International Women’s Day (March 8) is an annual day of global activism that celebrates women’s achievements, raises awareness of discrimination, and encourages action to drive gender parity. It is a cause that Phaidon International supports extensively, not just for one day but all year round, as we strive to advance the achievements of women both inside and outside of our organization.
This year’s campaign theme is #InspireInclusion, and aims to bring together collective action to help forge a better, more inclusive world for women.
Organizations, groups, and individuals all have a part to play in creating more inclusive environments. To truly include women means to openly embrace their diversity of race, age, ability, faith, body image, and identity, but this can only be achieved through action.
This year, to help start conversations about the many aspects of inclusion and encourage positive change, we have spoken to some of Phaidon International’s inspiring women to share their lived experiences, challenges, and advice they have for other women, allies, and businesses.
Reflecting on progress, driving best practices
While the world has a long way to go to reach true gender equality, International Women’s Day is an opportune time to reflect on how far inclusion in the workplace has already come. Jasmine Warner, Vice President at Selby Jennings, has experienced strides forward for gender inclusion since she started working here less than four years ago:
“Companies are now taking diversity much more seriously, making it a priority to ensure that everyone feels included and that people aren’t just hiring others that look exactly like them. Inclusive hiring process like having diverse interview panels are becoming more common all the time, and it has been great to experience this shift.”
As a leading global talent partner with six specialist talent brands, many of which are traditionally male-dominated industries, our teams are passionate about their duty of care to continue driving this progress. Nesreen Ballut, Senior Vice President at Larson Maddox, explains how she inspires inclusion by helping organizations develop diverse hiring practices and inclusive company cultures:
“We have a great opportunity to have conversations with our clients about diversifying their workforce and bringing more inclusivity into the workplace, starting with what their diversity looks like internally, and which aspects they are looking to enhance. We want them to know that we are genuinely looking to impact their workplaces beyond just identifying a strong candidate to join their team.
“Some companies come to us actively looking to diversify which is always great to see, but for those that aren’t currently aware of the importance of diversity and inclusion, we can educate them and share how fostering different schools of thought internally leads to stronger results within a business.”
Shaping success stories for trailblazing female talent
Along with offering guidance to organizations, our teams work tirelessly to support inclusion forfemale professionals on an individual basis. Sarah Lazar, Senior Vice President at LVI Associates, describes how she empowers women to overcome their reservations and pursue their career goals:
“Women are less likely to apply for roles outright. They might wait to be approached, or they might see one thing in a job description that makes them feel that they aren’t right for the job, whereas men are more likely to see one aspect of a job description they are right for and go for it. So, I think along with actually finding women who are technically qualified and good for a role, almost convincing them that they are capable adds an extra layer on top.”
It’s important to Sarah and her team that they work with firms that have good female representation already, but she says if they aren’t fortunate enough to already have women in their business, “we’ll present that to our candidate and tell them they can be that trailblazer.”
Emily Cook, Associate Director at DSJ Global, agrees that women are less likely to join a company where they don’t feel like they belong, but can speak from experience that it’s important to be the change you want to see:
“I’ve had cases where female professionals have gone to an interview with a panel full of men and counted themselves out or not joined the company because they feel like it’s not inclusive or gender balanced. Throughout my career, there hasn’t always been a perfect gender balance, but it never stopped me from wanting to be the change. I’ll do everything in my power to encourage women to be the first to join a male-dominated company and make that difference for other women.”
How diverse role models strengthen gender inclusion
Kayleigh Regan, Head of LVI Associates and EPM Scientific APAC, is a testament to the powerful impact women have on gender inclusion in the workplace. She joined Phaidon International’s London office eight years ago and jumped at the opportunity to start a brand in the Singapore office. She explains how having female colleagues helped her to transition and build a career in a new country, and has now enabled her to make a positive impact herself:
“Most of our directors and leaders at the Singapore office are female, so we’ve done a really good job promoting females throughout the business. This in turn has encouraged more females to join and stay, and progress to manager roles as well. We now have female leaders going on maternity leave for the first time, so we’re still looking at how we can carve the way for the future to support our female colleagues.”
Of course, it’s not just down to women to support other women. Having male allies is pivotal to achieving true gender inclusion, and Dilusha Nagamoorthy, Associate Vice President at Selby Jennings, shares how having guidance and encouragement from male leadershas empowered her career:
“My managers put me on a very good path to progression through having more belief in me than I had in myself, and with that has come a lot of confidence and opportunities. I was an inherently very shy person when I started here and didn’t feel I could challenge courageously, but I’ve thrived with their support.”
“One manager in particular always encouraged me to do bigger and better, even if I messed things up. He supported me outside of work too, which meant a lot to me, but he also built that resilience in me and gave me a lot of tough love that was really good for my growth. He is a great example of a male manager that does everything in his power to progress a woman in the business.”
Jasmine has a similarly positive story, and recounts how having a male role model to rely on boosted her self-confidence:
“I know my manager has advocated for me behind closed doors which I’ve not become aware of until a later date, and he’s pushed for me to take on opportunities that I would not necessarily have put myself forward for if someone had asked me, as I’m not naturally the loudest or most confident voice in my team. It’s lovely to know that someone has nice things to say about you and is looking after you when you’re not in the room.”
Paying it forward, from support to leadership
Being a positive role model and championing inclusion doesn’t just benefit the individuals you work with – it creates a longer-lasting domino effect. For example, the support Sarah received at Phaidon International throughout her own career means she can now lead from the front to inspire her own team today:
“I give the wonderful women in my team as much responsibility as I can, including opportunities to lead our team meetings, roundups, and training. I also give them shout outs wherever possible, and if someone asks me a question I can delegate to them to show others how amazing they are. I also think women often have a knack for mentoring, where the ability to train and inspire people comes naturally, so I encourage my team to mentor and guide other people so they gain exposure to the wider company and build belief in their skills.”
Confronting challenges for women in the workplace
It’s equally as important on International Women’s Day to recognize and discuss the challenges that women still face today. Despite Emily’s strong sense of confidence at work and ability to empower others, she has faced her own struggles with achieving inclusivity at work:
“I’ve had some comments from older male clients, and generally have faced more challenges gaining trust and credibility as a woman than my male counterparts. For women in commission-focused roles or fields like sales, this lack of respect ultimately means financial inequality for women, as men are likely to earn more money if they can build respect more easily with their clients.
“I also feel like I’ve had to fight for respect as a manager a little bit more and show my successes and credibility, compared to the natural trust my male colleagues received. I’ve always needed to bring facts and figures, and talk about my achievements, for people to believe they could trust my judgement.”
For Dilusha, who says she is naturally a very non-confrontational person, speaking up and educating others about how words can impact other people has been a challenge she’s had to overcome:
“I have had some conversations with colleagues about the language we use and how what you say could affect people from different walks of life, genders, or backgrounds. It’s just a lack of awareness and not malicious, and they wouldn’t know that it’s impacted me or someone else in a negative way if I didn’t have those conversations.”
Actionable advice to help women break through barriers
Looking back at the challenges, successes, and learnings across your career can not only spur you on to reach your goals, but allow you to pass on your acquired knowledge and advice to others. Sarah explains more about the value of taking time to reflect:
“Sitting down and setting aside time for yourself to understand how far you’ve come can be very beneficial. I try and do this every quarter with my team members, regardless of gender, to show them what they have achieved. And I think as women, especially in male-dominated fields, it's more important that we're doing that often. Take things step by step, reflect on the lessons, celebrate the small wins, and tell yourself you can reach your goal. That will all help to push you forward to get to that big win.”
Needless to say, taking those learnings and putting them into action also requires the right mindset, adds Sarah:
“I’m a big believer that it all starts with your own viewpoint, and what you believe you are capable of. Even if you don’t think you can do something or you have that self-doubt, ask yourself what could really go wrong and what’s the worst that could happen. Go for it, put yourself out there, and do your best because the potential reward can be so much greater than the risk.”
Even though she knows it can be hard to put into practice, Emily’s advice to other women also hinges on persevering with your sense of self-belief:
“Have belief that you are where you’re meant to be, you deserve to be there, and that you are in the right room. Don’t feel like you shouldn’t be part of the conversation.”
For anyone struggling to build their confidence and put their intentions into actions, Jasmine offers some practical tips:
“Find yourself a champion who has strong belief in you, even perhaps a little bit more than you might have in yourself, who can look out for your interests and support you if you’re in a tough spot. If you are looking to build your confidence, try starting with something small, whether that’s pitching a new idea or a new responsibility. Once you’ve tackled that and it’s been successful, you can step up from there.”
Inspiring a future of inclusivity
As we take on board the words of some of Phaidon International’s incredible women, Dilusha offers a reminder that inclusion “isn’t a grand gesture or putting women on a pedestal. It’s more everyday conversations and mutual respect, which is often the harder thing to do.”
While Dilusha also notes that having senior leaders to set a positive example or call out problematic behaviour can trickle down throughout an organization, Nesreen thoughtfully summarizes the impact we can all have to inspire inclusion if we work together:
“The theme of inclusion this International Women’s Day emphasizes the importance of creating environments where women from all walks of life feel valued, heard, and empowered to contribute fully. It also means recognizing and addressing those barriers when it comes to gender equality, whether it be discrimination, bias, or unequal opportunities. It’s not about male versus female, but everyone empowering and uplifting each other to make sure that we're all rising to the top, because there's more than enough room for everyone to have those opportunities and have a seat at the table.”
Visit our International Women’s Day content hub to read more stories and advice from the inspiring women and leaders at Phaidon International from our previous years’ campaigns.
