As we celebrate International Women’s Day, our experts share their hopes and aspirations for the future of women.
From closing the gender pay gap to increasing representation in leadership positions, our experts highlight the need for continued progress towards gender equality. They also emphasise the importance of intersectionality, recognising that women face unique challenges based on their race, ethnicity, sexuality, and other factors.
Join us as we reflect on the achievements of women and envision a brighter future for all women around the world.
Terri Martin – General Manager (East Coast), The Marketing Room
“I’d like to stop putting the onus of solving women’s issues onto women. I want industry to shoulder that burden. This year’s theme is Cracking the Code: Innovation for a gender equal future. Innovation falls into industry’s lap. And if we’re going to innovate we need to think: How do we look at problems from another angle? How do we dismantle archaic structures to accommodate the important needs of women? How do we solve the same business problems in a different way? And…how do we support men too so they can support women too.
“At The Marketing Room, we place senior marketing managers into businesses on a part time basis. This gives clients access to senior talent, whilst allowing marketing managers to work part time. It’s a perfect win/win scenario – but it needed innovative thinking to develop this model. Even slight tweaks to the way we solve a problem could open up huge opportunities for women.
“So I truly hope industry leaders can look at their business and think about the their business operates (both internally and externally) and how they could innovate to support the incredible women that provide so much value to them.”
Emma Walsh, CEO Parents At Work
“My hope on IWD is that all workplaces will adopt policies and practices that equally support all employees to lean into caregiving responsibilities, so we eliminate the motherhood penalty.
“There is a compelling economic and social argument that investing in a family-friendly workplace culture is good for gender equality outcomes as well as good for employees, their families and the wider economy.
“National Work + Family Standards provide employers with a benchmark of best practice guidelines that support employees meet their work, family and wellbeing needs. The Standards directly address the barriers women, men and gender-diverse people face balancing work and family life, and particularly women in progressing their career, and men in being able to embrace caring responsibilities.
“A Family Friendly Workplace culture positively impacts the quality of work-life for every individual and contributes to the wider health and wellbeing of our society and economy, increasing productivity and reducing stress and gender inequality.
“The Family Friendly Workplaces recognition framework benchmarks and certifies employers and encourages all organisations to recognise the impact it will have on their businesses – large or small.”
Emily Bencsics, Marketing and Digital Coordinator, Megantic
“Ahead of International Women’s Day (IWD), organisations across Australia, and the world at large, are reflecting on the strides they’re taking towards equity, realising “equal opportunities are no longer enough. Despite the similarity between the words ‘equality’ and ‘equity’, the two concepts are, in fact, quite different. IWD hopes to clear up the confusion with its 2023 campaign #EmbraceEquity by breaking down the differences.
“Equality, IWD says, is about giving each individual or group of people the same resources and opportunities, whereas equity recognises that each person has different circumstances, and resources and opportunities are allocated based on their unique needs to reach an equal outcome. Importantly, I believe embracing equity for a truly inclusive world is not limited to solely empowering females. Everyone can pave the way for positive change, challenging gender stereotypes, standing up against discrimination, calling out bias and encouraging inclusion. While one person alone can start a ripple effect, collectively, we can forge lasting, impactful change.”
Seema Kumar, Chief People Officer, Amperity
“It’s a fact that women are underrepresented in the tech industry. Many industry leaders recognise the problem and are making efforts to educate on unconscious bias, develop a support network for women, recruit women in leadership roles, amplify women’s achievements and sponsor women across the organisation. However, there is still a long way to go, and these efforts must continue and accelerate to make a change for future generations.
“Additionally, it’s now expected practice for companies to advocate and advance pay equity, standardising promotion processes for early tenure and providing flexibility in the workplace. Alongside these practices, to build a diverse talent pipeline, the tech sector will also need to have much more proactive engagement and outreach in the broader community, starting at the middle and high school level. Additionally, tech leaders will need to recruit across diverse sectors to encourage, build and grow young female/diverse talent.
“Lastly, a broad range of tech products often get pitched to decision-makers in the company, most of whom we know are male based on stats. The tech sector could play a major role in promoting diversity and inclusion by making a concerted effort to include female leadership, their perspectives and voices in the decision-making process to help tailor pitches that resonate with a diverse audience.”
Megan McDonagh, CMO at Amperity
“Mentorship is so important to promote gender equality in the digital age, especially given the fierce competition. As an example, While at Intel, I had the privilege of working for Julie Coppernoll, the Corporate Vice President of Marketing Strategy. Julie took me under her wing and coached me on how to navigate a highly matrixed and competitive culture. She also helped me develop critical skills to manage stakeholders and influence others by understanding their motivations and incentives. Lastly, she taught me the significance of personal brand and the impact it has on perception. She instilled in me to be mindful of how I present myself and to always strive to ‘show up’ in the right way.
“So when it comes to equality in the digital age for marketers, it’s important to inspire the next generation of marketers by providing them with a foundation to kickstart their marketing careers – similar to how STEM education has supported countless young adults to acquire a strong understanding of science, tech, electronics and math. By creating and defining a program where experienced marketing professionals can pay it forward to mentor and guide young marketers, we can equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to excel in their careers and drive their companies to success.”
Danielle Dobson, founder of Code Conversations
“That it’s the catalyst to motivate us all towards creating a gender-equal future on every day of the year, not just on the 8th of March.
I truly believe IWD needs to be a key date on our annual calendar until true equality is achieved.
“IWD is not just about empowering women, but also about educating all people to recognise the gender stereotypes which are taught to us from a young age and which limit us all – no matter what our gender – from achieving our full potential. This ‘Gender Code’ teaches us that men and women are intrinsically different and encourages us to view people through the lens of gender, rather than as individuals.
“Within the business world, this means we should be offering every opportunity to the right individual, no matter what their gender. And we should be creating structures that support people and encourage them to add value, no matter what their situation is, for example, parents who might be penalised by a lack of access to care and end up having to put in a double or triple shift each day.
“I’m excited about the progress that’s being made to support people of all genders to work in a fulfilling and valuable way, and IWD is a chance to appreciate the organisations that are leading the way to create positive change.”
Sarah Spence, founder and CEO at Content Copywriting
“My one hope on International Women’s Day is that businesses start to see the concrete benefits of supporting more women into leadership roles.
“Having women in leadership makes excellent business sense, with proven benefits for company culture, employee satisfaction and profitability. But while women are increasingly moving up the ranks, progress is painstakingly slow.
“According to research by the World Economic Forum (Global Gender Gap Report 2022), the number of women hired into leadership positions worldwide has increased from 33.3% in 2016 to 36.9% in 2022.
“Our business is in the traditionally male-dominated marketing and advertising world, where incredibly only 0.1% of creative agencies are founded by women (and we’re proud to be in that 0.1%). But having women in senior positions makes sense, especially when you consider that women are behind 70 – 80% of purchases.
“Women also bring amazing leadership qualities to the table, with research finding we’re more likely to be collaborative, democratic and participative than men.
“My hope is that workplaces continue to become more flexible and inclusive in order to provide more opportunities for women to be supported in leadership and executive roles.”
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