On the 8th of March, International Women’s Day is celebrated around the globe every year. It’s a day where everyone recognises and celebrates the contributions, achievements and successes of women everywhere. With women earning 23% less than men globally and occupying only 24% of parliamentary seats worldwide, International Women’s Day aims to promote a more diverse, equitable and inclusive world. This year’s theme is ‘Inspire Inclusion’.
As it’s a day of celebrating and valuing the contributions of women, we talk to the women of Zeroplus, Sarah, Laura, Nicola and Laura, about their thoughts on gender equality and what women bring to the workplace.
Sarah, our Administration Manager, says: ‘I strongly believe that being a woman shouldn’t define how successful you are in life. To me, women possess a variety of natural strengths and talents that contribute to the successful running of any business. As a gender group, we are naturally skilled at multi-tasking and in my role as an Administration Manager that has helped me stay organized and supportive of my fellow colleagues and Senior Management. At Zero, my success has been achieved through the acceptance of me as a person, my commitment to the company and my personal attitude that if you’re given a task, you complete it to the best of your ability. I also believe that to be approachable and empathetic towards everyone is very important, as we all have issues to deal with outside of the workplace that will affect our mental health during the working day. Steve Wright, the late DJ, believed in a principle which stuck with me over the years – “It is nice to be important, but it is important to be nice.”
Our Credit Controller, Laura, comments: ‘In my experience at Zero, women have always been given the opportunity to progress and lead. The female leaders here have always been strong, empathetic and very effective in their roles. I personally feel included, appreciated and valued at work. I’m about to start my Association of Accounting Technicians (ATT) training with the company to increase my skills and support my career development.’
Our Financial Director, Nicola, believes that ‘gender equality is certainly better now, but certain situations can still be a bit of a boy's club. Accountancy is historically a fairly male dominated career and as a woman I’ve found there’s an expectation to prove yourself first. I feel there’s an initial barrier faced by women, which men don’t have to negotiate. Women bring so many strengths to the workplace. We have a natural ability to see things from all sides and put yourself in someone else’s shoes. I have three daughters and I’ve very much raised them to be strong willed and know they can achieve anything they set their minds to’.
Laura, from our marketing department, says: 'I believe everyone should be a feminist – regardless of gender. All people should recognise women's struggles over the years and help push for a completely fair and equal society for all in all aspects. Although gender equality has moved on massively in most countries over the last century, there's still a long way to go. I'm a huge advocate for strong women who believe in themselves and strive for what they want. I always instilled in my daughter the importance of never being afraid to speak up, stand up, and take up space. I love it when women support each other and work together because this collaboration advances all women, and when women support each other, anything is possible.'
