Today we’re proudly celebrating International Women’s Day, and this year’s theme is equity. With the words ‘equity’ and ‘equality’ often being used interchangeably, the aim of this year’s campaign is to raise awareness about how equal opportunities are not enough, and can in fact be exclusionary rather than inclusive.
Credit: https://interactioninstitute.org/illustrating-equality-vs-equity/
As an organisation, a key part of our strategy is a dedication to equality, diversity, and inclusion for the benefit of all.
This International Women’s Day, our female-identifying workforce has been sharing what the day means to them, and how they have been supported as women in our organisation.
I’ve had so much flex around my hours – I’ve not missed a school play, Christmas concert, summer picnic or any of the key activities that my children have been involved in this year; it’s meant the world to me and my kids. – Jo, Marketing Team.
International Women’s Day, to me is about highlighting the inequality in education worldwide and that if women are educated, then poverty declines – fact! – Helen, Governance Team.
I’m grateful to be part of an organisation that champions the role of women in and outside of work. I’m also super grateful for being supported during and following maternity leave, which sadly just isn’t the case for many mothers. – Emily, Exec Team.
It was a huge relief to know that such a detailed and practical peri and menopause policy was in place. I knew that if I needed to talk to my manager, if I was struggling with symptoms etc, then there was guidance already in place. You have no idea how much that means to me. – Lisa, Community Development.
“Equity for women is incredibly important to me and, let’s be honest, we still have a long way to go to achieve this in the workplace in the UK. I was delighted when I saw that the theme of this year’s IWD was to embrace equity and the importance of understanding the difference between equity and equality.” – Sarah, Exec Team.
I am a woman who has made her career about venturing into male-dominated working environments, on purpose. In the last 30 years I have seen a seismic shift in the attitude about women in technology. However, there is still a long way to go. – Jayne, IT team.
I have been involved in celebrating this day for many years. I have often shared this with lovely members of a women’s group that was established on this day over 35 years ago and is still going strong. Those women have achieved amazing things and provided great support to each other. This year I am so proud to be part of an organization that takes equity and diversity seriously and translates that commitment into tangible support and actions for all. – Rosemary, Chair of Trustees.
We were enormously proud to be named a Great Place to Work for Women in 2022. We offer a range of policies and opportunities for women, including policies for life’s challenges, such as pregnancy loss, perimenopause and menopause, and generous parental and adoption leave policies.
To further our inclusivity for all women, we have transgender awareness training, and we are soon to launch a gender identity policy as part of our three-year equality, diversity, and inclusion action plan.
We offer many development opportunities for women – we have female identifying apprentices completing degree and leadership level apprenticeships in areas such as Registered Nursing, Team Leadership, Project Management and PWP/Therapists to name a few!
“Through our culture and our strong focus on the voice of the colleague (whether that be our diversity network groups, our colleague forum, engagement surveys, team development days and more) I hope that we are fostering an inclusive working environment. We don’t always get things right and through our open approach I hope we have created a culture where we can all challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, bring attention to bias and seek out inclusion.” – Sarah Dewar, Chief People Officer.
We are proud to support International Women’s Day!
For more information and resources on IWD 2023, visit: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/