International Women's Day: What can Yorkshire do to support the businesswomen of tomorrow?

This International Women’s Day, Bdaily wanted not only to look at what the business landscape looks like for women in 2020, but to examine what is needed to support the female leaders of tomorrow.

We invited firms and organisations from across our key regions to share what they feel is needed to support the next generation of women in business.

Yorkshire business leaders shared their thoughts, addressing the responsibility that business owners have to support women, the opportunities that should be offered, and what can be done at different levels of management.

Katie Saunders, HR director of automotive company JCT600, said that industries as a whole need to encourage recruitment of women, especially in traditionally male-dominated sectors.

“It is particularly important that sectors like the automotive industry, which in the past have been seen as being male dominated, do all they can to encourage female recruitment, not least because we need the talent women bring.

“Last year, JCT600 joined the UK Automotive 30 per cent Club, an organisation committed to achieving a better gender balance in the sector.

“Clearly, ensuring that we are more focused on flexibility around working hours and shifts is also helping us improve our gender balance and create a more flexible workforce overall.

“We try really hard to encourage women to return from maternity leave in all roles by adopting a positive starting point when looking at flexible working requests.

“Ensuring that we offer a work place that nurtures women and helps them develop and progress in an environment where they feel appreciated, has been a key part of our work and appears to be paying off.”

Sarah Tahamtani, partner and head of Clarion’s employment service, said that government policy has an important effect on how many women are in leadership roles.

“With the introduction of gender pay gap reporting and increased focus and demand for organisations to have an diverse workforce, which represents its target audience, there has been a steady increase of women to senior leadership positions.

“This is not only great for women but also great for business given the wealth of evidence which shows that a more diverse leadership team leads to a more successful, creative businesses.

“For real change to take place, there has to be a shift in mindset in government policy on family friendly rights and our values and expectations of roles in society; when looking after your family is not based on your gender or who earns the most, because there is greater parity, women will be on a much more level playing field in business, where output becomes the true measure of success.”

Natasha Babar Evans, COO of Wizu Workspace, talked about the importance of women bringing their own personalities into their work.

“As a business leader and mother, it has never been more important to me to be a role model, but the best advice I would give is not to fit a model or try to be like someone else.

“It’s a much better plan to just work on being happy and find out what makes you tick.

“In business, the people I most want to be around are people I find interesting and can actually connect with on a personal level.

“Being great at your job is really important and you won’t win business or make an impact unless you are good at the basics but what makes you great in business is YOU.”

Katrina Cliffe, founder of KC Communications said that employers should offer opportunities for women, but equally that women should embrace those opportunities.

“It is absolutely possible for businesses of any size to support and empower our fellow females.

“Whether it’s helping them to understand in more detail about what makes them unique in the workplace, encouraging them to develop their resilience or challenging them to better themselves, the positive outcomes which can come from this can be far-reaching, both for the individual and for the business as a whole.

“As an employer that has predominantly employed women (not intentional, it’s the nature of the industry I’m in), supporting women in the workplace leads to increased retention, them going the extra mile when needed, business growth, and allows them to feel valued and achieve their ambitions in the process. A win-win all round!

“If you are a recipient of such support, grab it with both hands, hold yourself accountable during the process and embrace the opportunities that come your way.

“For those doing the empowering, try not to be disheartened when the growth opportunities for those individuals lay elsewhere.

“See it as a fresh start, the opportunity to grow yourself and the ability to invest your time in empowering a new generation of fearless females.”

Ellen Cole, founder of Little Seed Group, said that business owners have a responsibility to support women.

“Personally, for me, I feel it’s crucial that existing business owners do their utmost to support the next generation of female business leaders, especially in terms of raising their confidence, self-esteem and helping them to have positive thoughts and feelings about themselves.

“I firmly believe that by being kind and helping others to see good in themselves is the way forward to help others to grow, thrive and blossom.”

What more can be done to support and inspire women in business? Let us know on Twitter @Bdaily #InternationalWomensDay.

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