet, and together we’ve created our own little community, sharing our life experiences, and supporting one another.

What does equality mean to you?

Equality is an issue close to my heart. As a black woman who worked in an all-white environment for years, I’ve witnessed a lot of inequality and experienced both racism and sexism. I have horrible memories of being bullied at work and mocked for the way that I dressed. But those painful experiences helped to shape me. They made me even more determined to succeed and more resilient. I stay true to myself and my values, and I run Indelible Bouquet with equality at the forefront of my mind. That is one of the reasons we work with the retired community – there is a lot of age discrimination when it comes to recruiting staff, but I believe that everyone deserves to be given the same respect and treated equally. ?

How does your business support women and equality in the workplace?

We work with women of all different ages at Indelible Bouquet, ensuring we adjust to each individual and their working needs. For example, if we had a staff member who needed to be flexible because of childcare, we’re always happy to adapt.

It’s a supportive and fair environment in which we are always sharing with one another, drawing on each other’s life experiences and empowering each other.?

?What does International Women’s Day mean to you?

I love International Women’s Day – it’s a great reminder to celebrate the wonderful women whom I work with, as well as other women all around the world. The theme for International Women’s Day this year is ‘Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow’, and as a female businesswoman running a company that focuses on offering a sustainable alternative to fresh cut flowers, this year’s theme really speaks to me!

Coaching Culture – Jo Wright, CEO Coaching Culture and Sharon Woods, Head of Customer Success

Hi ladies, thanks for speaking with us, tell us about Coaching Culture

Coaching Culture is on a mission to make work better for millions of people and we do that by providing organisations with tools to help shape their culture and develop their most valuable resources, their people. We’re 5 years old, we have a Coaching Culture Community of over 5,000 members, we have a team of 17 people, and we have over 100 customers who buy our coaching enablement solutions every year.

Tell us about your career Jo

I have had a career spanning nearly 30 years. My early career was spent in more male-dominated environments, in sales and operational roles, moving later on into more female-centric HR environments. My true passion has always been leading and building successful teams, using a coaching style. Being the Co-founder of Coaching Culture is the highlight of my career, bringing together many years of experience in organisations while partnering with a successful digital entrepreneur.???

Tell us about your career Sharon

I have built up over 30 years of experience working in a variety of industries within the private, public and not for profit sectors all with very similar remits - building great customer relationships while ensuring the best delivery of the service. I thrive when I’m challenged and achieve personal growth when working to deliver the best we and I can for our customers. I’ve recently celebrated three years at Coaching Culture, and feel I constantly have opportunities to learn while leading alongside the team... I hope that everyone out there at some point in their working career feels as valued, supported and applauded for their achievements as I feel here!

Tell us about your experience of creating a female led business

If we’re honest, we’re struggling to answer this one! The challenges of creating a business are relentless, as any start-up founder will agree – but we are privileged to share that being female has never made up any part of those challenges.?We work at the heart of the HR and L&D industry, which is renowned for its strong female workforce, and what we do experience is the power of empathy, human connection and desire to make work better on a daily basis.?So, what we see is often a celebration of work by lots of hardworking, influential women that are making a big difference in their organisation.

What does equality mean to you and the team?

We like to create a culture of belonging, where team and individual strengths matter. We value inclusivity and authenticity where people can bring their true self to work.?We truly believe that diversity isn’t just something that can be created by ticking boxes during recruitment – we believe in diversity of thought and beliefs, and in celebrating differences, whatever those differences are.

?What are your thoughts on women and equality in the workplace

At Coaching Culture, two-thirds of the organisation are made up of women, so without our strong, successful females – we wouldn’t exist. A lot of our work with organisations is focused on helping them to build a culture of belonging that includes gender equity and equality, so we feel proud to be leading by example with our own team. Our recruitment has always been, and always will be, based on strengths, not gender, and the wellbeing and development of all of our team members it of upmost importance, regardless of gender.

?Tell us what does International Women’s Day mean to you

Again, we have such a strong female presence in the office that inevitably, women’s rights and issues are a topic most days of the week!?It’s always important to join the conversation about any kind of discrimination, and IWD is no different – it's something that affects half the population of the world, and can’t be ignored... We love to get involved because as much as we’re lucky enough to work in our own environment of equity and equality, we’re aware that on a wider scale, there’s still a lot of work to be done for women in the workplace in general.

Charlotte Stiffell – Founder of Charlotte Stiffell Bespoke Uniforms

Hi Charlotte! Thanks so much for speaking with us. Can you tell us about your career history and background?

I am the daughter of a Saville Row tailor who started working in the fashion industry during the 60’s. Back then, he worked for several industry icons such as Vivienne Westwood, William Hunt, and Elspeth Gibson. Growing up I was fortunate when it came to clothes, with an adorable father who would make everything for me. After leaving school I embarked on a career working in the city as a Trading Floor PA, in aid to find my own independence and a form of security. But the exposure I had from my father at such an early age became the driving force to quit my lucrative city job and start working in my father’s factory as a cutting and finishing assistant.

Tell us about the importance and your experience and even challenges of creating a female led business:

In 2009 I launched my own business within an existing UK factory based in Broadway Market.?I bought into and part funded the business with the owners of the premises.?I was a wife and mother of 2 small children, so I had to manage those responsibilities around building my business, all while balancing family life.

Back then the process from my design to the finished product was lengthy, and at that time, pattern cutters, productions managers and sizing technicians were all men.?I identified, located, and approached all these individuals and secured a 30min meeting where I pitched my idea and business plan, which would see my name appearing on all my designs.?It worked and that was the start of the Charlotte Stiffell journey.

What does equality mean to you (the team)?

To me, equality means collaboration between people from all walks of life regardless of their gender, ethnicity, or socio-economic background. Opportunities should be available to everyone, and we should all have the chance to unlock and discover our full potential.?We need to break down barriers and create a level playing field, giving the same opportunities to everyone, and allowing them to flourish whilst feeling confident in doing so.?

?How does your business support women and equality in the workplace?

I more than most, understand that the welfare of people within the manufacturing industry has been linked with the exploitation of staff for many years and more so with women. The fashion and production industry has always been generally multicultural, so we have always been mindful of equality in the workplace.

Employee engagement is a fundamental element to the foundation of my business, and I invite face-to-face meetings on a continued basis to seek employee feedback about our strategies of inclusion and gauge how included my employees feel.?The more we do together, the more of an impact we can make.

I continually review and evaluate all our policies, procedures and practices including performance, career progression, remuneration and rewards, recruitment, complaints, disciplinary matters, benefits, employee turnover, learning and development and I support and demonstrate inclusion through fair and transparent operations throughout my business.

?What does International Women’s Day mean to you?

For me, International Women’s Day represents the opportunity to not only amplify the female voices of today but also look back to shine a light on the women who have paved the way from all walks of life. It’s about being fearless and not being afraid to raise your hand when you’re the only female in the room.

?We have so much to be proud of but we have so much more to do with the opportunities that are in front of us and if we continue to have the faith and fortitude within ourselves then there is nothing that we cannot achieve.?More importantly we need to remind ourselves to continue to enthusiastically inspire, encourage and motivate one another (regardless of gender). By working together, as one community, we can realise equal representation and bring about real change.

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