Today is International Women’s Day (IWD), a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. However, in the technology industry, women make up just 19% of the tech workforce and only 22% of Directors are female. This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #EmbraceEquity, which is crucial for making progress in such a male-dominated sector, argues Alexis Suggett, Director, Contracts and Data Protection Officer at Cubic Transportation Systems.
We have been celebrating IWD since 1911, although the belief in gender equality stretches much further back, and clearly, we have made great progress over the past century. However, IWD also serves to highlight how much more work remains to be done. It’s also about lending support to women at home and around the world; becoming a voice that sadly so many women still lack.
Embracing Equity
Equity is all about fairness, impartiality and giving everyone a level playing field. It’s about being aware of our own unconscious biases and actively working to eliminate it in our lives at work and at home. Sometimes, it can be easy to become overwhelmed in a fast-moving workplace and mindfulness of our actions is perhaps not always our top priority, however, it is vital that we all strive to be cognisant of how our actions impact others, often it’s the small adjustments that can add up to significant change.
I believe the best-performing organisations attract, retain and develop optimal talent at every level, regardless of gender, however, there still isn’t gender parity in terms of behaviours, career progression and pay across most sectors, including transportation and technology. That’s why we need to help women feel confident in succeeding in what are often male-dominated environments and ensure we are fostering a culture of respect and mutual support.
We only have to look at women leading the way today to explore possibilities of what can be achieved tomorrow. In the UK, Stagecoach made waves in 2020 by appointing Carla Stockton-Jones as Managing Director, making her the first woman to lead a private sector multimodal Public Transit Organisation in the country. The company has since raised female representation at its operations board to 42%.
More companies must examine career paths to ensure there are equal progression opportunities with a diverse Leadership team to provide the appropriate gender perspective. To help in this mission, organisations should encourage a healthy work-life balance, removing structural and cultural barriers so women can excel in their careers and raise a family without having to make sacrifices.
Barriers remain
Until there is a widespread acknowledgement of the gender disparity, there will always be bias against women, particularly in the workplace and education.
Throughout my own career, I have faced multiple counts of discrimination. I have been referred to as emotional or bossy in situations where a man would have been seen as assertive; I have been told that shedding a tear in a 1-2-1 was a sign of weakness, not passion; and been advised that becoming flushed in the face when presenting demonstrated that I didn’t know what I was talking about.
As a woman, people have assumed that I will be the one to order lunches during meetings. I have had people actively talk to my male colleagues, assuming they’re the decision makers, when it was in fact myself. These preconceptions and flippant remarks, the eye-rolls when I do the occasional school run, all contribute to women’s experience of inequality in the workplace.
The biggest obstacle women must face is familial responsibility: the stigma surrounding women returning to work post-childbirth/adoption is particularly poignant. Businesses, therefore, need to be flexible with hours, workstyles and remote working to support all carers and parents.
Thankfully, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the needle has moved significantly when it comes to flexible working and our culture is shifting from the traditional ‘presenteeism’ of the past. Nevertheless, there is still an ingrained bias against hiring or promoting a woman who might want to start or grow her family. And yet, in my experience, new mums are some of the most effective workers around because we simply don’t have time to be inefficient. We need women like these in the workplace and therefore must create a structure that works for this talent pool.
The way forward
We may live in a privileged society but there are millions of girls and women living much less fortunate lives. In a world where men still hold control over their wives and sisters, and where girls are denied an education, IWD reminds us how much further we still have to travel.
Throughout my own career, I’ve had to push on many closed doors, prove my worth and argue my point. Every woman I have spoken to on this subject has experienced the same. Until we have parity, women will continue to contend with these obstacles. My advice to women on this IWD is this: champion others, champion yourself and surround yourself with others that champion you. We all have control over how we react, and how we keep pushing and elevating ourselves and other women. To everyone in the Transportation sector in 2023, get on board and realise the innovation #EmbraceEquity could ignite.
