This International Women’s Day we asked some leaders from the Aspen UK network to share what the theme ‘Invest in Women’ means to them. Here’s what they said…
How has investing in the inclusion of women helped you on your path to leadership?
The United Nations has asked Governments and Organisations to consider the concept of investing in women to accelerate progress for this year’s International Women’s Day. In my own leadership journey, I have been fortunate to have benefitted from such principles. This has meant an investment in my learning and the continued development of my skills. I cannot say however, that Inclusion has always been present in every work environment I have been in. There have been occasions where it has been entirely absent, and I have found in these situations my confidence has taken a hit. Given the potential impact on employees that a lack of inclusion has, it is imperative that organisations invest in their staff and do so by taking an approach where everyone feels valued. Sonam Khan – Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
I would say an absence of inclusion has done more to shape my working life than any active efforts or policies to encourage inclusion. As a journalist, I worked in male-dominated organisations, subject areas and environments. As I rose to leadership positions, I imagined I was blazing a trail, then looked again at the reality. Women remain marginalised in the media and media companies; key economic, political and social questions—for example around caregiving—are dismissively labelled “women’s issues” and assigned a lower status; coverage of women is shot through with sexism and outright misogyny; male ideas about which stories and people hold significance continue to direct editorial choices; and all kinds of diversity are still severely underrepresented with any historical progress eroded with each new round of job cuts. This realisation helped spur me to co-founding both the Women’s Equality Party and Primadonna Festival, as well as writing, speaking and campaigning on gender inequality and how to fight it. Catherine Mayer – Women’s Equality Party
Issues of inclusion have always been an important consideration in my day-to-day work. Translating this knowledge into practice, through sensitivity and inclusion in team leadership roles, has been an important learning curve. It is not always easy to balance inclusion with assertiveness or decisiveness, when needed, but I have found that the more inclusive the whole team ethos is, the better the outcomes and decisions end up. Elizabeth Daley – Land Portal Foundation
How can workplaces increase their investment in women in order to foster a culture of inclusion that empowers women from diverse backgrounds?
There needs to be a recognition of equity and the concept that all of us do not start from the same place. Therefore, a tailored approach to inclusion is needed. By recognising that some individuals may have an intersection of characteristics which put them at an inherent disadvantage to their colleagues, organisations should aim to offer enhanced support. Having diverse role models, mentors and increasing diversity at the top would go a long way to achieving this. Sonam Khan
A good starting point would be to ensure an organisational understanding of who benefits from effective DEI practices. Yes, diverse women hired, welcomed and meaningfully included within organisations are more likely to thrive than those faced with barriers and disrespect at every turn—but the key beneficiary will be the organisation and all who work there, as well as its customers or clients. It is vital to squash the toxic myth that diversity policies are a form of charity or tick-boxery, or that it is enough merely to make diverse hires and do nothing to ensure a culture that embeds and accommodates them. A friend of mine tells a story about being the only black member of staff at a firm. At Christmas, the head of the firm sent round an email announcing a game. Everyone should submit baby photos anonymously and then compete to guess which pictures depicted which employees. My friend had to reply pointing out the uncomfortable flaw in that plan. It’s a small example but imagine how exposed someone in my friend’s position feels, how much higher the stakes of speaking up or speaking out. Catherine Mayer
Stop punishing women’s careers for becoming mothers or carers. Allow and award different leadership styles in women. Provide sponsorship or job opportunities for migrant women. Angelica Santadomingo – Impact Hub London
Any workplace culture of inclusion has to be context specific. And that context, or wider culture, can present different challenges for empowering women from diverse backgrounds. Drawing on values that are respected within the wider culture is a good place to start. That grounds inclusion in the most relevant way for the context. Workplaces could start by bringing together their teams to discuss what inclusion means for them as individuals and for others around them. That can build ownership of the workplace’s culture of inclusion, by including everyone in the process of defining and shaping it. Elizabeth Daley
Our commitment to promoting diversity is evident across the Aspen UK Rising Leaders Fellowship, seminars and public engagement programmes. We are creating a community of leaders who are more aware of their own values, more tolerant of others’ perspectives, and more inspired to drive positive change. 60% of participants on our Rising Leaders Fellowship identify as non-white, with 52% identifying as women. Furthermore, half the participants at our executive seminars are women and we have welcomed more than 50 women speakers at our public events in the past year.
You can learn more about our mission and values here.