Empowering Women’s Equality

Empowering Women’s Equality

August 26 is designated as Women’s Equality Day in the United States and honors the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. Over 100 years later, women’s equality is something the world still debates and, in most cases, strives to achieve both at home and in business.

Empowering women and increasing gender diversity within a company leads to better business outcomes. While companies move to create Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) programs, it’s truly the collective efforts of the workforce that make real, meaningful progress in this space.

We recently sat down with Sarah Sagin, Senior Manager of Global Digital Marketing and Co-Lead of the Women Inspiring Learning and Leadership (W.I.L.L) Employee Resource Group at Teleflex to discuss how organizations and women leadership both have a role to play in advancing women’s equality.

?

Teleflex: How does women’s equality resonate with you, as a woman in a corporate environment?

?For me, women’s equality means equal opportunity for women. Equality means the state of being equal – specifically regarding status, rights, and opportunities. Whether you’re in a corporate environment or running your own business, being viewed as equal means having a voice and seat at the table regardless of gender. The world is evolving and changing, and we have made a lot of progress on the subject of equality for women, but there is more to do and much of this work starts with leadership.

As I was thinking about the topic of women’s equality before this interview, I was thinking about my daughter. And if I asked her what women’s equality meant to her, what would she say? Who are her mentors and how are we showing up and leading by example for the next generation of women leaders? ?When we look at the broader picture of promoting equality it takes the community to have open conversations about equality and what it means in the workplace and furthermore society.? Inside of that, it is my responsibility as a woman to pave the path for women of the future to ensure we are setting and upholding standards for equality within our organizations. And having the hard conversations when they need to be had.

Teleflex: Have you seen a difference in women’s equality between yourself and other women who are still early in their careers?

I think there are earlier generations of women who were taught to not make mistakes and to do things “perfectly”. Now, we have a new generation that is focused on fostering environments that provide the opportunity to grow through learning as an approach that can support the continued push for women’s equality. Plus, as a woman working in a corporate environment, I am fortunate to see not only advocacy, but support for equality within my organization, and from fellow professional women. The support network that is now present for women’s equality for this generation is one that did not exist previously.

?

Teleflex: The advancing of women in leadership is an important way to advance equality in the workplace. How does Teleflex, through its Employee Resource Groups, help to do that?

In W.I.L.L. our mission is to connect women with other women leaders within our organization. Our goal is to create a space where women can come together, share ideas, and ask questions that will help inform their own career paths through learning from other female leaders within the organization. We enable these connections through in-person and virtual events as well as sharing resources with members. ?

?As a group, we are passionate about learning from those that have earned the seats we are striving to ascend to. It’s about passing on knowledge, working together, and providing support to our members so they can do the same when they become leaders themselves.

Teleflex: What are some programs that W.I.L.L has developed that help to advance women equality and empowerment?

We have several events and education sessions we host throughout the year. We run a podcast series that focuses on topics like leadership skills or overcoming challenges and then come together and talk about it in groups.

We also have our Walk a Mile in her Shoes event, which is our biggest event that we host every year. For this event our members can take a 1 Mile (virtual) walk with one of our female leaders. It’s an intimate, informal event where women can ask other women leaders questions, boost confidence, and enable interaction with leadership that they may not have on a regular basis.

We also work closely with other Teleflex ERGs. For example, we did an event with OXYGEN, our emerging professionals ERG, a few months ago in our Morrisville, NC office. We have collaborated with PRISM, which is our ERG dedicated to fostering awareness and support for the LGBTQ+ community, and our African American Professional Network ERG. It is important for us as a resource group to be supportive of each other and collectively extend the message of equality.

Teleflex: How can women help to support each other in a corporate environment to help continue to advance equality?

Being supportive of each other and advocating with one voice/message is what will continue to promote equality for women. When we support and appreciate the unique and amazing qualities women bring to the table it creates an environment where equality is present. Beyond being supportive it is important that we continue to educate ourselves, practice situational confidence and take risks when necessary.

For women early in their careers, I think one of the best things you can do is to build your corner by identifying your supporters. ?We build our corners with our managers and our networks, inside and outside of work. Having a strong support network in place, allows us to grow, learn, and create relationships that foster advocacy.

I have been fortunate in that Teleflex is very committed to continuing to support equality within the organization. Teleflex supports the ERGs and encourages collaboration. It is fantastic to see this from our leaders, who become part of our corner to foster equality.