International Women’s Day is a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. It is also a day to advocate for gender equality and inclusivity in all aspects of society. By recognising and empowering women, we can create a more inclusive world for all. This year’s International Women’s Day theme is ‘Inspire Inclusion’, so let’s continue to support women’s rights every day, not just on International Women’s Day.
Having more women in the workplace provides numerous benefits. Studies have shown that gender diversity in the workforce leads to increased productivity and innovation. When women join the workforce, they bring in new skills and perspectives that contribute to the overall success of businesses and organisations.
Furthermore, having women in leadership positions can positively influence the company culture and decision-making processes. Research has found that companies with more women in top executive roles tend to have higher financial performance.
Gender diversity also enhances problem-solving and decision-making. By bringing together individuals with different backgrounds and perspectives, diverse teams can offer a wider range of insights and ideas, leading to more effective solutions.
Additionally, creating an inclusive work environment that promotes gender equity has been linked to higher levels of employee engagement and satisfaction. When women feel valued and supported in the workplace, they are more likely to stay with the company long-term and contribute to its success.
In summary, women in the workplace bring a range of benefits, including increased productivity, enhanced innovation, improved decision-making, and higher employee satisfaction. Embracing gender diversity and promoting inclusion is not only the right thing to do; it also makes good business sense.
Here at Newable, we provide a range of benefits and policies to help Women continue to thrive in the workplace, These include:
- A yearly £500 training and development budget
- Wellbeing days
- Volunteering opportunities
- Internal mentoring programme
- Enhanced family-friendly leave and pay
- Menopause policy
- Fair pay policy
We also have a dedicated Women in the Workplace Employee Resources Group, this group was created recently to help support women in the workplace, they meet monthly to discuss how Newable can better support women, with topics around work/life balance, training opportunities, mentoring, flexible working and how to encourage more female applicants to join Newable.
At Newable, we value our 79 remarkable women employees who contribute their talents, skills, and dedication. These incredible individuals play pivotal roles across various functions, from administration to management. Their commitment, creativity, and resilience enrich our workplace, fostering an environment of diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunity.
In celebration of International Women’s Day, we have chosen to spotlight one of our remarkable women employees, Sian Hughes.
Sian joined Newable in August 2013 as an admin temp to work on a week-long series of events in November of that year for the DIT South East contract that we were running at the time. Sian was brought in to support the event and marketing team with anything that needed to be done to organise and deliver around 10 events in 5 days, all across the South East. Her manager at the time clearly saw something in her and pushed for Sian to get a position once the temp contract was up and since then she has been able to work on both the events and marketing side and then progress to Team Leader and onto her current role as Event Manager.
1. How do you balance work and personal life?
I am very lucky where I live that there is a lot going on that makes me want to log off at the end of the day and go and explore or do something in order to have that work life balance. I live a 5 minute walk from the beach so a morning coffee watching the waves sets me up to take on the day and also entices me to log off at a decent time in the summer so that I can get back down to the beach or head off to the New Forest or the South Downs, which are both very close by, to explore and get outside in nature. I have joined a lot of different clubs to try new skills and volunteer a lot as well. Being part of a club or having volunteering commitments forces you to have that balance (which helps in my aerial trapeze classes) because someone else is relying on you to be somewhere and I don’t like to let people down. Not a lot of people know this but I have been through a divorce in the last couple of years and through this experience I have regained my independence but also have a reinvigorated love for life, I will take any opportunity to try something new, explore and discover, and the biggest thing that I have learnt and love is to not be afraid to do something new on my own!
2. What challenges have you faced as a woman in your role, and how did you overcome them?
In my early career I worked in the motor industry and it was hard sometimes to be in a male dominated industry, but also to be (most of the time) a good few decades younger than a lot of the people I was working with. When I was planning events, exhibitions or attendance at trade shows it was hard initially to gain that level of respect and to get people to respond to what I was asking of them rather than them going straight to the head of the department (who was male). It taught me that attention to detail and being thorough is extremely important, if I could show them that I was reliable and I knew what I was talking about then I would gain their respect and their trust. It also pushed me to try harder and grow more, I wanted to prove to people that I could do everything I wanted to and more. If someone doubted me or went over my head to my line manager then I would ask for more responsibility so I could learn, develop and show that I was just as capable as the guys in my team. I believe that persistence has got me to where I am today and luckily, not only have times changed, but I can see the benefits of working for a much more inclusive company and not having to constantly prove myself has let me get on with the job and pursue my dreams more rather than just feeling like I needed to prove myself the whole time.
3. Who are your role models or mentors, and why?
Not to be cliché but my mum is one of my role models, she was the main bread winner when I was growing up and her and my dad made the decision that my dad would be a stay at home dad to be there for me and my sister and my mum would go back to work and pursue her career. I have watched her do something she loves for my whole life and also progress up her career ladder. I watched her study for her degree when I was a child and was there to celebrate with her at her graduation. Having this amazing role model has set me up with the mindset that I can do and achieve what I want and I can also make the world my own. By having such a supportive husband, who was a stay at home dad in the early 90s in order for my mum to have the opportunity to advance her career, has given me the vision that I can set my own rules and create my own destiny which I think is an incredible thing for parents to inspire in their children.
4. Tell us about a moment when you felt empowered or proud of your contributions.
In 2019, Giacomo, Head of Events and Live Marketing, and some other Senior Managers who were working in the team at the time, nominated me for a National Event Organiser Award, I was shortlisted and the team were invited to the Awards Ceremony at the National Gallery in London. My category was the last one of the night and I won! It was a surreal moment to realise I had won a national award for Events Management but also that the team had seen something in me and the hard work that I had put in at Newable to feel like I was worthy of a nomination in the first place. It was a few years ago now but it still makes me smile to think back on that evening and how far I had come up until that point and now beyond that as well, helping to guide the Events Team through Covid and all the changes which were brought into the Events industry practically overnight.
5. What motivates you to continue growing and excelling in your career?
I love organising, planning, creating situations for people to come together, learn and grow. These days my personal life isn’t as organised as people might think and I love to be spontaneous so it is great to have the outlet at work to utilise my skills and do something that I really enjoy. I feel very lucky to be able to do something I enjoy so much for a job and have been able to develop at Newable to learn other areas that I enjoy as well. I have been able to develop my leadership and management skills and now one of the most rewarding parts of the job for me is working with my team, supporting them to learn and grow and watching them develop in their jobs and careers.