I’m a day late posting my latest blog, celebrating International Women’s Day 2021 #IWD2021, which sums up my life right now; returning to work from mat leave, juggling two children (my newest life skill), settling in a nanny, Co-Vid tests & nursery closures, competing for office space at home. How did anyone used to squeeze in a social life too?!
Celebrate the Day!
So here we are. I do love IWD. It has such a positive feel good energy and I’ve so enjoyed scrolling down my social media feeds from friends sending messages and posting inspiring photos. Even the UK Supreme Court got involved sharing a series of videos on the path to leadership. There’s too much good content to share! I also feel everyday should be women’s day. I’ve been involved in organising a few events at work over the last few years and last year I was even nominated to be 1 of 4 women at work to admire. This time last year I was 5 months pregnant, hustling to and from Paris on secondment and PRUK responsibly created a new non-alcoholic cocktail in my name (although they know my favourite drink is champagne).
This year at PRUK, some aspiring and talented women created a loaded agenda to drive awareness throughout the business from a talk on imposter syndrome to a networking lunch and a workshop to enable colleagues to consider the deeper challenges to be made.
It is a fantastic event, gaining momentum year upon year. This years #choosetochallenge theme was really well considered, forcing businesses and individuals to recognise from challenge comes change and that gender equality and every type of bias still requires a change.
Read the data; The Hampton-Alexander Review – the conclusion
I hear a lot about culture change right now. But it’s more in the context of becoming a ‘data driven’ business which seems to be right at the top of executive priorities. It’s important however to keep your eye on the gender drive because it really is the building block to diversity and inclusion and I feel passionate this will continue to be true. But wow how data can unlock a tremendous amount of knowledge about a business. That’s exactly the approach the Hampton-Alexander Review took.
To recap on an earlier post, the Hampton-Alexander Review was an independent, voluntary and business-led initiative supported by Government to increase the representation of women in senior leadership positions and on boards of FTSE 350 Companies from 2016-2020.
The final report was published in February 2021 which evidenced the findings over a 5 year period (and then segmented into years to analyse progress) utilising company data to analyse behaviour, trends, targets, success and failure.
The Executive Summary affirms that a ‘business-led, and data-led approach allows companies to see what ‘good looks like’ in any one year, share best practice and compare their progress with peers and the sector’.
The Review has now concluded and I recommend reviewing the numerical data explaining how the FTSE100, FTSE250 FTSE350 have smashed the voluntary targets to achieve 33% women on its boards. But the review findings go wider than just to suggest gender equality is the key; it’s about female representation but also cultural shift. While there is plenty to celebrate, it also bring to light other challenges women face in the workplace which were not known before, including the ongoing issue of the gender pay gap.
Make the Challenge and be the Change
I’m currently in week 2 of my return to work from my second maternity leave, trialing a 4 day week. This is the biggest change I have made in my career, driving it for myself, a female lawyer, ‘Head of’ and member of the Leadership Team of Pernod Ricard UK. I also hope these types of flexible work patterns can drive cultural change in business at all levels and for both genders when it comes to agreeing with your employer what works for you and to steadily normalise a different work pattern. Whatever your need or desire to make life work, don’t be afraid to speak up and ask!
For me personally, making the decision with my inner self was the most challenging part of this whole process. How would working ‘part time’ be perceived, would people think I am no longer committed or hard working; or worse, ambitious! I put myself through all sorts of rigor and scrutiny. It is such typical female behaviour too. I had a fairly formal meeting with HR and my Line Manager and I kept in touch with the business throughout my maternity leave which for me was healthy, brainstorming ideas and keeping an open dialogue.
Actually the meeting and the decision making was fairly straight forward. I should have known. Pernod Ricard UK is a progressive and supportive business, with female leaders at the top enforcing the cultural and diverse change and I am proud to work within an organisation that doesn’t just talk about diversity & inclusion but shows how to promote females in the work place. I believe change breeds change.
There is still a long way to go to reach gender parity… don’t stop now
Don’t stop now. This is one of my favourite short films published ahead of IWD 2020. It’s just SO relatable and strong and most of all still true.
Further Reading
If you are interested in further reading around business and gender, the Hampton-Alexander Review Report lists some recommended reads below:
- Girl, Woman, Other – Bernardine Evaristo, May 2019
- The Empathy Edge: Harnessing the Value of Compassion as an Engine for Success – Maria Ross, October 2019
- Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights – Helen Lewis, February 2020
- Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say and What You Don’t – L. David Marquet, February 2020
- Leadership by Algorithm – David de Cremer, May 2020
- She Proclaims: Our Declaration of Independence from a Man’s World – Jennifer Palmieri, June 2020
- Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader’s Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You – Frances Frei and Anne Morriss, June 2020
- Women Don’t Owe You Pretty – Florence Given, June 2020
- A Thousand Ship – Natalie Haynes, July 2020
- Rebel Idea: The Power of Diverse Thinkin – Matthew Syed, September 2019
- Women and Leadershi – Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, September 2020
- More Than A Woman – Caitlin Moran, September 2020
- Banking On It: How I Disrupted an Industry – Anne Boden, November 2020
- The Conversation: How Talking Honestly About Racism Can Transform Individuals and Organizations – Robert Livingston, February 2021
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