I have a few wishes on this IWD eve. I intend to make them come true, if not all, at least some, to the best of my abilities. Wish me luck.
- We completely abstain from using the word, "female" in any form - noun or adjective, to refer to women. Using female as a noun to refer to a woman is outright offensive. You don't want to do that. Now, what about the same word as an adjective? Why not "female engineer"?, you may ask. Yeah, you may be language and grammar-wise all ok, but it isn't as respectful as saying "woman engineer". So, let's be respectful.
- Managers / leaders bet more on women candidates. Every time you fill a position, you're actually betting on the selected candidate to perform to that role. Some of your bets work, some don't. Just assess if your bets are evenly spread out on deserving candidates from all genders.
- Women take the leap more often. When a growth opportunity presents itself, I've seen competent women not taking them up, mostly to not rock their smooth sailing boats, a.k.a. their lives. The flipside to this is, you may end up getting bored with stagnation at work. Frustration builds up, you cease to enjoy your ride and just hang in there or fall off. I wish more women find / build the needed support systems and grit to pursue growth.
- May there be more and more of progressive men. Indian Actress and Entrepreneur, Preity Zinta says, "Behind every successful woman is a progressive man". How so true. The progressive man supports and advocates for the growth of the women in his life - at work and at home. May we have more of them.
- May there be more sponsorships for women. Sponsorships can happen at different levels. It can be as simple as making an introduction, mentioning the name of a woman candidate in a room full of opportunities, sharing information on how to advance in career, offering challenging assignments and finally advocating and / or sponsoring for growth.
- More senior women stay the course. A friend and I have profound conversations on our morning walks. Once we thought aloud on why should we work. We came to a common conclusion - its important for us to grow and stay in the system for junior women to be able to see role models and hence pursue professional growth. Makes sense ? I see this makes a world of difference to junior women.
- Thriving women communities. May there be active and engaged women communities in workplaces and in the industry.
So, what's your game plan for IWD 2023 ? Am all ears. Let me know in the comments.
Co-Founder and CBO - uExcelerate | Business leader | Independent Director | ICF certified PCC Coach
2 年Wishing you more power ??
Telecommunication | Thought Leader
2 年To See more women BREAK stereotypes and a LIVE a career dream true,
Strategic Pricing
2 年Nice list Madhavi Ravanan. Weldone
VP Marketing Bidgely | ex-Freshworks, Nutanix | Board Director | SVBJ Woman of Influence awardee
2 年Great call outs on sponsorship, support system and role models for women ?? Madhavi Ravanan
Entrepreneur & Co-Founder | Technology and Business Executive | Women in Tech | Executive Coach | Podcaster
2 年Wow great set of wishlists. Loved the part about sponsorship and spreading the bet. It's all about taking data driven decision making right. We are already seeing numbers coming in that women who return after break are more likely to stay in the organisation, women entrepreneurs are more likely to repay the loan, more responsibility and more diverse thoughts in women or should I say companies that have more fluid and inclusive leadership. Kudos Madhavi Ravanan