As of August 2016, The Australian’s Government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency reported that women comprise 46.2% of all employees in Australia. Women also hold only 14.2% of chair positions, 23.6% of directorships, 15.4% of CEO positions and 27.4% of key management personnel positions. Further, women in full-time positions earn 16.2% less on average than men. Despite a general shift in the past decade towards greater empowerment for women in the workplace, women continue to face roadblocks when it comes to succeeding at work.
With this in mind, our team set about asking how we can incorporate a bit more of the Business Chicks’ spirit into every day. Here are our tips for supporting each other and seeking out the support of others in your professional life…
- Reach out to a coworker you may not spend time with every day. Find out what they’re working on and if you can help, or just offer a kind word of encouragement.
- Seek out professional development forums and events where you can meet and network with like-minded professionals, whether they are in your industry or not. Earlier this month our team attended the EA Leadership Forum and it was a great way to connect with other hardworking and inspiring women.
- If you don’t already have a mentor, start looking. Once you’ve found the one for you they can be a great source of support and professional guidance.
- Work through any tension or issues with coworkers by making an effort to get to know them better. Organizing a team event can be a fun way to connect as a team.
- Identify any skill areas you want to strengthen and uncover the best person in your workplace to offer assistance. Sometimes the best way to receive support is to ask for it!
As a note on the above, don’t just limit your choice of mentors and advisors to females; do look for inspiring males that can also help you on your quest for development. The other point we always talk about at EST10 is leading by example, i.e. be the first one to smile, welcome the new person, offer encouragement, advice and mentoring. We believe in spreading that sort encouragement and love and we are not shy about being the first to do so. In getting into the spirit, why not try on a daily basis to offer some form of encouragement or compliment. You won’t be able to stop at one… it’s contagious!
How does your work team support each other? We’d love to know about your experiences and ideas on how as females we can better support each other.