Many years ago, I remember sitting around a table of women leaders in HR. This was before the advent of Employee Resource Groups (ERG’s) and I had identified a gap I was determined to fill.
I had just returned from the annual Simmons Leadership Conference in Boston. A group of women from our company attended, and we stayed connected afterwards to share insights. I had recently changed jobs and was still in the early days of building a new team. I had excess energy to invest in helping people.
Those connections, inspiration from the conference, and the fuel to help others became the catalyst for women-focused special interest groups, early precursors for the company’s women’s ERG.
But on that day, at that table, I was presenting my idea. Why I thought we needed a space designed for women, for them to share experiences and help one another.
“Be careful Kristin. It sounds as if you only want to help women. That might be perceived as discriminatory.”
As I shared with them, and many since…I’m happy to help men and my door is always open to them. The difference is that men haven’t struggled to ask for my help, but women have. And sometimes still do.
I wasn’t asking for permission that day. I was inviting them to participate. They eventually would, once the company sponsored an enterprise solution. In the meantime, I spent a few years building mentoring groups for women leaders to share experiences, and aspiring women leaders to receive the guidance they needed to move forward in their careers.
That was then…
So many years later, I can say that more and more women ask for help. Use their voice. Advocate for themselves. It is glorious to behold.
And yet.
Covid and the great she-session are also an indication that there’s more work to be done. Women left the workforce in droves because it wasn’t working for us. At least not all women. Too many of us have had to choose between supporting families with our presence or with our paychecks and find it difficult to do both.
The good news is that recent studies have shown that the on-going exodus of workers, which includes a great number of these women, is not about people leaving the workforce. Instead, it’s about people finding ways for the workforce to work for them.
There are more entrepreneurs. Gig workers. Esty shops. LLC’s. Avenues for men and women to define work in a way that supports their whole lives. The days of trying to fit our lives into a work construct are gone. Now are the days where work will adjust to the reality of living.
This is now…
I have hope. Always hope.
That two years of a pandemic have redefined what is important (news flash…it’s not what we do for a living). Revealed unsustainable and inequitable practices that must be changed. Shifted power to the worker to affect those changes.
Not just for women, but for everyone. Because when you find ways to make life work for women, it makes life work for men too. We are not the only ones who want to spend time with our families. Or suffer when we fail to attend to our physical and mental health.
By advocating for what we need to be contributing members of society AND healthy individuals with families and friends and interests of our own…
The world can be healthier, happier, less frenetic. And wouldn’t that be a joy to behold.
Let’s do our part
There are so many ways to contribute and make the world around us better.
- When you have an idea to make improvements and there are those around the table that push back, please keep going.
- Hear about an ERG? Become a member or an ally to marginalized groups. Not just women…but to anyone that has struggled to have a voice at the table.
- If an ERG or special interest group doesn’t exist, create it.
- Have power and a voice at the table? Use it to advocate for those around you that don’t.
The rising tide lifts all boats. We will all benefit as the nature of work and the balance of power shifts. As we are given more space to realize all that we are capable of, not just what we can produce.
I continue to have hope that we can create opportunities for everyone. For each of us to define what matters most, unlock our power, and realize our purpose.
What ideas or inspiration can you share with us this International Women’s Day? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
