I am a bit tired and frustrated to be honest. I wasn’t expecting to start this article in honour of International Women’s Day 2021 this way, but here we are. I might be so bold as to claim that the majority of us (women) are tired of repeating ourselves over and over again and feeling like we keep fighting the same battles that were supposed to be won decades ago. I mean I was a teenager at the height of the Women’s Liberation Movement in the 1970s – I am Woman hear me roar still rings in my ears today and I had seriously hoped we’d be much further down the track.
That being said, I had planned, in 2021, to write about the welcome shift in how we talk about women, especially women in leadership roles, women in business, and women in positions of power being so mainstream it was as normal as breathing. But alas we are still not there yet.
There are still certain industries, work cultures and some social settings where it is still not safe for women – mentally, psychologically, socially, and physically. It’s 2021 for goodness sake. It is ridiculous enough that we must keep fighting for equality and pay equity, and against gender bias, but that in Australia it’s not safe for many of us to go work is beyond anything I could imagine I would be writing about.
I know things are improving and most organisations are good places for women, but MOST is not nearly good enough. We want all of us to be safe when we go to work, to school, to university, to church, to the park, to the pub, back home and at home, for a run and so on.
I spoke about this on the 17th February 2021, a couple of weeks ago, when I was interviewed by Leon Delaney, the Drive presenter for 2CC radio in Canberra about what was, at that time, the latest incident of (alleged) sexual assault in Parliament House. It beggars belief that the highest institution in our land did not have the human resources policies, ethics, principles, and moral fortitude essential for a safe and respectful workplace.
Women in business
We do know what to do. It’s about the will and determination to make equality mainstream.
I have written many times previously about women in business, women in leadership, the advantages for women of having a career in sales, and more.
There is research and case studies that clearly show the benefits for business of having more women on board, more women in leadership roles, and women CEOs. It makes commercial and economic sense to level the playing field for women in business and government on every level. For instance:
- McKinsey Global Institute report highlights that $12 trillion could be added to global GDP by 2025 by advancing women’s equality
- London-listed companies profit margins are more than 10 times greater when women make up more than one in three executive roles
- Companies that increase their share of female key management personnel (KMP) positions see a 6.6% increase — or a $104.7 million rise — in their market value
- Having a female CEO leads to a 12.9% increase in the likelihood of outperforming their sector on three or more metrics
The numbers are clear, any business leader should be able to see it. And yet. Here we are once again talking about how to achieve gender balance and address inequality for women.
However, there is a ray of hope.
Over the last few years there has been some change in HOW we talk about these issues and increasingly the approach of laying the onus for change on women is shifting.
We are hearing more voices and more research that call on organisations, cultural settings, leadership, and men to make these changes with us. Finally, “it’s ok” to be a woman, lead like a woman, and do business as a woman.
A Leader’s Quest
In 2020, I met Thomas White and we created A Leader’s Quest, a movement whose vision is to level the playing field of business for women, so they no longer experience a disadvantage because of their gender, and where women succeed on their own terms. Here’s a 3 minute video.
Our goal is that at least 50% of CEOs in businesses from the smallest to largest are women. Our companies, Barrett and Trnsform are bringing programs, services, and resources to women so their access to opportunities is equitable and their contributions are fairly valued.
We’ve been fighting the equality and justice fight for 100 years and more – ALONE! What we need are many more good men to stand beside us and with us; not to speak for us, we’re capable of doing that ourselves. What we need is for men to make space for us to be listened to, heard, understood, and respected.
We know when women achieve equality, men’s lives and everyone’s lives will be better for it.
When that happens we can finally answer YES to Are we there yet?.
Remember, everybody lives by selling something.
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