International Women's Day: Celebrating Women's Achievements and Promoting Gender Equality
International Women's Day is a global celebration of women's achievements and a call to action for gender equality. At Econocom, we recognise the significance of acknowledging and commemorating the contributions of women, not just in our workplace but also in society as a whole.
In honour of International Women’s Day, we spoke to some of our colleagues and asked them some questions to see what international women’s day means to them. Here’s what they had to say.
Jan Dhamrait - Director of Sales & Strategy
Q. What does International Women's Day mean to you personally?
International Women’s Day means a great deal to me; it is an opportunity to recognise achievements and successes, celebrate our differences and strive further for gender parity.
Like many women who work in traditionally male-dominated industries there were not very many strong female role models early in my career and I often found myself adopting behaviours that I felt were needed to be successful in male-dominated environments (From the way I dressed to taking up male-dominated sports!)
Since then and as I have stepped into leadership myself, authentic leadership has been of upmost importance to me. That means not only bringing my skill set and experience to the table, but also being my full (female) self. And I encourage the absolute same for anybody who works with me regardless of gender, education or background. I fully appreciate the benefits of a diverse workforce and encourage any leader to promote the same!
My aims are to tackle bias, provide a springboard for others in their career, especially younger women and to set an example to my young daughters.
Andrew Innes - Business Development Director
Q. What advice would you give to a young woman starting her career in our industry?
Never shy away from taking the next step in your career.
Whether that is in the form of a promotion, changing team or even a new role in a separate organisation. Having the confidence to take an interview at the next level is half of the battle. In my experience, there are a host extremely talented women in the finance industry that feel undervalued but feel that they may not be ‘the right fit’ for the next step. Having previously been part of Diversity and Inclusion Committees, one stand out theme from discussions of this nature is that people are more likely to apply for that next level role if the current team/role has members of the same race or sex. This need to change and, with a more focused approach to D&I, we should be able to change the mindset to focus solely on the persons abilities, personality and experience to judge their suitability for a role.
Q. What evolutions have you witnessed in the workplace for women over the years?
I have been fortunate enough to have worked with a number of fantastic women throughout my career and have found that greater diversity and inclusion in the workplace always leads to better productivity and collaboration, especially within client facing roles. As a society, we have embraced a greater focus on inclusion to the point where it becomes a core part of building and leading a team. For the best results you need to have a committed, diverse group of people who are experts in their fields regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation.
The traditional idea of a finance professional has certainly changed from when I started and it’s a definitely a change for the better.
Caroline Sturgess - Business development Manager
Q. What kind of work environment do you thrive in?
I thrive in the type of work environment where everyone is encouraging and supporting one another, and it really has that team feeling and joint vision to reach our end goals as a business.
Q. What evolutions have you witnessed in the workplace for women over the years?
I’ve noticed that even more women over the years work their way to the top and sit at leadership level which is so encouraging to see.
Adrian Harrow - Head of Marketing
Q. What does International Women's Day mean to you personally?
International Women’s Day is exceedingly important at raising awareness of equality within the workplace but for me we need to ensure the message is maintained for the other 364 days. I want a world where my sister, cousin and niece can achieve anything they want and are not held back due to prejudices.
Q. Who are some individuals that have served as a source of inspiration or admiration for you in the past?
For as long as I can remember my Mum has suffered with Multiple Sclerosis. And while my answer is a cliché, she is the woman who inspires me the most (work and personal). Every day is tough for her, with normal tasks being a struggle. Despite this, she’s always positive, always laughing, always supportive and doesn’t let her disability stand in the way. She’s been indoor sky diving with me, sat in a motorcar around Silverstone, she’s learning Spanish and keeps challenging herself. That inspires me!
Sabrina Bouzit - Executive Assistant to Managing Director
Q. What advice would you give to a young woman starting her career in our industry?
Don’t be ashamed, be confident, and prioritise yourself.
Q. What evolutions have you witnessed in the workplace for women over the years?
Over the years, I have noticed Improvements regarding woman unapologetically taking more leadership roles! Also I feel like it’s becoming more of a norm to have professional ambitions AND be a woman.
Samantha Bailey - Project Manager
Q. What does International Women's Day mean to you personally?
For me, it’s a reminder of the sacrifices women have made in the past for us to thrive in the present and our future. It’s a celebration of how far we’ve come but also how much we can still achieve for current and future generations. It’s nice to see the growth in men championing IWD too, as that’s what it’s all about; it belongs to everyone, everywhere.
Q. If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your 16-year-old self?
Be bold, curious and confident. Give yourself goals and believe in yourself; if you believe in yourself then others will too.
Mark Orchard - Commercial Director
Q. What milestones have you witnessed for women in IT and finance?
The increasing presence of women in IT and finance, particularly women in senior positions, has been incremental, rather than noticeable milestone events.
Q. What advice would you give to a young woman starting her career in our industry?
Recognise that, while finance and IT may have once been deemed a industry exclusive for men this is now no longer the case. Women are thriving in the IT and finance sectors!
Q. What kind of working environment do you want for your daughter(s)?
If I had daughters, rather than sons, I would want an environment where their personal ambition and potential progress isn't dependant on their gender but reliant on their work ethic and skills.
Una McGuinness - HR Director
Q. What does International Women's Day mean to you personally?
I attended a Derry college whose core values were: aspire, endeavour, achieve.
These values have always remained at the forefront of my life and my career goals. As it was an all-girls college, I was lucky to be surrounded by inspirational women and every day I saw the value these women were making at a local and international level.
It was clear then and still clear today that women supporting woman is crucial ingredient if we are all to aspire, endeavour and achieve.