Last year, to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD), we launched a year-round blog series that highlighted some of the amazing women in our sector. I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone that participated and supported this campaign, it was an absolute pleasure to work with you all. This year is slightly different as we are not back in the office and I can’t approach the teams and ask them to participate, instead I have asked for the power of the selfie to collect this year’s collage.
The IWD 2021 campaign theme is Choose to challenge, which states that we choose our thoughts and actions, and we can make the choice to challenge and call our gender bias and inequality – which I fully support. If you are not calling out people’s actions (in a professional manner) then you are part of the inequality problem. But also, we choose to lift each other and celebrate other women’s achievements – and that is a huge action that more people should take. If a colleague gets a promotion then congratulate them, even if you’re still waiting on yours. If a friend posts an achievement on Instagram, send the clapping reaction or just drop someone a few words of encouragement – you never know when they’ll need it and it’s scientifically proven then making other people feel better boosts your happiness too. These small actions can start a huge change.
Hands up to show you’re in
Raise your hand and post your selfie, not just on this day, but throughout the year to show your support for #ChooseToChallenge and call out inequality, not just in the workplace but in your entire life. With the help and support of everyone, we can make a real difference.
