We are now wrapping up our forum

-#ActivistAmbassador #TBSAH #SelfLoveUprising ... Self Love Uprising from The Body Shop is beautiful

-Deep listening, dialogue, and connecting to "the other" (a loaded word) is a key part of this shift. Ian Martin Group (a BCorp) is working on this.

-Addressing unconscious bias, listening deeply to everyone and having the courage to initiative challenging conversations 

-It is critical to think about not only gender but also other elements of equity such as ethnicity and sexual orientation

-Be conscious about the right words, the right terms

-Reinforcement and broader selection panels will increase diversity and this in turn will result in even more diversity in our workplaces

-Training on unconscious bias in the hiring process. Avon has recently launched this initiative and it really opens your eyes to how you stem the need to hire "people like you--> again comes down to awareness and creating leadership with a balance of gender / Colour and LGBTQ+ so there is a fair representation

Q3. As we heard in the panel discussion, certain diverse groups such as women of colour and LGBTQ+ face even deeper challenges in achieving workplace equality, across developed and developing countries. How can we ensure progress on gender equality in the workplace is inclusive of everyone? Please suggest examples of companies doing a good job in addressing inequality for women of colour or within the LGBTQ+ community

-Complacency- many people regardless of gender have not paid attention to this problem for many years, even women themselves.. not be complacent with status quo

-Women should have equal opportunities to lead 

-Communication is key - to better understand their intentions and career goals

-we need to remove barriers preventing women's ability to focus on work - providing child care, flexibility working hours, paid parental leave

-think of an ideal remuneration and reward system - big gap nowadays

-Attitudes are a big barrier

-Women in leadership positions - we need to balance the gap

-provocation and/or inspiration to shake free of old frames and see the world differently, which is a precursor to taking action 

-corporate culture can often be a significant barrier --> leadership has to understand and embrace real challenges 

-make the most out of current flexibility

- Not involving all stakeholders with shared authority for changes is a barrier

-Mindset - total reset is required

-Women's representation at a senior or board level is crucial 

Q2. We've heard about some of the initiatives from companies and they can certainly play a role in improving workplace standards, mobilizing supply chains, and collaborating to improve market practices and many more areas. But what are the barriers to making more progress in gender equality in the workplace?

- Mental health awareness and impact is so important.. need to talk more about it in the workplace

- Abuse needs to stop. Full stop

- Education is a start, globally raising awareness of people’s struggles, should create more empathy. Less anger is needed too

Poll question #1 posted - please vote!

-More of a holistic approach to supporting women in the workplace.

- Adjusting how we measure success is key to supporting and enabling women to achieve that success

- creating explicit policies to blend work and family obligations, allowing for flexibility

- fleixibility is key 

- Increase the number of women on boards, making the big decisions

- Flexible working hours eg: Employers should empower managers to be more flexible to work outside of the 9 to 5 barrier so women can continue to work and care for families.

- support for them to create space and opportunity to hear and address challenges

- investing in changing the leadership style and processes to a more collaborative approach

- policies for future crisis

- have a program inside the company to educate, mentor and support women (and men) - we need to change the game, the rules

Q1.  What initiatives can companies do to address these increasing vulnerabilities for women in the workplace during the pandemic? Please share your ideas and examples.