One nineties trend that belongs in the past!
A little while ago I read this article, and digested the stats within it, and honestly the mix of anger and sadness I felt when I read it have stayed with me.
A survey of “high-flying” women revealed that many ‘still feel they face the same workplace challenges as they did in the Nineties.’ The nineties for goodness sake! I mean, I welcome some nineties trends that have made a comeback but this one should certainly stay in the past!
Over the course of my career I have faced countless instances of gender-based discrimination. One role I had in not quite the nineties – just after actually – stands out as being particularly harrowing and I find it unacceptable and upsetting that we have not made more progress.
But do you know what came to mind most strongly when I read this article?
It was that if this is what “high-flying” women are experiencing, what about women who are just starting out in their careers; or those who would not be considered by some external measure as “high-flying”. I genuinely worry about their reality.
In the technology sector, we talk a lot about bringing more diverse talent into the industry. And that is absolutely an urgent requirement. But I would argue that equal focus should be placed on keeping diverse talent in the industry. And if this data on workplace challenges is to be believed (and let’s be honest, we all know it’s true of so many work environments) there needs to be some changes across the board.
And it starts with creating environments where women – and all diverse talent – feel safe, enabled and empowered to thrive; to take up space and use their voice.
You can have all the best practice DE&I policies you want, but the creation and nurturing of a truly inclusive workplace is vital. It is the everyday – and sometimes seemingly small - experiences that make the difference between someone staying and thriving, or someone feeling marginalised, overlooked and ultimately leaving. It is up to everyone (and I really do mean everyone) to ensure that, even if these things do happen, they are recognised and dealt with seriously.
Everyday bias can take many forms: being talked over in meetings; being passed over for promotions; the use of sexist language; assumptions based on gender or race; the use of sexist humour (banter right?!) … And it’s important to acknowledge that many of these microaggressions – from both men and women - can come from an unconscious place driven by deep-rooted societal norms and narratives. So progress is only possible in workplace environments where everyone feels comfortable calling this out, where everyone feels safe enough to enter into an open, empathetic dialogue to move through it and beyond it.
I feel lucky to work in an environment and a position where I feel I would be able to call out bias where I see it, and I can actively promote the kind of education that creates inclusivity. But back to my point about high-flying women, I am myself in a leadership position and am not exactly backward in coming forward!
So again, what about those who don’t feel like they have a voice? Or can take up that kind of space?
We must acknowledge how hard it can be to speak up! It is the responsibility of every business to provide multiple ways - safe channels – for everyone to have their say and be heard in an organisation. Talking to a trusted co-worker; communicating with an ally; or using anonymous feedback loops are all options we need to make available and actively promote. And what is more, I feel strongly that it is the responsibility of everyone in a workplace – men and women, leaders or otherwise – to have other people’s back, speak up for them and with them. Let’s all be people who raise up other voices when calling out workplace bias.
Thank you to Becci for this fantastic insight, if you want to bring your passion to a ServiceNow partner who can appreciate it and support you, .
