IWD2022 | Celebrating amazing women & breaking the bias
We work with amazing, intelligent, successful, driven women at Virtue Consulting. We are also a team 75% female. With all these successful women kicking a$$, it can be easy to forget that we need to keep the momentum & conversation going. #breakthebias
We work with so many amazing women at Virtue Consulting. From our intelligent and impressive candidates to our strong, successful clients, and Virtue’s dream team of business savvy females.
As strong females, it is our job to keep striving to remove unconscious bias from all workplaces, to promote women, build them up. And to continue to evolve as businesses, managers, colleagues & people. We need to have discussions around the dinner tables, during the school drop offs. It isn’t just a workplace issue. It’s an all of us issue and needs an all of us solution.
International Women’s Day
An annual celebratory day on March 8 to commemorate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women.
A day to celebrate, listen, learn and bring about calls to action for the year ahead.
#breakthebias
This year’s theme is #breakthebias
IWD2022 looks at the major parts that women and girls will play in the sustainable future. It also focuses on the unconscious bias that still exists. With a vision to create an inclusive and equitable workplace for women in the future.
It’s so easy to look at where we work and the people we work with and think, yes, the job is almost done.
However, women in NZ still earn between 11% & 25% less than men on average. I honestly thought we were doing better?
Why did I think this? Because unconscious bias is just that, it’s unconscious. It is something that we just accept as it is. TO be conscious of our unconscious is to be made aware, and that’s where IWD works as a powerful tool.
It’s amazing for the younger generations who celebrate this like it has always been. It’s great for workplaces to use as a platform for a conversation and, most importantly, it’s a strong message of solidarity for women the world over.
Is one day enough?
I don’t think IWD is about celebrating women for just a day. Instead, it’s a day that reminds us to celebrate the pioneering women who came before us, who spoke when no one was listening and ensured that our/all voices would be heard.
A global day to celebrate achievements of women, while also marking a strong call to action for the year ahead #breakthebias
A reminder to keep pushing boundaries, talking, making changes, addressing inequalities and educating, not accusing. Ensuring that we all continue to be held to account and to keep looking at the numbers – are they headed in the right direction?
Let’s celebrate the women in our workplaces, the past, present and the future. But let’s also agree to keep having those hard conversations, the one’s that makes us shift in our chairs, step out of our safe zones and hold people accountable. We also might need to talk to payroll, up a few of those salaries…
IWD Themes and hashtags 2018-2022
2022 “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow” #breakthbias
2021 “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world” #choosetochallenge
2020 “I am Generation Equality” #eachforequal
2019 “Think equal, build smart, innovate for change” #balanceforthebetter
2018 “Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives”
What can we do?
At Virtue, we champion the values of Diversity & Inclusion. An approach that is also passion project for myself as Marketing & Candidate Care Manager. Values that we have actively promoted for the last few years. Having those conversations with clients and attending D&I events to stayed engaged. We also help remove unconscious bias when floating candidates by removing/changing names, genders and ages.
If you’d like to start the conversation in your workplace, or need advice on promoting your D&I strategy to help strengthen your EVP, we are here to help. Contact our Rebecca, our Marketing & Care Manager rebecca@virtueconsulting.co.nz