'Invest' or 'Inspire'??-?the IWD?dilemma

I faced a slight dilemma as I was trying to figure out what to write this year for the International Women’s Day. In my blogs over the past few years, I’ve just defaulted to the theme promoted by www.internationalwomensday.com/. So I’ve written on #BreaktheBias, #ChoosetoChallenge etc. Their themes are very catchy and I love how they bring it to life with imagery, toolkits, etc.?

The reason for the dilemma though was that I had looked up the IWD theme sometime back and I seemed to remember the word ‘Invest’ which was missing in what’s now widely spreading in your social media feeds and the first thing that pops up if you search for international women’s day?—?#InspireInclusion. So then, I dug around a bit and found the source of the confusion which was that up until now, I hadn’t ever really noticed that the United Nations has an ‘official’ theme each year that was drowned out by the catchy themes from www.internationalwomensday.com/.

The official UN theme this year is ‘Invest in women: Accelerate progress’. Why www.internationalwomensday.com/ uses a different theme and their credibility (or lack of) to do so is covered with some strong opinions here and here. Whatever you may say though, their marketing is top notch because they seem to own the IWD dialogue in corporations worldwide. Kudos on that!

That said, if I had to pick one, the theme of investing appeals more to me. I’ve been a beneficiary of the investment in education in India. In just a couple of generations, life has completely transformed for the women in my family. Coming from roots of poverty, illiteracy, patriarchy (pretty standard fare in India 50–60 years ago) just the one factor of education has made all the difference. As women in the family started gaining access to education, that opened up doors to financial inclusion, greater control on life choices, better hygiene, health and safety. When one generation of women gets access to that, they pass on compounded benefits for both male and female progeny creating a virtuous cycle. It transforms lives and accelerates progress at a rapid pace.?

Sounds like a simple formula, right? But gender parity is still a distant dream with a report from the World Economic Forum predicting that it’s going to take at least 131 years for gender parity to become a reality! That’s a depressing thought.…

Luckily though, if you are reading this blog, you are likely higher up in the pyramid and have access to the basic rights that millions of our sisters yearn for.?

Life is still not challenge-free of course. Challenges and stresses come in different forms and, in organisations especially, there is still much distance to be covered when it comes to inclusion and access to growth opportunities.?

So, we need to invest continually in both ladders and safety nets. From my own experience and what I’ve seen and heard from others, women are especially bad at investing in our own needs. We are programmed to nurture and we excel at nurturing our families, children, homes and, at work, teams and colleagues. Sacrificing ourselves for others is a glorified (and, if I’m honest, very annoying and loss making) proposition of womanhood.?

Ignoring yourself is a bad idea. As they say on planes, put on your own mask before helping others. Be unapologetic about prioritising your needs?—?and be assured that the returns for yourself plus those you want to nurture will be net positive.?

So, what to invest in? Here’s a top-of-mind list from me starting with ladders, the things that give us a lift.

• Learning: very important in 21st century corporate careers. If we don’t learn, we don’t just stagnate. We fall behind?… very very fast.?
• Financial: Money is not to be ignored. If you don’t have it, you can never retire at 50. You may still choose to work post 50?—?but doesn’t ‘choice’ have a better ring than ‘forced’? So, don’t leave money matters to others?—?take charge of it or, as Sallie Krawcheck says Own It!?
• Allies: can’t grow in a company without allies. Build a trusted network at all levels?—?but know that it is the senior leaders that can open doors for you. It’s not a selfish agenda, btw. Senior people have a need for skilled talent?—?but first they need to know you exist.
• Your voice: Find your voice and make it heard. Use tactics that work for you, but don’t stay below the radar and hope that good things will find you. They usually won’t. Also, what’s the point of going through life unnoticed? Build a voice for yourself and lend it to the causes that matter to you.?

On to safety nets?… the things that keep us going and make life worth living.?

• Friendships: I’ve been awful at nurturing friendships #regret. But now, I’m re-discovering the solidity that friendships bring to life. They are a beautiful anchor for good times and bad. I’m going all in.?
• Health: We are living longer lives. That’s nice, but our bodies are unfortunately not designed to keep up for the long ride. We need to invest in developing strength, flexibility and stamina to enjoy a smoother ride for as long as possible
• Stress management: I’ve experienced the (really awful) correlation between sleep and stress. But stress is unavoidable and can manifest in different ways to affect your life. Invest in a stress management technique that works for you. But don’t wait for the tough moments to happen before you start.
• Hobbies: Find things you like doing?… just because. No goals, no expectation of results. Just do them for the moments of flow they lend to you. It’s totally worth it.?

There’s no guarantees as to how life will turn out but I feel like investing in the above is a sound strategy?—?it can help to both create opportunities and to be ready for them when they come about. Most importantly, to have a staying power?—?staying invested for longer periods gives better returns, whether in stock markets or in life.?

And, as you and I get closer to our definitions of success, we have the opportunity to share that success with others, include them in the gains and pay it forward. To spin our own virtuous cycles. Imagine how awesome it would be to have millions of virtuous cycles running! That might make a significant dent in the 131 years forecast, eh?

I know this sounds somewhat utopian and dreamy?—?but hey, what’s wrong with dreaming??

So go ahead and invest in yourself… unapologetically. Because, as everyone knows, you’re worth it.?

#InvestinAction #InspireInclusion #InternationalWomensDay #IWD2024