Supporting International women’s day 2020

Members of our senior leadership team attended the The Future of Female Leadership conference in York.

To celebrate achievement, raise awareness of International Women’s Day (Sunday 8th March 2020), and to show our commitment to understanding the importance of women’s contribution to business not only on IWD, but every day, female members of our asbestos senior leadership team took some time out of their schedules last week to attend the #TalkingTruths The Future of Female Leadership event.

What is IWD?
IWD is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women – while also marking a call to action for accelerating gender equality. The campaign has been celebrated for many years with the first IWD taking place in 1911, supported by in excess of one million people.

Why is IWD important?
Equality isn’t a women’s issue, it’s a business issue. Gender equality is essential for economies and communities to thrive. Ultimately, a gender equal world can be healthier, wealthier and more harmonious. Great improvements have been made over the years and each year IWD inspires women and celebrates their achievements. The campaign adopts a different theme each year; for 2020 it’s #EachforEqual.

The fundamental purpose of the conference was to give women in business the opportunity to gather and share truths about the genuine pressures they face from time to time, and also talk about the strategies and practical steps that will make a healthy difference to both their working and home lives.

Asbestos operations manager, for Scotland, Angela McPhillips commented;

“It was great to share a room with such positive and motivated people who were all willing to contribute with both personal life and career related stories that helped inspire others. I particularly enjoyed Susie Ramroop’s straight talking message about ‘why failure is fundamental’ and how failure in essential to growth. A lot of people admitted to holding onto previous failures instead of using this as a tool to grow and learn from past experiences”!

Throughout the day, various female speakers provided interactive and engaging sessions on:

  • Creating courageous conversations- How to have conversations that make a difference, get you heard and get the results you want from situations.
  • Why failure is fundamental- How to take the fear out of failure, as well as practical tips to learn how to stop comparing yourself to others.
  • Balancing a career and a family- How to enhance the balance working full-time with a family.
  • Step into self-promotion- How to step into being able to promote yourself with ease, so that you can speak up, move forward and increase your confidence.
  • There was also a panel discussion on well-being in the workplace. A selection of corporate experts shared what works (and what doesn’t) so that females can advance learning on well-being at work and at home.

Asbestos HR manager Jenny Finch said;

“I was really excited to attend this conference; I value opportunities to connect with others who have a common interest and be able to share experiences which pave the way for new business initiatives.  The sessions and speakers were fun and interactive, and the content was positively thought-provoking.  The topics were truly representative of the challenges women in business can sometimes be faced with, including gender parity, barriers to progression, isolation in leadership and managing that all-important work-life balance.  There were some excellent tips shared which I intend to use to enable me to improve my performance and lead effectively.  All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable day”.

Katie French asbestos Operations Manager ,for the South East, concluded by saying;

“We had a fantastic day in York at the International Women’s day conference hosted by Emma Langton. The day was filled with laughter and positivity from start to finish! I particularly enjoyed Susie Ramroop’s concept of ‘re-framing failure’ recognising that failures are fundamental to success, and should be perceived necessary for change and growth. It was a very uplifting and liberating day surrounded by such honest, influential and progressive women both on a personal and professional level. Thank you again for arranging the day, it was thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated taken both personally and career wise on the back of this event”.