Step Up, Speak Up

As part of this year’s National Inclusion Week, I wanted to share my view on being a male ally for the Women@Sky network and our theme this year is Step up, Speak up.

 My career has been heavily shaped by the great women and men I’ve worked for, and have had the privilege to lead. I’m deeply grateful that my working environments, across banking, telecommunications and more recently here at Sky, provide great platforms for the best people to succeed. Personally, many of the skills I’ve had development on over the years have benefitted from the insight and wisdom of some tremendously talented and smart women. This has really helped me become more empathetic and compassionate than I was 20 years ago and I’m so thankful for that.

 I also believe I’m lucky to be involved in so many great networks. Sky is a business that is relentlessly forward thinking and provides me with the opportunity to influence what I’m passionate about and this year I’ve been heavily involved in setting out a plan for our Retail Estate for 2023. This focuses heavily on opening doors for more women joining our Sky Retail teams, which is a big focus for us. Recognising you need to change is the first step in making a sustainable difference and understanding how you’ll do it, is next. I’d like to think I can offer an example of what that looks like.

 When I was recruiting my senior team last year, for me, it was about recruiting the best talent I could. I wanted a range of skills, thinking and cultural backgrounds that reflected our customers, our people and our business best. I know, from experience, to ensure you get the right balance in a team it is so important to get a mix of people when it comes to age, gender and ethnicity or anything else. It meant taking longer than I would have liked but it was so worth it. The only thing I had to do was create an environment where the talent felt safe and welcomed to show up. I was at an event earlier this year where Dame Cilla Snowball, Chair of the Women’s Business Council said “Men in positions of power have a vital role to play in driving societal and economic change. Men of quality back equality” – that one powerful statement will remain with me the rest of my career, and in some small way I’m trying to bring that to life in my work.

 Fast forward 12 months and my leadership team currently has a really healthy split in gender, with 5 brilliant women and 4 amazing men. More than that, this team are on a mission to change who we are, how we do things and are making a massive difference. I’ve never been so excited about the work I’m doing and who I get to spend my time with.

 I really hope this inspires you, so if you’re not doing this already - you should. If you’re thinking about it but not sure how – why not Step Up, Speak Up? The team at Sky would be happy to share what it feels like to be a part of it!

David