International Women's Day

Happy (early) International Women's Day one and all!

It felt only right to dedicate this weeks Culture Compass to IWD, and raise a toast to my ultimate feminist icon, Maya Angelou:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel"

In an ocean of wise quotes I’ve picked out this one because when you’re looking at building teams and fostering a sense of belonging at work, this is a beautiful way to think about it. Feminism and the workplace has come a really long way in the past 100 years, for which we should be proud, but still have so far to go.

In this weeks edition we are going to take a little look at the current state of women in business today, a few tips on how to truly empower women at work, and find out what we can learn from one of the best companies in the world for female empowerment.

Let's get into it...

State of Women in Work Today

According to Grant Thornton, only 33.5% of senior management positions globally, are occupied by women. This is an increase of only 14.1% over the course of 20 years.

If we are to steadily increase at the current rate, gender parity won’t be reached until 2053 - at which point I’ll be nearing retirement!!

Being a member of the UN Women UK delegation, this is a topic very close to my heart. This years theme - Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress - focuses in on what we need to do globally to invest in women in the workplace.

With #CSW68 kicking off next week, I'm excited to see what such a powerful group of leaders can come up with. Keep your eyes peeled!

What can we do to empower women at work?

Having a sense of belonging is really important across the board, but creating an inclusive environment for women should be an active and ever-changing focus for teams globally. What can you do culturally to ensure that you foster this sense of belonging?

Flexible Working

• 59% of unpaid carers are women which means allowing for flexible working options such as working from home and ‘core’ or flexible working hours makes it easier for them to perform effectively at work, whilst still being able to read their kids a bedtime story or take them on the school run.
• Having set 'core' hours where you can do great collaborative work allows individuals to structure their day around their life and what works for them. This doesn't mean they won't get the job done, they will do it in the smartest way possible for them.

Leadership

• As businesses grow the importance of having women in leadership positions is vital for representation. It’s an instant turn off if when interviewing at a company there are no (or very few) women in senior positions - it gives off the impression that it’s not possible for women to progress there.
• Start by checking in with yourself - can you honestly say that your leadership team has someone for women in the company to look up to? If not, why not?

Progression

• Frameworks are the name of the game here! Set structures such as progression frameworks takes the guesswork and bravado away from asking for promotions. Knowing exactly what you need to do to reach a promotion, and how long it is likely to take, no matter what gender you are, provides women with an equal footing that is needed to make unbiased decisions.
• Management/progression/bias training is something to consider as part of managers progression structures.

Champion your team!

• I always shout about how important celebrating your team is. Where praise is due, make the most of using the opportunity to really champion your team.
• Statistically women are more likely to underestimate their achievements compared to men, so if you see good work being done, try to call it out and celebrate it (across the board) so that everyone feels valued.

Off-boarding

• When someone leaves a company it says A LOT about the way that the company treats employees. If someone is leaving on their own volition or not, ensure that they are treated fairly and kindly throughout the process. Feeling heard and understood is so closely linked to the sense of belonging that everyone wants, especially important to ensuring women stay in the business.

Company Spotlight

Female founded business 雅诗兰黛有限公司 is ranked at number 2 in the world for women to work at. Here's a brief breakdown of what they invest time and energy into, to create this sense of belonging for women.

(A coincidence that they are also one of the highest grossing beauty brands in the world? I think not)

Founder legacy of a ‘challenger spirit’

• Challenging the stereotypes of what it means to be a ‘woman’ and ‘mother’ was entrenched in their culture from day 1. Culture does need to come from the top down to continuously build such a legacy.

Strategic focus on ensuring gender equity

• Opening Doors: Women’s Advancement and Gender Equality? - one of their cultural strategies they drive towards
• Women hold 59% of positions at the global vice president level and above, and 44% of board seats. This tells women looking into the business that success and progression is achievable, because it has been demonstrated time and time again throughout their history.

Ongoing commitment to learning

• They offer a leadership development program to support individuals with equal opportunities to get to this position.
• Unconscious bias training is also mandatory for all employees at all levels.

Great parental leave policies

• 20 weeks of fully paid maternity leave, adoption leave, or shared parental leave and emergency back-up child or elder care. Not all companies can afford extensive maternity pay, but considering what this could look like for current or future parents is not something to be forgotten!

They have joined the United Nations Five for 5 initiative

• Through the UN's Five for 5 initiative, ELC has publicly made commitments to gender equity that align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 5.
• Committing to this publicly is a good way to keep yourself accountable.

Inspirational company. Inspirational women. Aspirational goals.

A final pearl of wisdom to leave you with...

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."

As always, our Maya is never wrong.

What we are reading:

• UN Women - Invest in women: accelerate progress
• Top companies for women to work at globally - full list
• Invisible Women - one of my all time favourite books that everyone should read
• Grant Thornton - Women in Business report