Celebrating women all over the world on International Women's Day 2019

International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8th every year.

It was first known as “International Working Women’s Day,” and its purpose was to give labouring women a focusing point in their struggle for fair working conditions and pay.

We have some amazing women in our office and we were curious about their thoughts on International Women’s Day and how they find working for an international company – surrounded by men.

What skills are important to have in your sector?

A good set of skills to work in HR might be attention to detail, be trustworthy, be a team player (even if you work on a stand-alone role), be organised and love working with people. Also being able to create rapport and empathy with a good amount of Emotional intelligence, might help

What barriers have you faced, as a woman, in becoming successful in your field? How did you overcome them?

I have started my career 15 years ago and back then things were a bit different. You needed to work extremely hard to prove yourself worthy and that you truly deserved the opportunities given.

What are the current challenges for women in your sector?

The pay gap between gender is a reality that needs to change and we all must contribute, man, women, everyone!!

Who are some of your women role models? And why?

If we look around us, there is a large number of women that influence us for their bravery. Their sensitivity and the fact that they are pushing boundaries in their fields and in society. I can name a few like Ellen DeGeneres, Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey or Malala Yousafzai. But for me, my role model has to be my mum. My mum always has a smile on her face, no matter what is troubling her. She always finds the time, even on a very busy and already tight day to help out everyone that needs a hand. She raised two beautiful and smart children all by herself and having a successful career at the same time.

Do you think it’s important to have an International Women’s Day?

I think, International Women’s Day is important to celebrate the history and everything that Women’s conquered throughout the times!

How important is it for women to lift each other up and what does it mean to you?

Girl Power always! If we don’t help each other and we (women) don’t understand how complicated sometimes it can be (being a woman), None will.

#GirlPower

What advice would you give to your younger self?

You might go through some tough time, but never stop believing in yourself

What skills are important to have in your sector?

The required skills for this kind of position can vary as the position itself varies however the key skills are time management, organisation, prioritising, task balancing & holding all external guests who visit the office as a priority, no matter what is happening internally nor how much work we have to do.

What barriers have you faced, as a woman, in becoming successful in your field? How did you overcome them?

 I’m lucky as this position is usually fostered for women – perhaps it has been a follow on from tradition! I guess a challenge would be that when starting out, some people may underestimate your abilities because I’m a woman rather than observing what I can do.

Who are some of your women role models? And why?

My mum who has played a woman, man & superhuman for her entire life. She has no qualms in taking on any task or any responsibility in order to better herself and has never paid attention to any masculine / feminine stereotypes, or any stereotypes at all. She really focuses on becoming the best person she can be in all areas of her life. This has been amazing for me to always work on myself rather than trying to follow a mould on how I think I should be or what my life should look like.  

Do you think it’s important to have an International Women’s Day?

Definitely – the positive impact of International Women’s Day is widespread and reminds us to honour ourselves as women, the great women who inspire us & the women in our lives – which we can often forget to do in our busy-ness. Having said that, I think it’s just as important to pay equal respect to International Men’s Day & remember that it’s these days of celebration are not about putting down the other gender, but honouring both genders!

How important is it for women to lift each other up and what does it mean to you?

I think it’s more important than we realise on a surface level. There is still an impact of patriarchy present in our lives that we don’t realise affects us, and most of us fall into the habits of the previous generations division between men & women. There has been a lot of competition between women in the past at a superficial level. But when women lift each other up, we see past the superficiality and forced competition and honour each other for the HUMANS we are, rather than just being defined as ‘woman’ or ‘man’.

A big shout out to any man who is standing next to an amazing woman. Your day will come on November 19th. 

If you would like to read our previous blog on International Women’s Day, you can do it here.