This year International Women’s Day (IWD) falls on Friday 8th March, and the theme is to ‘Inspire Inclusion’. On the day I am holding my annual event once again at The Hilton Garden Inn, Abingdon, which I’m sure will be very well attended by women in business, as it has been in the past. Looking forward to an afternoon of open networking, afternoon tea, fizz, activities and a wonderful speaker.
The idea is to have a fun event in a relaxing and welcoming environment.
An annual networking and social event like that is all very well and good – it goes some way to raising awareness of International Women’s Day and what it stands for. Some women still face challenges in the business arena, but how do we use this year’s IWD theme to inspire inclusion in our own businesses, for the future?
Committing to inspire inclusion
‘When we inspire others to understand and value women’s inclusion, we forge a better world. When women aren’t present, we must ask: “If not, why not?” When women are discriminated against, we must call out poor practice. When the treatment of women is not equitable, we must take action. And we must do this each time, every time.’ IWD
In a nutshell, we as individuals, business owners and members of the community should understand and seek out the inclusion of women and girls. Aspirations must be heard, input, interests and needs must be considered in equal measure, and any time we believe this has not happened, we must be able to speak out.
Here is a list of suggestions and considerations from IWD on how we can ensure our own operational organisation is inspiring inclusion for women:
- forge women’s economic empowerment
- recruit, retain and develop female talent
- support women and girls into leadership, decision-making, business and STEM
- design and build infrastructure meeting the needs of women and girls
- help women and girls make informed decisions about their health
- involve women and girls in sustainable agriculture and food security
- provide women and girls with access to quality education and training
- elevate women and girl’s participation and achievement in sport
- promote creative and artistic talent of women and girls
- address further areas supporting the advancement of women and girls.
I can help your business to do this
Anyone can support International Women’s Day, but I’d like to speak to business owners and leaders who are ready to commit to inspiring inclusion in their organisation.
Do you have the desire to make a positive difference for women in the workplace?
Can you see areas for improvement in your business?
Are you stuck on how to implement positive change?
Let’s have a conversation about your ideas and how we can make your business a more inclusive one.