A quick scan of the internet revealed a varied response to International Women’s day 2018. With strikes, celebrations and affirmative actions on the menu, the way in which individuals and organisations marked the day served to highlight the many and varied conditions experienced by women in the workforce and in society.
In the UK it may be 100 years since women got the vote and yet equal representation and pay equality still seems to be elusive, at least in certain businesses and sectors. As leaders, we can all play our part in making a difference; not simply for gender equality but for everyone, through the development of a culture of diversity and inclusion.
True equality starts with an attitude of mind and the more that leaders work to positively promote diversity and inclusion, the more that those ideals will percolate not simply through the organisation but onwards into society. Marking International Women’s Day the UN Secretary General, António Guterres said “Achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls is the unfinished business of our time, and the greatest human rights challenge in our world.” It is a challenge that we can all take up in the year ahead.
