International Women’s Day
Today, 8 March, marks International Women’s Day, an annual opportunity to celebrate the advancements of women around the world and to remind us to continue to accelerate women’s equality.
Each year, the anniversary carries a theme, aimed at challenging our thinking around the role of women – this year it’s #BreakTheBias, focusing on raising awareness around the stereotypes and discrimination that persist today.
It got me thinking about what I can do personally to #BreakTheBias, not just in terms of how women are perceived and treated, but others too. Yamini Rangan, International Women’s Day Influencer and CEO of Hubspot inspired me to do that as she recounts her personal story starting from her upbringing in rural India to achieving her engineering degree. She attributes her drive and mindset to her mother, who instilled in her a belief that through hard work and determination she could achieve her goals. Of course, she is now passing on the same values and inspiration at Hubspot, which has just been ranked #2 Best Place to Work according to the 2022 Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award. (Of course, at Juniper we’re proud to use Hubspot for our Customer Relationship Management (CRM system) and to be supporting the ideals of such a forward-thinking and transparent organisation!)
So, what can we do to fight the stereotypes? Here are five steps that I’m committing to personally:
- Call out gendered action or assumptions (where genders are stereotyped, often unknowingly, usually through tradition) - for example, “women are no good at that” or “boys can’t wear that colour”
- Educate myself about inclusion through podcasts, books, and chatting with others
- Role model and celebrate authenticity in a professional and personal context
- Inspire my children to think openly about what is possible for them in the future
- Make this a daily habit - not just something to be remembered on 8 March!
I wonder what action you can take to #BreakTheBias?