International Women’s Day 2024: Inspiring Inclusion

International Women’s Day happens every 8th of March. The day celebrates the achievements of women socially, politically, and culturally and raises valuable awareness for greater gender equality.

The IWD theme for 2024 is #InspireInclusion. As an employer, it’s important to consider all the ways you can celebrate and recognize International Women’s Day and how inclusion can be promoted and improved in your workplace.

So, to help guide you, BrightHR has combined some tips, some statistics, and a free policy! And if that’s not enough to inspire change, real stories from real people should be. That’s why this year we asked our BrightHR advocates to share what inspiring inclusion means to them.

First things first though…

What does inspiring inclusion mean?

Inspiring inclusion is a bit of a buzzword. So let’s break it down in real terms. When it comes down to it, an inclusive workplace means not excluding members of your team based on gender, race, class, sexuality, or disability. It also means giving everybody a fair chance at success and providing equal opportunities.

Promoting gender equality in the workplace is not just a matter of fairness. It's also essential for the success and growth of your business. Numerous studies have shown that diverse teams lead to better business outcomes.

Inspiring inclusion in your organization is not just the job of your HR managers, it’s everybody's responsibility to forge a more inclusive world for women and all employees.

So, when it comes to inspiring inclusion—the most important lesson is it’s not just the responsibility of the people who are looking to be included, in this case, women. Inspiring change demands attention from every level of business. But fostering inclusion and gender equity begins at the top.

What does inspiring inclusion mean to BrightHR customers?

We asked the female founders and decision-makers who use BrightHR software to tell us what this year’s International Women’s Day theme, #InspiringInclusion, means to them.

Jacqui Okum - Owner & Founder at Strawberry Blonde Bakery

“The very core of Strawberry Blonde Bakery is about inclusion. Our products are all made with that in mind… helping individuals with allergies or alternative food choices feel safe in our shops and with the food we make. This organically extends to being inclusive to our employees and customers.”

Mariana Santos - Founder & CEO at Brazily Fitness

“A sense of belonging is the heartbeat of inclusion. Which is why our programs focus so much on social connection.”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves!

Why does female representation matter?

Women now hold 27% of board roles across publicly listed Canadian companies, which is a 16% increase over the last nine years. Such improvements are great, but there’s still lots of progress to be made.

That’s why representation is huge when it comes to inspiring inclusivity, not only for the success of women but for the success of your business.

Holly Christie, Onboarding Account Manager at BrightHR, Ireland spoke to us about her past experiences with gender in the workplace. Working in software and sales she said when she first started her career the environment was largely male. But that attitudes are changing and hiring more women who are “incredible at what they do” is flipping the script that you don’t need to be male to be successful in sales.

Reflecting on previous employers, she says: “Unfortunately alongside many other highly qualified and motivated women, I’ve been driven out of companies that don’t offer progression opportunities to their female employees.” Luckily Holly says she now feels like she’s in a position in her career where her gender would never be a barrier to her progression. But unfortunately, a lot of qualified women could still be being pushed out.

Disadvantages women face in the workplace

Businesses, leaders, managers and even your more junior employees can become blind to the societal disadvantages women face day to day.

One substantial inequality women still face at work is the gender pay gap. [The gender pay gap](https://www.ufcw.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33374:by-the-numbers-gender-pay-gap&catid=10342&Itemid=6&lang=en#:~:text=According%20to%20Statistics%20Canada%20(2022,of%20every%20dollar%20men%20make) currently stands at 0.89 and at current rates will take at least another 267.6 years to close globally. And because this huge gap still exists, government guidelines and legislation continue to put laws in place to crack down on unequal pay. As an employer, it’s important you make sure you’re up to date with the latest advice

But beyond making sure you’re following guidelines, how does the gender pay gap impact your business? Well…if you don’t have the right policies and procedures to support all your staff—no matter their gender—your staff will disengage. And disengaged staff will affect your team and your performance.

So, how can you better support women in your workplace?

To stop driving your talented employees out, it’s important to educate yourself and your staff on equality, diversity & inclusion so you can support everyone at work equally. BrightLearn is a free e-learning tool you can use to educate and upskill your staff. Try our free e-learning course on diversity & inclusion.

And to help you #InspireInclusion in your workplace this International Women’s Day and beyond, contact our HR experts, they're available 24/7, 365 to answer your pressing employment relations questions this International Womens Day and beyond!

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