With International Women’s Day and Mother’s Day being a key focus this month, we are celebrating equality, diversity and inclusivity and how giving every member of your team a unique and equally valued voice can affect culture and wellbeing in the workplace.
It’s true we have come a long way in the past twenty years in the fight for diversity and equality, but as well as highlighting the incredible social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, IWD marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality - and we still have a long way to go.
Out of the FTSE Top CEO’s, female representation is shockingly low with only seven women featuring and the gender pay gap is still at 8.9% (35.7% in the financial sector). In addition to lower pay, women are still a lot less likely to receive promotion than men - with 40% less being promoted in management roles and two thirds less mothers than fathers.
Thankfully future focused employers are increasingly recognising what makes women unique and celebrating the differences between them regardless of cultural backgrounds, religion, race, age, or sexual orientation. By fostering a culture of inclusivity, they are giving a platform to a multitude of perspectives and opening up the debate on how we can all move forward together - encouraging public discourse around issues regarding equality, opportunity and representation which is ultimately for the good of all our wellbeing, no matter our gender or cultural background.
Curating a well thought out diverse programme of internal development and wellbeing events to engage staff and assure them they are valued can create unexpected opportunities and new experiences to help build an individual’s expertise and confidence. This also encourages their potential to shine more brightly so they can become more visible within the organization and, importantly, have the chance to demonstrate their unique contribution. Flexible working options, mentoring initiatives and discussion around mental health in today’s “burn out” culture should be an integral part of every forward thinking organisation - ultimately a company will thrive if every member feels they can show up to work as their authentic selves, know they belong, and do their best work.
Of course it’s not just about women in their work roles but about as mothers, daughters, sisters and friends who help create positive environments for those around them directly and indirectly combating gender inequalities and fighting for a better world.
(photo credit: Rebecca Strickson Illustration)
With that in mind, we want to celebrate successful women in business and all the mumpreneurs out there, making it work while juggling many different roles and responsibilities while having to fight harder for the opportunities - INSYNC is a female owned and led company, so this is a topic close to our hearts!
This year’s IWD campaign theme is #EachforEqual, drawn from a notion of 'Collective Individualism’. The campaign explains, “We are all parts of a whole. Our individual actions, conversations, behaviors and mindsets can have an impact on our larger society. Collectively, we can make change happen. Collectively, we can each help to create a gender equal world. We can all choose to be #EachforEqual.”
IWD 2020 MISSIONS
To celebrate digital advancement and champion the wo men forging innovation through technology
To celebrate women athletes and applaud when equality is achieved in pay, sponsorship and visibility
To champion women of all backgrounds who dare to innovate, lead, and uplift others towards a more equal and inclusive workplace
To support women to earn and learn on their own terms and in their own way
To assist women to be in a position of power for making informed decisions about their health
To increase the visibility of women creatives and promote their work for commercial projects
We have had the privilege to work with many incredible and inspirational women as clients or creative content partners who embody one or more of these missions in their pioneering attitudes to promote diversity, inclusion and female empowerment and break down barriers every day.
Four of our favourites have kindly contributed to this article with their thoughts and we are shouting loud and proud about these wonder womens’ achievements below!
We would be delighted to discuss how we can curate a tailored event programme of talks and workshops to help drive change in your business, please click here for programming ideas across key wellbeing topics.
N I S H M A R O B B
Regularly recognised as one of the most influential and innovative people in the UK’s creative industry but the likes of The Hospital Club's h100 Awards in 2016, Ad Age's Woman to Watch in Europe 2018 and Campaign’s A-List in 2019, Nishma is in the top ten women in UK B2B marketing and one of the top Black, Asian and Middle Eastern execs.
Her most significant achievement to date however is being mother to her gorgeous twins (followed closely by an impressive collection of shoes!)
As a visionary leader, her favourite activity is daydreaming, or “strategic slacking” and her personal goal is to deliver meaningful and sustainable change.
K R Y S T A L R O X X
Krystal Roxx is an extremely high energy, in demand DJ and performer spreading serious positive vibes with her DJ sets and live shows worldwide.
As the holistic power of the music scene has grown, Krystal has fused her love of fitness and music to become a regular DJ on the sober party scene with Morning Gloryville in London and Berlin, warming up for Fatboy Slim, Basement Jaxx and Rob Da Bank amongst others.
When she’s not touring, producing top dance records, headlining events or speaking at music industry events, Krystal heads up her female DJ & live music talent agency and social enterprise Superfoxx - supporting and mentoring the next generation of female talent. Dedicated to throwing health and fitness-conscious parties, the exclusively female-led brand strives to ‘bring conscious clubbing to the masses’, offering health and wellness activities to club goers that includes yoga and fitness classes.
Initially as a means for Krystal to gather together role models and help young women break into a male-dominated industry, Superfoxx has become an evolving lifestyle brand, creating destinations to party, feel inspired, work out and hang out. It produces original content and aims to connect with young women everywhere, to inspire and help create opportunities for their future. Superfoxx is a way of life, quoting the mantra ‘Feel Good. Look Good. Do Good’ Profits from the events fund workshops run by women for women to mentor the next generation, and Krystal received the Times Entrepreneur of The Year Award for the project.
Alongside this she is further establishing herself as an advocate for women in music by hosting a regular slot on Soho Radio with different female discussion panels each week as well as being an ambassador for JD Sport and hosting their weekly podcast on the JDX Platform.
How are you involved with accelerating equality and diversity in the workplace?
At Superfoxx, we champion female musicians and creatives with our DJ Academy and inspire, educate and employ the next generation of women, offering an empowering role model to young girls and giving them a platform to showcase their skills and monetise their passion. I also host a weekly chat show at Soho Radio and have featured many inspirational women doing incredible things.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Keep doing what you love and take responsibility for your own happiness. Oh and get some sleep!
Do you have any daily wellbeing/ self care tips?
Yes, the amazing 6/6 breath work technique where you breathe in for six and out for six through the nose for twenty minutes - this balances all the systems of the body and is called the Breath of Life.
Tell me about an amazing event you’ve been to
Superfoxx @ Ibiza Rocks with Mel C was pretty awesome, and Glitterbox at Hi is always so much fun!
Any inspirational women you want to give a shout out to?
Ah so many, but Anne Marie Imafidon at https://stemettes.org/about-us/ is doing really important work in championing diversity and innovation in technology.
S O U L S I S T E R S
Soul Sisters are setting the pace in the fitness influencer world thanks to their ability to make you smile while you sweat. Maddie and Alex are both certified personal trainers and nutritionists, and through their growing social media channel promote not only health and fitness but body and mind positivity, and the importance of mindfulness for growth and wellbeing.
They currently manage the Adidas Women’s fitness studio on Brick Lane where all classes are FREE, part of their campaign to promote fitness and female empowerment. For Adidas and the Soul Sisters alike it’s about creating a safe and confidence-boosting environment and to bring together a like minded community where women can work on reaching their goals. The fitness industry can be quite intimidating at first to some people, especially if they haven’t trained in a long time, but having a space that’s only for women makes it a comfortable environment and is a big confidence boost, which then translates into other areas of your life.
How are you involved with accelerating equality and diversity in the workplace?
We are very fortunate to work with a company that offer free classes for woman which makes it inclusive for absolutely everyone. Due to it being woman only, it means all ethnicities can safely use the studio and workout freely.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
It's Ok not to be Ok, don’t compare yourself to others, be kind to yourself and most importantly Trust in the process.
Do you have any daily wellbeing/ self care tips?
No matter how busy you are always try and set aside at least 15 minutes to get yourself outside and go for a walk. Walking is free and is amazing to help clear your mind. We both also love to start the day with 5 minutes of meditation, we love using ;headspace app’, also any form of exercise helps boost our mood, particularly a yoga class. If you haven’t found a studio that you like then Class Pass is an amazing way to try out lots of studios across London.
Tell me about an amazing event you’ve been to
We absolutely LOVE festivals, nothing beats getting into a lycra onesie, wearing a sequin hat and tons of glitter and dancing with nature to amazing music. Our favourite festival is El dorado.
Any inspirational women you want to give a shout out to?
Our Boss Nicky - without her the Adidas woman studio would never have happened. Iffy insta -(miss_iffy)- she created Time to Talk, a charity for people living with a stoma, she is the bravest woman we have met. And of course - our MUM!
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