International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for communities and organisations around the world to raise awareness about accelerating gender parity. Here at Phaidon International, we take this day to celebrate the contributions women make to our business and our daily lives. We sat with Cara Myers, the Director for Talent Acquisition, to ask what International Women’s Day means to her.
Hi Cara, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m the Director for Talent Acquisition here at Phaidon International. I actually celebrated my sixth anniversary this month, having joined the business at entry level after graduating in 2013.
What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
I think for me it’s a really awesome opportunity for men, women and businesses to make a stance towards gender inclusivity in the workplace. There’s so much research out there that shows that businesses who benefit from gender diversity at management level perform better than those that don’t. With that in mind, I think that should take note of the research and really make a stand for empowering and supporting women to get to the top.
The theme for this year’s IWD is #BalanceforBetter. What do you think companies can do to create better gender balance?
I think we really need to focus on the gender pay gap. There was some recent research that came out on the BBC that four out of ten private companies reported wider pay gaps than last year. This really demonstrates structural inequality throughout many organisations, where men tend to occupier higher paid roles in senior positions and women are more likely to occupy part time work due to childcare responsibilities. We need to offer more options to drive more women into senior roles, including flexible and remote working.
As the Head of TA, do you have advice for women starting out their careers with us?
So, my advice to women starting out their careers at Phaidon International would be to set your heart on where you want to get to, and once you know what that is, don’t let anyone or anything stand in your way. While it’s true there can only be one CEO, there’s nothing written in the rulebooks that states the next CEO of Phaidon International can’t be female.
