Empowering Women: Building An Inclusive Workplace
In the spirit of International Women's Day 2024 and its theme, 'Count Her In: Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress,' we embark on a journey to explore the pivotal role of economic inclusion for women and girls particularly in Australia.
We had insightful conversations with some of the remarkable team members at Allura Partners; Andrew Smith, Leanne Wells and Lucy Starbuck. As we delve into the article, we uncover strategies and initiatives that actively contribute to creating inclusive and equitable workplaces, ensuring women thrive, learn, earn, and lead effectively.
Q: How do you actively contribute to creating a workplace environment that is both inclusive and equitable? Could you share your strategies for enhancing these values not only within Allura Partners but also across the wider employment landscape?
Since Allura Partners' inception we have had a focus on inclusivity, diversity, and parity. We've purposely fostered a diverse team not just focused on gender but other diversity factors such as national origin, age and cultural background.
Our workplace environment prioritises inclusion, evident in company-wide initiatives like our annual incentive trips to celebrate and acknowledge everyone in our collective achievements.
We continually refine our benefits and value propositions, tailoring them to meet the real needs of our team. This includes offering comprehensive paid parental leave for both primary and secondary carers, extra annual leave, and allowances for working holidays, recognising the different life stages and personal commitments of team. It’s important to enable everyone to create a workplace that allows a balance of professional growth with personal life demands.
Externally, we champion diversity through industry-specific initiatives like Tech Career Paths 4 Girls, aiming to inspire female tech talent from a young age. We also ensure diversity in our client proposals, promoting equitable representation across industries. Our approach is authentic, striving to make inclusivity and equity not just internal policies, but industry-wide practices.
Q: Considering the goal of establishing an inclusive workplace where women can thrive, learn, earn, and lead, what foundational elements do you believe are essential when building such a team? How do these elements contribute to the overall success and inclusivity of the workplace?
For me creating an inclusive workplace where women can thrive involves several key elements focused on fostering opportunity and removing barriers to progression. It’s essential to provide tailored support to individuals and not blanket manage, recognising that development needs and obstacles are unique. This approach requires a commitment to understanding individual challenges and actively seeking solutions, sometimes beyond our immediate knowledge or resources – so it’s good to approach things with a learner’s mindset and look to explore pathways of solution.
In terms of the impact on overall success and inclusivity, embracing diversity of thought across all levels of the organisation has proven to be invaluable. We often involve the whole business to develop strategies, such as branding, ensuring that all voices were heard to create our direction and identity.
At the leadership level, I know personally incorporating insights from varied gender, seniority, and professional backgrounds only enriches decision-making, leading to more effective and inclusive outcomes for the business.
Q: Reflecting on this year's International Women's Day theme; could you discuss a particular program or initiative that you’ve seen that effectively encourages organisations to attract and retain female talent?
I have heard of so many wonderful initiatives across my P&C network. One initiative that stands out for its effectiveness in encouraging organisations to attract and retain female talent is the Gender Pay Gap reporting. This initiative highlights the inequalities within the workplace by exposing the disparities in pay between genders. It serves a dual purpose: firstly, it acts as a public call-out to companies falling short of equitable pay practices, and secondly, it celebrates those organisations who are truly committed to an equal and fair workplace for all.
With such transparency, it will certainly be a factor for women when considering future employers. It’s a fabulous nudge in the right direction to almost force the hand of companies to take it seriously and commit to further improvements in their approach to gender diversity.
Another great initiative is empowering women and young girls through grassroot sponsorship programs and particularly in male-dominated industries. Allura Partners recently co-hosted an event with Tech Career Paths 4 Girls to answer the call of the lack of females in the tech industry. It was a fantastic panel including the incredibly passionate, Emma Pudney.
Q: Women's reluctance to negotiate for higher salaries has long been considered a significant contributor to the gender pay gap. Do you have any advice on the best strategies for women who are going into those conversations?
Firstly, do your due diligence! Research the market; call your trusted recruitment partner, consult your trusted network, and if you’ve been approached by other companies, use those offers as benchmarks. This information will serve as your negotiation “bag of tricks”.
Assess and articulate your value! With the above information, evaluate whether you’re being underpaid. If so, collect the data and prepare a compelling case that highlights your contributions to the company – back yourself. Focus on projects you’ve led or are currently leading, their impact on the business’s success and how you’ve met or exceeded your KPIs. Timing is key; if you’re exceeding key deliverables and KPIs you’re in a good position to approach negotiations.
Be mindful of your tone and body language. Approach the negotiation with a positive, confident, and constructive attitude. Demanding or issuing ultimatums is unlikely to be as well received, so instead, build your case and be ready to bend to get what you want. This could include negotiating for short-term incentives (STIs), long-term incentives (LTIs), or even equity in the company. Demonstrating flexibility shows you're invested in the company's future and confident in your ability to contribute significantly.
And finally, just ask! Negotiating a higher salary is not greedy or selfish, but a fair and reasonable way to advance your career.
Q: Recognising that women often face various forms of bias and additional hurdles in participating fully in their workplaces and ascending to leadership positions, what advice would you offer to women navigating these challenges?
Addressing the challenges of bias and obstacles for women in the workplace is challenging to answer in a succinct way! Despite the external barriers we often cannot control, we do have influence over our internal barriers. For me, the two main gamechangers for me in my career were:
First, cultivating a network of coaches and mentors has been invaluable. This network has provided diverse perspectives for tackling various situations, as well as reflected on my own strengths when I've been unable to see them myself, helping me overcome internal hurdles.
Second, I've learned the importance of pausing to recognise and celebrate successes. We tend to rush from one task to another, only reflecting during formal evaluations. I recommend writing a list of achievements you want to celebrate each month (however small!) to boost confidence in your ability and be able to share with your leadership and teams to be able to increase your visibility, confidence and resilience.
- Lucy Starbuck, Head of Finance and Operations at Allura Partners
Q: Could you share a piece of impactful advice that you've received during your career journey that could empower other women to enhance their abilities to learn, earn, and lead effectively?
The most valuable advice I've been given is that confidence is built through courageous action. It's easy to get caught up in planning and strategising, imagining where we want to be. However, the real key to building the confidence needed to reach those heights is to take the initial step and trust in our ability to handle the outcome, whatever it may be.
- Lucy Starbuck, Head of Finance and Operations at Allura Partners
These engaging conversations have unravelled strategies, initiatives, and valuable advice, reinforcing the significance of fostering economic inclusion for women. From championing diversity through policies and industry-specific programs to empowerment and addressing the gender pay gap, the insights highlight the path towards a more inclusive and equitable workplace.
As we celebrate International Women's Day, let us actively contribute to workplaces that empower women to navigate challenges, enhance their abilities, and lead with confidence. The journey towards progress continues, with each story and piece of advice creating a world where every woman is counted in.