Women’s History Month: Are you a Difference-Maker?

March is Women’s History Month, and on March 8th we celebrate International Women’s Day. This year’s theme is #generationequality. When I think of women who have impacted generations, I think of Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth, Helen Keller, Gloria Steinem, and Ruth Bader Ginsberg to name a few. As we celebrate International Women’s Day, let it also be a call to action to empower women in our sphere of influence. When women have a voice, are included, and advance; it shifts cultures, improves economies, and creates a path for future generations. Employers can support gender equality by being intentional about inclusion.

Here are a few tips:

• learn from bias – we all have bias. It comes from the influences of our childhood, environment, beliefs, and societal norms. True inclusion happens when we identify and address the root cause of biased behaviors blocking diversity efforts. Organizations fall short when they solely rely on training to shift behaviors. We must disrupt the way we think about diversity and inclusion in order to make meaningful strides. Real change occurs when goals are aligned with successfully executed actions.
• lookup – companies with lofty diversity goals need to ensure that inclusion and belonging is a core leadership objective. It should be demonstrated not only by leaders’ words but also evidenced by their actions. As author Janna Cachola states, “It's great to have opinions; however opinions do better by WORK, not by WORD. Don't just say it, show it.”
• listen – at the core of belonging is the desire of employees to be seen and heard. When we take time to listen, we can ensure our actionable plans are yielding the best outcome to support inclusion for all. In the words of author Sarah Ban Breathnach, “Our deepest wishes are whispers of our authentic self. We must learn to respect them. We must learn to listen.”

For Women’s History Month, we can be intentional in our actions to make a difference in the lives of women. Give a voice to the voiceless and use your platform for positive change. When we all do our part, we can make become a difference-maker, a culture shifter, and a glass breaker for #diversityandinclusion.