Balance for Better - Striving for Gender Balance

On March 8th we celebrated 'International Women's Day' with it's theme of #balanceforbetter, a campaign which will continue throughout the year.

​I believe it should continue beyond 2019 so we carry on creating balance in the world. The challenges we currently face won’t go away if we just quit taking action once we reach the end of the year. As with any change, behavioural or otherwise commitment and perseverance is required or progress will stop.
 
The ‘Balance for Better’ campaign looks at building a gender balanced world, which is essential for businesses, economies and communities to thrive.
 
Diversity in thinking, perspectives, learning styles and personalities is a must for success in business and these other areas, gender balance allows all of these and many more attributes to create and enhance success.
 
We already know how important balance is in all aspects of life, it’s something we can all work towards creating for ourselves and for others in varying forms.
 
The campaign theme emphasises that we all have a part to play to make gender balance happen. Including both women and men in the conversations for change will enable collaborative action.

Here’s an example of how an open conversation can change assumptions and perspectives, which are very important for working towards gender parity.

I spoke at a few events for IWD on the theme of ‘Imposter Syndrome’ & Self-Doubt. For clarity ‘Imposter Syndrome’ is described as an internalised fear of being exposed as a fraud or a fake and affects individuals, particularly in their professional lives.
 
One of the common misconceptions about ‘Imposter Syndrome’ is that it only affects women. This is not the case both women and men can struggle with ‘Imposter Syndrome’, generally women are more likely to open up and speak about their experiences than men
 
I explained this in my talk and was thanked by several male attendees for raising this.
 
The attendees (both female and male) were surprised, as they’d assumed it was something only women struggled with.
 
This is a very simple example of how speaking in an open forum attended by both women and men about issues and experiences, can change assumptions and perspectives in what was a relatively short space of time.
 
Imagine what we can achieve if we create the opportunity to have more open and honest conversations around gender balance, with a view to driving action.
 
It’s a shared responsibility to drive gender balance, without understanding each other, championing what needs to change, nothing will change and we’ll continue as is making assumptions without having any evidence to back these up.
 
Women and men no matter what age can often see things from a different perspective. When we exchange thoughts and ideas and listen to each other in a language both parties understand, we’re able to open up better communication channels and conversations to appreciate different viewpoints and work towards the change we want to see, which is more balance.
 
What will your contribution be to balance the world for better?