International Women’s Month (IWM) is here, International Women’s Day (IWD) a mere five days away.
LinkedIn is already overflowing with emotion. Posts about diversity, taglines announcing allyship. Some headlines have changed even. Empowering women, helping women help themselves. The works.
My first IWD at the workplace… Ah, well. No. I don’t remember it actually. Not only because it was long long ago but also because it was a blur of a rose and some card praising women for being strong and nice and all things saccharine.
Tough act to keep at, honestly, and I hadn’t signed up for it. I hadn’t signed up to be patient all my life, multi-task with a smile in my eyes, be the go-to mother with all the answers for everyone in office.
Tall order, I still think, when I get those annual WhatsApp forwards of a woman with twelve hands juggling work, child, cooking, cleaning etc.
But, but.
A lot of women in the world actually multi-task extensively at home while juggling full time work, and do look forward to the once-in-a-year recognition that WhatsApp is instrumental in getting across to them.
If we were to leave that aside, the elephant in the room still remains.
What does it really mean to do something meaningful and equitable on IWD or during the IWM?
I have some ideas, some my own, some I have heard from others over the years. And yet other great ones that I have seen organisations implement.
Make one change in the logistics of the office considering that women work there too. Do you have enough toilets for women? Do you have sanitary napkin dispensers in the toilets? Do you have a sanitary napkin disposal mechanism?
Strive to build at least one policy that’s meaningful in driving inclusion. Parental leave perhaps? Day care support for new parents?
Think of the woman as a paying consumer. What about dresses with pockets if you are in the apparel business? How about building a targeted health insurance policy or a credit instrument?
Target programs for the men. Most often than not, we run IWD programs for women - lean in, lead well, get mentored. But what about the men? Have you run sensitivity programs for men that makes them think of the corporate world as one that is inhabited by both men and women? Have you distributed books to the men about why we have a long way to go on gender inclusion, than just distribute Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In” to women?
Ask women what they want. Is it programs on financial literacy? Is it mentorship from senior women leaders? Or perhaps simply more opportunities for training and development? A space for their voices to be heard?
That’s a laundry list, yes. But, ones I believe will make a more lasting difference than roses that wilt over night.
What are your thoughts? What do you think is most relevant to make Women’s Day a success? Pour your ideas in the comments section.
P. S. Views strictly personal. None of the events mentioned in this post refer to the organisation that I am currently associated with.
I was in a IWM lunch meeting today trying to equip women with tools for personal branding, coming up with branding statement for self and identifying sponsors and detractors. Handful of men on the call, not sure how many men would be up for sponsoring women and know the background work women put in. Is all this just IWM talk, is what one thinks when walking out of such calls despite my organization spending heavily on an ERG
One of the many identities I want to get away from is that of being a woman. It muddies the waters a lot.