Diversity is so important in both the workplace and outside. It allows people to learn different points of view, hear different experiences, and help with innovation. Moreover, allowing every individual to feel a sense of community and support will aid positive mental health and well-being.
So, make sure you don’t miss out on being able to spread the word on different gender diversity topics by adding these dates to your 2023 calendar!
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International Women’s Day – 8th March
International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. It also marks a focal point in the women’s rights movement, bringing awareness to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights and abuse against women. Are these issues still a concern today? Unfortunately, although women have more rights than they used to, more so in particular regions, there are still many concerns that need to be addressed.
According to the World Health Organisation, 1 in 3 women globally will experience either physical or sexual violence in their lifetime and it will take approximately 52 years to close the gender gap in Western Europe. In most other regions the years this can take to achieve can reach up to 195 years. We can also see gender inequity in the low percentage of women in leadership, which was 36.9% in 2022, compared to men. However, in a recent survey by Women in Tech it has shown that, even if women do get into roles that they want, such as in the tech industry, a staggering 76% of the respondents said that they had experienced gender bias or discrimination in the workplace at least once. In an ideal world, this percentage of women in leadership roles would be at 50%, the abuse of women would not occur anywhere and there would be no gender pay gap. This is what International Women’s Day is all about!
Every year IWD even has a specific theme and this year (2023) the theme is #EmbraceEquity. The main goals are to celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness about discrimination and take action to drive gender parity. Together we can forge women’s equality. Every single one of us is needed to be able to succeed. You can help by sharing the passion and excitement that comes from valuing and supporting difference and encouraging your friends, family, colleagues, and community to embrace equity. To find out more about how you can help, click here.
There are also many ways companies can show their support for the campaign and get the word out. For example, you can get your staff involved in the #EmbraceEquity photo challenge on social media which is a fun way to get the conversation about gender equality going! Another way you can contribute is to encourage your staff to attend online panel events, or webinars, where they will listen to women who have already travelled the path share their life experiences, knowledge, and expert advice. In addition, you can hold a coffee morning with staff where you can raise money for a women’s charity, such as Wonder Foundation.
Starling Bank’s co-founder, Anne Boden, has openly spoken about the importance of IWD in which she said ‘It’s a day when we can be courageous and speak up. A day when we can make it clear to the world that women are not being allowed to fill 50% of the powerful roles in society. This is simply not fair.’ Moreover, Journey Hero has created a dedicated International Women’s Day campaign featuring personal stories from some of their team ‘Sheroes’, which you can read more about here.
To find out more about the celebration of International Women’s Day, click here.
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International Day of Women and Girls in Science – 11th February
Despite women having made huge progress in the science world, with them making up 46% of the total science professional workforce, there are still certain areas the can be improved. For example, Women only account for 33% of researchers and are typically given smaller research grants than their male colleagues and female researchers tend to have shorter, less well-paid careers. Here you can find out about some important women researchers, showcasing how much of an asset it is to have females in these roles.
This year, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (IDWGIS) will focus on the role of Women and Girls and Science as relates to the Sustainable Development Goals. The goal of this is to connect the International Community to Women and Girls in Science, strengthening the ties between science, policy, and society for strategies oriented towards the future.
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International Girls in ICT Day – 27th April
International Girls in ICT Day is a global initiative that takes place every year on the fourth Thursday of every April. It aims to encourage young women to choose careers and education in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) and, in particular, ICT. The president of the United Nations General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, said “This exclusion is due to issues of affordability, gender-biased sociocultural norms, and a lack of education.”, suggesting it is not due to a lack of capabilities, but due to external circumstances.
There are many ways to support this initiative, including attending events and empowering the next generation by sharing who your favourite women in technology are, using the official hashtag: #GirlsinICT. If you are already a tech professional, you can hold an event, or webinar, to speak about your experiences in the field, to encourage and motivate young women. The importance of role models has been shown to have a huge impact on how many women go into tech in the future as it is always inspiring to see people who you can relate to, putting a dream into action and being successful in doing so.
You can read more about the impact role models have on women in tech here.
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National Day of Staff Networks – 10th May
The National Day of Staff Networks is all about celebrating and acknowledging the contributions and importance of workplace networks, to support collaboration and teamwork. The aim of networks is to inspire a feeling of belonging. National Day for Staff Networks has shown that nearly 40% of organisations relied on their networks to keep them informed on the wellbeing of employees, demonstrating their importance.
GCHQ have a wide range of support networks and support groups for their workforce to create an even more inclusive working environment, one of these being GWN (GCHQ’s Women’s Network). This means that no matter who you are, GCHQ is an incredibly open, supportive and welcoming place to work. They also have a DEN network for disabled employees, BELIEF for all faiths and beliefs and a Provide network to support the LGBTIQ+ community.
To find out more about the National Day of Staff Networks click here.
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Baby loss awareness week – 9th to 15th September
Baby Loss Awareness Week is a chance for those who have lived through this tragedy to come together as a community and share their feelings and experiences in an open and supportive environment. It is an important day as this can be a life-changing event and can take a long time to recover from and the grief may never fully leave. Most of the time these losses could not have been prevented, yet they can still leave behind feelings of guilt and anger, which can take a long time to work through and can manifest into mental health issues, such as PTSD and depression.
As this is such a sensitive time, it is also important to create a safe environment in the workplace. This may include educating managers and co-workers about pregnancy loss and how to help someone that is grieving. This will allow the person to feel comfortable enough to come into the office or talk about any worries they have. Alongside this, it is beneficial to have plan in place for returning to work in these incidences.
Click here to read an article on pregnancy loss and the workplace.
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International Equal Pay Day – 18th September
The aim of International Equal Pay Day is to end the pay gap which discriminates against women, with particular support to those in minority groups, such as women of colour and disabled women. The ‘Gender Pay Gap’ is a measurement of the difference between the average earnings of men and women, usually shown as a percentage difference between the two. As of 2022, the Median pay for all employees was 14.9% less for women than for men and among full-time employees the gender pay gap in April 2022 was 8.3%. Whilst this is an improvement from 8.9% in 2019, there is still a way to go and therefore, bringing more awareness to this issue is paramount.
The Fawcett Society is the UK’s leading membership charity campaigning for gender equality and women’s rights at work, at home and in public life and they have created a briefing to explain more about the gender pay gap and discrimination. You can read more about this here.
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World Menopause Day – 18th October
World Menopause Day is held every year on the 18th of October. The purpose of the day is to raise awareness of menopause and the support options available for improving health and wellbeing. It also allows an open conversation to start about a topic that was ‘taboo’ for a long time. This is so important as it has been found that women at the beginning of their menopause journey are more likely to find symptoms unbearable or severe, with symptoms including changes in mood, hot flashes, difficulty sleeping and anxiety – to name just a few. This is likely to be due to a lack of education and preparation which mean many women feel their arrival into menopause is on the backfoot. These women are also more likely to suffer in silence, causing stress and negative attitudes towards menopause which exacerbates symptoms’ severity, frequency, and longevity. With approximately 13 million women going through the stages of menopause now, it’s a wonder it’s not spoken about more often!
International IM Menopause Society encourages professionals and women to participate in this global awareness raising campaign by printing and sharing the materials found on their website, organising events to engage their communities, and sharing World Menopause Day social media posts.
Find out more about how women can thrive through menopause.
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National Inclusion Week – September 25th to October 1st
National Inclusion Week is a week dedicated to learning about and celebrating inclusive culture and it unites organisations and individuals from all over the world. It was initially created to encourage organisations to focus on inclusion and consider the benefits of having a diverse workforce. Over the last ten years the recognition for it has grown, now becoming a milestone event in the diversity and inclusivity calendar.
The theme for this year will be announced in the early months of 2023, but you can still register to join National Inclusion Week 2023 here to get updates and have access to a toolkit and events once launched.
With all these incredible upcoming initiatives, be sure to add them all to your gender diversity calendar for 2023!
