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I am, and I belong

Published: 8 Mar 2024

When women are empowered to lead, everyone benefits. Not only do they spur on other women to succeed, they bring a diversity of perspective and approach that results in businesses being up to 50% more profitable. 

But ‘women’ are not one homogenous group. Their personal experiences, career journeys, roles and responsibilities outside of work vary hugely. When we’re thinking about empowering women to progress at work, how can we all contribute to a culture that embraces the whole person, so that women feel they belong and can take their rightful seat at the table?  

Here, we’ll look at what employers can do to cultivate this sense of belonging, and what action we can take as individuals in the work environment to value and celebrate difference.  

What can employers do? 

Real models 

  • There’s so much truth in the saying ‘you cannot be what you cannot see’, and so having exposure to women in leadership positions is a powerful tool in demonstrating what’s possible and encouraging women to take up career opportunities.  

Give the tools to talk 

  • Normalise what a good conversation looks like and ensure consistency across an organisation by providing resources to line managers, such as checklists, which can act as a guide to encourage a discussion around what women need to thrive in their roles.  

Prioritise listening  

  • To feel understood, you have to feel like your voice matters. Listening is also incredibly useful for gaining insight into how to be responsive to what women need, as well as highlighting gaps in policy. Once you’ve listened, initiating ‘You said, we heard’ communicates understanding and ensures accountability in taking feedback forward.  

Show you care 

  • Help managers understand the impact of things like fertility, baby loss, and menopause on employees’ work. Emphasise that managers aren’t expected to be experts, they just need to feel comfortable having conversations about sensitive topics.  

Be transparent 

  • Make family-friendly and flexible working policies visible to everyone, including new hires by putting them on job adverts. Shout about the policies available to raise awareness and encourage take up. Train managers, not just in the policies, but why they matter. Empowering managers to understand the ‘why’ behind flexible working enables them to see the business benefits and encourages positive attitudes to flex requests.  

Listen to the experts  

  • If policy makers don’t have lived experience of the policies they are creating, seek out people who do. This can be through focus groups, staff surveys or talking to teams. As well as giving focus to the right areas, they can help highlight gaps and identify blockers or barriers. 

Evolution 

  • Creating an inclusive culture can never be seen as ‘job done’. It is a process of reviewing what works and what doesn’t and being responsive and willing to adapt. Providing people with an opportunity to participate in the narrative will develop an effective learning cycle. 

What can individuals do? 

Harness the power of storytelling 

  • Sharing stories is a hugely powerful tool that can help normalise taboo subjects, and allows women to hear from their peers that barriers can be overcome. It can also help reduce fears around judgement over working flexibly and the impact on career development. 

Strength in numbers 

  • Staff networks are hugely valuable for fostering belonging, and can be effective in driving policy changes at work. If there isn’t an existing network, why not start one up? Networks can cover everything from LGBTQI+ to disability, parenting and caring, and cross-collaboration between different networks can help represent intersectionality. 

Think outside the box 

  • There are many ways to celebrate diversity and break down stigma, so that people feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work. For example, events to celebrate neurodiversity, or ‘Coming Out Day’ and awareness events around menopause or baby loss. Thinking about the year ahead means it’s possible to schedule talks, events, and awareness days. 

Know your rights 

  • Without knowing their rights around flexibility and workplace discrimination, women may fall foul of bad practice that hinders their careers and their lives. The Working Families website is full of advice pages on how to request flexible working, what to do if a request is turned down and what to do if you think you’ve been treated unfairly.  

Ask questions, take action 

  • At Working Families, we believe the solution lies in calling people in and working together. This includes recognising when women aren’t present in positions of leadership and asking what needs to change to ensure women’s representation.  

Pass it on 

  • Spread the word that there is free, legal advice available for women, as well as a huge amount of evidence of women who are thriving in their careers whilst managing their caring responsibilities.  

Featuring our CEO Jane van Zyl, Tracey Liot who is a workplace consultant a member of our Parent and Carer Advisory Panel, our Trustee Praj, who is also a volunteer for Save Soil, and staff member Flora.