The 8th of March

While the Ides of March may be something to be feared, the 8th of March, International Women’s Day, doesn’t have to be.

Many organisations have seen this day as a challenge, unsure what to say, post or do. How to sufficiently support the women in their organization authentically, without upsetting anyone. After all, the internet, specifically Twitter, can be a terrifying place.

Action, not words

But this year, I would argue that what you post doesn’t really matter. Women in business are past the nice LinkedIn captions and the Tweets recognizing their right to equality. This year, it’s all about actions. Taking steps forward. Implementing change in your company. Doing, rather than saying.

Which, can also be a scary prospect because while you may have the best intentions to create better workplaces for women, it doesn’t always mean you have all the answers. So today, on this International Women’s Day, here are my top actions to get you started, keep you going, or take you further along your journey:

1. Pay women for their time when you ask them to speak at your company IWD events this month
2. Reassess your company’s gender paygap and make moves to decrease it
3. Create a mentorship scheme to accelerate and nurture women in your company
4. Create a mentorship scheme where women mentor men
5. Hold training for the men in your company to educate them on the micro aggressions women face
6. Women are more likely to be caregivers so, where possible, implement flexible working so women can pick up kids or care for family
7. Implement KPIs to improve your gender diversity. This could be the number of applicants on shortlists that are women, or the percentage of your leadership. Or even set an overall company goal to have a 50/50 gender split by X year
8. Use skills-based training assessments when hiring and promoting to steer away from bias

As always, this is just the beginning, so if I can do anything to help you implement the suggestions above, or you’d like some advice on any area of diversity, equity, and inclusion, my emails are always open.