I asked a group of women 3 questions...here's their unfiltered answers! ????

I decided to ask some fantastic females that I feel privileged to know (all in different roles, different ages, life stages and industries) three questions to see how they felt about being a woman in the workplace, take a look at the responses I got...

P.S I'd recommend reading until the end ??

??Question: What’s your favourite thing about being a woman in the workplace??

• Working in a very male dominated industry, it is great being successful in a role in which people don't expect women to excel in, the satisfaction and reward in being a female boss is so powerful!???♀?
• Working in male dominated industries and roles, and then excelling as a female and getting the feeling that I am enough even if I don't come across as assertive and dominating
• The relationships that you build with people in the workplace, mainly other women, I feel like we have a special amount of empathy and can be relatable, whereas men perhaps put on more of a front on
• I feel like I'm carrying on the fight for all of the women who came before me
• Being part of a community of amazing, ambitious female colleagues working together and from each other to redefine women's place in the workplace and in leadership/senior positions, particularly in the tech sector
• It feels powerful to be a professional in a male dominated industry which is a bitter sweet concept, women bring different approaches to concepts in the creative industry, I get an opportunity to work on things that really matter to me, as a woman, therefore I feel like I speak for women where I can
• Having the opportunity to challenge the stereotypes in what is a notoriously male dominated industry, working with movements aimed specifically at redressing the balance
• I don’t regard myself as a “woman” I just regard myself as an individual in the workplace delivering change. I used to run women only business growth training and personally found them uncomfortable although I can empathise with others who may feel they need a little help.
• Difficult to answer, as I don’t have any experience of the alternative! The plus side I can see vs being a man in the workplace is that it’s seemingly more accepted that you can care about the whole person and what’s going on in their lives, rather than having zero interest in people aside from the function they serve at work
• I don’t have a favourite thing because we are all treated the same and given the same opportunities
• I can get on a nurses level with a compliment which would seem weird if I wasn’t female

??Question: What’s the worst thing about being a woman in the workplace??

• A lot of the office housekeeping gets dumped on women. There’s also an expectation that women will take on things that are not their job without actually being compensated for the extra
• Lower pay and being thought of as 'emotional', when we say something it can be perceived as being 'over emotional' whereas for a man it wouldn't, therefore I have to really think about what I'm saying
• Worst thing is still (even after many years of working) there is still a kind of stigma.. “she’s pregnant/emotional/menopausal/ etc.
• Juggling work life with family life in a high pressure role
• I often feel conflicted as to whether it's worth saying something back or raising an issue because I just can't be bothered to create a problem, but then I should feel empowered to speak up
• We are very much operating in an old boys club here. Working in a stereotypically female role within HR, views to do with anything outside of my specialism can be overlooked; or even within my specialism I can be overlooked, trying to influence an ‘old school’ Director to do something when ‘he’s always don’t it this way’ can be deflating
• I still feel a sense of female success being driven by a quota over appreciation of skill
• People assume you are less qualified than any male. Almost daily I am referred to as the nurse, usually by patients, but occasionally staff too. I’ve had patients where I’ll be talking to them and they will ask the male medical student what their advice would be, despite them wearing a bright red lanyard saying student ????
• Some days and certain attitudes can feel like a setback
• We have unisex bathrooms, so I don’t like having to put the toilet seat down or having to wipe pee off the toilet seat
• I have personally experienced misogyny and harassment in my career – it’s hard to shift that thought as you progress through your career without questioning what’s informed your success, Brain or Braun?
• I still see misogyny, disrespect and harassment all of the time, and the majority of my friends/colleagues have stories and examples here, showing that there’s still a huge problem
• Not being supported in the different stages of our lives: motherhood, pregnancy, menopause, period pain, etc.
• I speak to mostly male customers in private banking, and they often find it difficult to get advice from a female as they typically look after all the finances in the house

??Question: What’s the easiest and fastest thing you think we can change for women in the workplace?

• Better support with mental health, managing stress in high pressure roles
• Equal pay and more women in senior leadership roles
• Educate our daughters to believe they can achieve anything. My parenting style has been always have choices and make sure they are achievable choices
• Challenge people’s views, ask the question ‘Why?’. Run training to increase awareness around inclusivity bias – a lot of people don’t realise they are bias until they are given real life examples.
• Promote from within, - we need more women through the door but then we need to keep them
• Calling out the bull***t - let's not be afraid ????
• More women than men want to work flexibly. This means they are more visible in the work place. Mandating home office days could be a away to level the playing field. But I’m afraid there are no quick fixes. A huge cultural shift and a lot of training on unconscious bias is going to need to happen first.
• Have sanitary products available in case of emergencies etc.
• Educating men on like-for-like experience, teaching them in a language or experience that is relative to them and making it a mandatory learning session covering examples of harassment, and putting them in example situations that are a metaphor and a feeling of unease
• Make calling out the problems easier, make it less of an issue for women to speak up, even about the little things – this starts with leadership
• Having each other's backs! We have enough of a challenge without feeling unsupported by each other
• Listen to women's challenges and needs and take action accordingly
• Not fast, but wait for the older generation to die out ??

Ok, that last one is my personal favourite ??. I personally have taken a lot from just this exercise alone, and the answers above show how unique each and every persons experience and viewpoints are and how we all see ourselves differently. I pose a challenge to you, whoever you get the pleasure of interacting with today, try taking off your shoes, walking around to the other side of the desk (or travel through that Teams screen we have all been staring at for the past 3 years) and try and stand in their shoes just for a moment, may you'll learn a little.

I want to thank Whitney Wolfe Herd , one of the most inspiring leaders of our time, who continuously raises the bar, flying the flag for the next generation of women making moves, and challenging ‘the way it’s always been’ - thank you for being relentless in your pursuit. ?