27 Feb 2024

Is your DEI door open wide enough? The untold stories of the women left outside

With International Women’s Day on 8 March, employers need to ensure that ‘inclusion’ includes many women who feel forgotten about

Imagine we’re sitting down for a cuppa, and I start telling you about something that’s been on my mind a lot lately. It’s International Women’s Day – a day we both know is a biggie for shining a light on all the amazing things women do. This year, we’re focusing on ‘inclusion’. Now, before your eyes glaze over at another workplace buzzword, I promise this is different.

You see, despite all the talks and policies about making workplaces accessible to all, we’re not quite there yet. It’s like we’ve opened the door to inclusion, but left the safety chain on. And that’s just not right, is it?

Now, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. Achieving true inclusion isn’t about grand gestures; it’s about the little moments and the individual stories. It’s listening to "THAT Woman" – you know, the one who’s brilliant but maybe a bit misunderstood or overlooked at work. We should be giving her the mic and making sure we’re all ears.

On 14 February, we had a bit of a gathering – nothing fancy, just a few of the biggest experts in HR, Benefits, Wellbeing, and diveersity, equity and inclusion from places like BNP Paribas, Virgin Atlantic and Microsoft getting together to have an honest chat about gender inclusion. And let me tell you, it was eye-opening.

We swapped stories that really tugged at the heartstrings. We heard of this one employee, just back from maternity leave, trying to find her footing again at work and needing just a bit more flexibility. And another, battling through endometriosis, looking for a bit of understanding and support from her male manager. And from the woman who was back at her desk after miscarrying her baby last night. It’s these personal tales that bring home the reality of what we women are really dealing with.

And the stats, oh my, they’re something else:

Women are three times more likely than men to struggle with mental health issues.
Endometriosis is as hard to spot as a decent man on a dating app – takes about 8 years on average.
1 in 10 women have left jobs because the menopause made the workplace feel like a sauna with deadlines.
And what’s even more shocking is that erectile dysfunction (which affects 19% of men) has been studied five times more than PMS, (which affects 90% of women).

These stories and figures are a wake-up call. They’re telling us to roll up our sleeves and weave awareness and support for these real-life experiences into the fabric of our workplaces.

So, what’s next? Well, we must start the conversation and keep it going, policies should be as flexible as a yoga instructor, and teach line managers more about gender matters at work.

And here’s where you come in. We know it’s hard to achieve true gender inclusion and that’s why this International Women’s Day we’re doing something really special for you and your colleagues.

On Tuesday, 5 March at midday, Peppy is holding a webinar - it’s going to be insightful, heartfelt, and might just change the way we think about inclusion in our workplaces.

Find out more about the webinar and register to attend.