International Women’s Day 8th March 2021 #Choose to Challenge

This is a story that must be told!

 Amoria Bond - The best Workplace for Women!

 A Brief History

The call for women to demand better positions in society has been going on for as far back as the1900. In 1908 about 15,000 women marched through New York City to demand shorter working hours, better pay and voting rights. The following year, the first National Women ‘Day was celebrated across the United States. In 1910, A conference led by Clara Zetkin was held in Copenhagen where she proposed that every country should celebrate a women’s day every year.

 Thereafter, following further discussions, March 8 was set aside for Women to celebrate their achievements in their cultural, social, economic, and political platforms. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Although it was endorsed by the United Nations in 1975. Activities for the organisation slowed down until 2001 when an International Women’s Day (IWD) platform was launched to energize the movement. IWD has become an internationally celebrated event. Countries and organisations celebrate IWD in various ways. While some countries have declared IWD a national event, others have celebrated the lives of women by giving them gifts and flowers to mark the day as a celebration of womanhood. Regarding discussion topics, the IWD has mapped its missions to include topics such as women in creatives, women in technology, Women in sports, women’s health women at work and women’s empowerment.

 Women at Work in Amoria Bond

The IWD’s Women at Work mission statement, which highlights the need to forge inclusive work cultures where women's careers thrive, and achievements are celebrated, resonates with the position which Amoria Bond has taken. Based on the renowned ‘Progressing Lives Everywhere’ slogan, Amoria Bond has ensured that the development of women’s careers is awarded a priority. At present, women of diverse cultures are represented at all levels and in all departments of the company, with 62% of them attaining managerial roles. 58% of the support teams are operated by women. With more opportunities opening up with the expansion of the business worldwide, there has been a positive outlook in which the business has recruited within the company as witnessed by the latest recruitment statistics withing the business; Almost 50% of the new starters were women.

A part of an ongoing restructuring process, Amoria Bond has launched the Diversity and Inclusive Initiative in which a women’s group called ASCEND was co-founded by Amy Steel, Associate Director, and Natasha Crump, Board Advisor and Global Diversity and Inclusion Lead. The ASCEND initiative provides a platform where all women in Amoria Bond meet virtually to share experiences that empower and help fellow women to achieve their full potential. With the full support of the Founders and Executive Board, ASCEND reflects the company’s commitment to ensuring that female employees have access to the resources and the support they need to enable them to progress. As an extension within the ASCEND platform, Lisanne Bleeck Senior Consultant leads the Lean in Circle which allows women in Amoria Bond to meet in smaller groups in which they can grow, learn, and discover hidden talents within themselves. A mentoring and buddying scheme is soon to be introduced for women who wish to offer or obtain support from colleagues in the business. 

 Industry benchmarking confirms that the Amoria Bond Group are ahead of most recruitment companies in terms of female representation across the business. Amoria Bond is amongst the minority 26% of recruitment firms with specific initiatives aimed at attracting and retaining women.

 As a way forward, and in tune with this year’s theme, the Amoria Bond‘s challenge is to continue to look for ways to attract, recruit and retain female recruiters. The other is to find out ways in which to close the disparity between some offices and teams so that it achieves a more proportionate gender balance across the business.

 The paragraphs above are a testimony that Amoria Bond is indeed The Best Place to Work in!

 Pat - From the Diversity and Inclusion Desk (Manchester) Ref: IWD