As we come to the end of Women’s History Month, we take some time to reflect on our learnings throughout the month, including those from International Women’s Day on (the 8th of March 2022). In this blog, we hear from our project assistant, Hannah who attended an International Women’s day event with the Bright Network earlier this month.
Bright Network International Women’s Day Event with Hannah
On the 8th of March, I had the privilege to attend the Bright Network International Women’s Day 2022 event celebrating women’s social, economic, cultural, and political achievements in the workplace. During the event, I heard from experienced professionals about how to succeed in historically male-dominated sectors and had the chance to meet leading employers who are at the forefront of gender equality and are looking to inspire the next generation. It was such a rewarding and inspirational experience I decided to put together a short blog sharing some of my key learnings from the day:
Lesson One: Don’t be disheartened! Diversity and inclusion policies are becoming more commonly implemented, with businesses adopting a ‘be yourself’ culture and measuring the type of people working within the company rather than the number of people.
Lesson Two: Consider failures as a learning experience! Be resilient, keep moving forward and do something constructive with your learnings. Remind yourself that emotional intelligence comes over time (e.g. from experience, mentors) and stop comparing yourself to others.
Lesson Three: Avoid the ‘tiara complex’! Stop undervaluing yourself and make sure your hard work is known!
Lesson Four: Stand up for what you believe in by calling out bad behaviour! If you experience bad behaviour in the workplace, consider whether the behaviour is systematic or individual and whether the company/team culture needs changing.
Lesson Five: Shift your thinking from ‘how am I better?’ to ‘how am I different?’. When asked what makes you different to other applicants for a job, try to answer the question by focusing on how you are ‘different’ rather than how you are ‘better’ than other applicants. Emphasise that you are a whole person and explain what unique skills you could bring to the business and what the role/company could bring out in you.
Lesson Six: Don’t be afraid to be yourself or underestimate your skillset. During interviews, show your knowledge through researching the role and expressing your enthusiasm and that you want to learn. It’s okay not to know the answer to every question; the interviewer wants to understand how you think, not that you get it right every time.
I am so grateful to the Bright Network for running the event and the panellists sharing such inspirational stories and experiences. It was enriching to be surrounded by so many ambitious women and hear from some brilliant female leaders exploring how to embrace business as a woman. I look forward to putting some of these key learnings into practice!Image of Hannah at the IWD conference (source: the Bright Network Facebook images)Image of the panel at the IWD conference (source: the Bright Network Facebook images)
What’s next for Impact People & Change?
Our inclusive business has organically attracted many women impact leaders so we decided to respond to the demand by targeting our new Aspire Network towards women especially. Our aspire network is not exclusive to women – we believe that a supportive network is a brilliant way for all new and aspiring managers to embrace their positions and make a positive impact on those around them. Nevertheless, we have chosen to launch this network today in tribute to National Women’s day in part to celebrate the wonderful network of women we formed during our pilot for this programme. Thank you to all who were involved and we are excited to take this next step in our business!
