International Women’s Day 2021

International Women’s Day

Lesson 1: Understand the values that you respect personally in a company and research companies that match your expectations before making that big career move;

Lesson 2: Have a bit more ‘nerve’;

Lesson 3: Look at the Scandinavian model for Parental Leave & Flexible Working Schedules

Now, read on for more information

I posted my picture and a short caption on my Social Media yesterday evening on the subject of International Women’s Day 2021. I’m not one for jumping on the bandwagon per se but I do find this topic really interesting. I have to say I am completely overwhelmed with the reception my post had! I don’t get a great deal of engagement generally (something I am currently working on) but I appear to have chanced upon a very popular topic. Even more so, when you add International + Women + Leader.

I feel a little bit proud of myself, so thought I’d take this opportunity to widen the conversation.

This is what I posted:

International Women's Day.png

During my career I’ve worked in the UK, France, Spain, the Czech Republic and the UAE. My work has also taken me to India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and the Philippines. I’ve been in many situations that most women I know wouldn’t want to put themselves in. Do I do it because I’m a woman? No, I do it because I’m good at what I do. But what I also do is support women to become great leaders and break that glass ceiling. Happy International Women’s Day.

I mentioned the countries I’ve worked in specifically for several reasons: For me personally, a large part of my personal and professional growth has come from travelling the world – alone quite often out there in the big bad world. I come from a small village in central Scotland and it was always my aspiration to get out there and find my purpose in life but that didn’t come easily for me and I don’t credit my career to myself, but to the many people, men and women, who have given me mentorship and guidance along the way. I don’t see gender in the way that some people might, but it just so happens that the strongest role models and professional mentors in my life have actually been women.

The kind of countries I have been to have also shaped many of my perceptions. I have been run at with a knife in broad daylight in France, I have been ignored throughout meetings I have scheduled with important leaders in Asia only to be asked afterwards if I were the secretary when I was actually the manager, I have been told what to wear and what not to wear, with whom to speak and with whom not to make eye contact and found myself ensconced in so many more situations which made me vulnerable as a female. Each situation unique, each situation full of cultural inferences, traditions and bias but each of which I encountered personally, as a female in the business world and each of which I saw as a learning opportunity and never an obstacle.

I am lucky however, throughout my career I have never been overlooked nor undervalued purely because of my gender. I have always undergone fair evaluation and received equal pay so I can understand just how difficult it must be for those who struggle with the glass ceiling in their workplaces. This is partly why I make it my priority now to help companies with their Career Frameworks which seek balance and diversity.

I think there is a lesson in there for those of you who may be looking to make a career move – look into the kind of companies you want to work for, research their values and ensure that they match what you are looking for in a workplace. Giving yourselves some time to really understand what you want and who can offer that for you will be a very liberating experience.

I saw this quote pop up today and I found interesting because it’s not the stereotypical women’s day post. “Anything is possible if you’ve got enough nerve” - JK Rowling.

I have a similar background to JK Rowling and her home is not far from where I grew up. Unfortunately, that’s probably where the similarities end, with her having multi-millionaire status! However, she has a really interesting point here. Many of my clients, who are predominantly female, are reticent to put themselves out there. By that I mean, they don’t apply for jobs they’re not 100% qualified for, don’t ask for the salary that want and they settle for less prominent positions compared with my male clients. And it’s not because the opportunities are not there. I know that this is not just my experience of the recruitment industry – it is commonly known that men ‘have more nerve’ in this respect and are less scared to put themselves out there. I shared a Harvard Business Review article not long ago on this very subject in fact and they posit the theory that men apply for jobs for which they only meet 60% of the criteria, as opposed to the female equivalent 100%. If you get a chance it’s definitely worth a read here.  So that’s the second lesson of today, perhaps we all have to have a little bit more nerve!

I also posted an excerpt from the 2021 Glass Ceiling index on my social media today which looks like this:

Glass Ceiling Index.jpg

·       Scandinavia takes the top spot once again – Sweden, Iceland, Finland & Norway which is largely due to their parental leave systems and flexible working schedules

·       The US moved four spots up on the index from last year. While its proportion of women in management roles and on boards is above average, it remains stuck below the OECD average with no federally-mandated paid parental leave

·       Britain improved by three spots on the index this year; its share of women in senior jobs is around a third

·       Germany moved down the ranking from last year to #22. German women hold just 29% of managerial roles, and a quarter of seats on boards

·       France ranks #5 in the GCI, the same as last year. France ranks second for the highest share of women on company boards, behind Iceland

(OECD = Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development)

Check out the full article and links to the main report here.

This links back to why I mentioned the different countries I have lived and worked in. Having data such as this and understanding how different perspectives are, is a key element in making future career choices. Many of the countries I have been to would not feature in such a report but I know that the Middle East is very much up and coming in this respect. Perhaps, Lesson 3 for today is to move to Scandinavia; or at least seek to introduce/ campaign for company values which bear some resemblance to those valued by the likes of Norway, Sweden, Iceland & Finland.

 Lastly, on 31st May last year I published a blog written by a good friend of mine, Gavin Tiffin, discussing gender equality in the Hospitality industry. It is the perfect time to revisit this with the Hospitality sector in crisis – there are some salient points which may help the recovery of the industry should we take a more equilateral approach. Check it out here.

So for today I’ll finish by thanking all the amazing people, men and women, who have, until now, been instrumental in aiding my career. I praise you all for your support and guidance and look forward to being an even better femal mentor and role model for those around me as a result of the knowledge you have passed on to me. What more could we ask for?

Happy International Women’s Day #IWD2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gavin’s Blog: https://www.candehrconsultancy.com/blog-1-1/time-to-reevaluate-your-competitive-advantage

A recent report I wrote, highlighting the lack of females holding top positions in the tourism sector, showed some very surprising statistics:

 

In 2015, the report: Hospitality White Paper, Women in Tourism and Hospitality: Unlocking the Potential in the Talent Pool, showed that globally women made up almost 70% of the hospitality workforce.  However, women held only 40% of managerial positions , less than 20% of general management roles and only 5-8% of board positions. (Baum & Cheung, 2015)

 

Globally nearly two-thirds of all travellers are women, 670 million women, control $15 trillion of spending. (FCM Travel Solutions, 2019)

 

70-80% of travel decisions are made by a women.

 

 

The basic overview is that women control the budgets of the majority of travel spend, whether it be for leisure or business.  Yet they have been overlooked in the past, and treated as a second thought when it comes to hotels, tours, airlines and more.  If females have such power over decisions, should it not be the case that companies use this knowledge to appeal more to the target audience, thus, in turn, bringing in more custom, and therefore revenue?

 

 

This leads to the question of how do you make your company more female friendly?  Well, perhaps the fact that so few females hold key positions within these companies may be the key to unlocking this dilemma.  Only by employing, empowering and treating females as equals in the workplace, will a company have the ability to understand their target market and audience.  This is, of course, a very simple overview and concept, and there are many varying factors to take into account.

 

 

As a male in the industry, over the years I have been ashamed and embarrassed by the behaviour of colleagues and their treatment towards women.  I also have witnessed first hand the many times a female has been overlooked  for a senior role by a male with less experience and knowledge.

 

 

If women are in the majority of the tourism sector workforce, surely it goes without saying their voice needs to be and deserves to be louder?

 

I urge companies to think again about their female workforce, maybe there is more to them than you may think, and this is the time to unlock the potential that is there.”

 

See more information about Gavin  by clicking the Library of Minds tab at the top of the page. Check out his Linked In Profile:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavin-tiffin-24072b/

 

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