Michelle Hall
Supporting women to earn more but do less, to have it all without having to DO it all | Career & Leadership Coach | Trainer | Data Consultant
United Kingdom
We are witnessing are more conversations about women, the challenges they continue to face at work and health issues. We’re now talking about everything from menstruation to menopause and the impact of historically precluding women from medical research has on women. And the unintended consequences this also has on men. The tide is turning.
At the same time the conversations and actions to support women (and men) in the workplace are increasing. There is an over whelming amount of research and data evidencing that business perform better when there is a focus on gender diversity. In my experience diverse teams perform better because there is wide range of opinions and approaches that ultimately lead to more effective business outcomes.
The gender pay gap continues to be a challenge, and is forecasted to be for several generations. Ensuring women are paid equally is not only good for each women individually, but there is a ripple effect of the benefits to her family and her wider community.
Moving away from gender stereotypes continues to be a challenge. Encouraging more young girls to follow maths and science subjects, whilst at the same time supporting women to enter or remain in data and STEM roles is critical. Similarly, continuing to focus on diverse leadership in our governments and corporations is also critical.
Collectively our unconscious biases of who we pay attention to need to change. The current system of a few people making decisions on behalf of the masses (that they know nothing about and having no interest in understanding their lived experiences) must change.
Education – from pre school to the board room we need to keep educating ourselves. This doesn’t necessarily mean formal education, but can also include working with a coach or mentor, expanding reading habits to different media outlets and authors.
We also need to keep focusing on DEI initiatives that not only support women at work and home, but support men too. This is not a men vs women issue – it’s an everyone issue. We all need to work together to understand different points of view to bring about significant and impactful changes.
