This theme of year’s International Women’s Day is #ChooseToChallenge. The event organisers are urging all of us to call out gender bias and inequality. They also say we can all choose to seek out and celebrate women's achievements.
In this edition of Industry Insights, we talk to female business leaders around the world about their achievements and how they are helping to empower women in the workplace.
Leading by Example
The technology sector is notoriously male dominated, especially at management level. Dublin-based Cubic Telecom bucks the trend, with women making up over thirty percent of its workforce and almost forty percent of its leadership team. That’s well above average in the tech industry.
“At Cubic, we have a very strong culture of openness and transparency, which empowers all staff regardless of gender, to reach their full potential.,” says Fiona Phillips, Cubic’s Marketing Director.
Setting an example for business in Africa is Dorsaf Sassi. She’s the Regional Director for Tunisia at Continental Re, a powerhouse in the pan-African reinsurance industry. "Empowering women is the top priority for our organisation. I am one of the leaders promoted by the management because of my achievement. To make our company one of the best workplaces, we have to lead by example," she says.
For Kristen Moss, mentoring is really important. Moss is the Head of Global Corporate Communications and Brand Newsroom at the lifestyle brand Reebok. “It’s really what’s gotten me where I am in my career. It’s about mentoring the women behind me. I own the responsibility, as a female leader, to make sure that the pipeline at Reebok is really strong.”
To celebrate IWD, Reebok is launching a new collection brought to life by MADWOMEN, an all-female creative collective.
With the aim of highlighting International Women’s Week, the carmaker SEAT has organised a series of seminars and activities to be held at the corporate headquarters of SEAT S.A. and at the SEAT:CODE and CASA SEAT spaces in the heart of Barcelona, Spain. "All the women who form part of SEAT S.A. play a very important role in creating the future of the business. Diversity is a contributing value and positions us as an innovative, creative and unique company,” states SEAT Executive Vice-president for Human Resources and Organisation, Xavier Ros.
More than 3,000 women work at SEAT, 21% of the workforce, which is one of the highest ratios in the automotive sector. In addition, 25% of the company’s women hold managerial positions.
A Time for Action
Romina Bongiovanni, Director of Global Communications, New Balance Athletics, Inc., urges action. She says it’s time to move from ‘allyship into activism’. “Family friendly employers are great, but not enough. Leaders need to translate that into daily leadership practices as the challenge of integrating work, family and home disproportionately affects women, even more so among some women of color in multi-generational households.”
For example, New Balance has instituted shorter meetings, parental days, self-care discussions and tools, mental health and workload management support, among other things. “At New Balance, making a great place to work for women starts with me and other leaders modeling how to go about supporting all women, women of color, women in the age of having children, those entering the workforce, those in the room and outside the room. Leadership accountability is critical, along with family-friendly leadership behavior that builds the equal, inclusive culture that our teams deserve,” adds Bongiovanni.
“I have an extraordinary opportunity as a woman leader, to make Reebok a fantastic workplace for women. In fact, I see that as my responsibility,” concludes Reebok’s Moss.
For more details of International Women’s Day 2021 and to find out how you can get involved, follow the link. International Women's Day 2021
