Providing an opportunity to pause each year, International Women’s Day gives us a moment for reflection on progress so far, also recognising issues that still need to be addressed. Across many industries, recent years have seen huge pushes for progress, encouraging better representation and achieving gender equality in senior leadership.

So, what advice would women give to others who are just starting their careers? HR Director spoke to a range of industry experts who offered up guidance based on their lived experiences.

Break the mould
From an early age, it is common for girls to be cast in damaging gender roles, which go on to have an impact on gender equality in the workplace. “It first starts at home and continues with formal education. Parents and teachers need to break down stereotypical roles and present life’s opportunities without gender preference,” explains Carole Howard: Head of Network Sales at Beyond Encryption.

This can only be tackled “by talking about women who are already successful in the industry, and by having role models who can help to raise awareness of opportunities because they are already there,” Howard continues.

Camille Renaudin, Head of Success at Qualifio, talks about her experience of the pressure to change oneself to meet someone else’s gendered expectations.

“Be yourself, don’t play a role in order to move forward in your career. As a woman who is quite slight in stature, I sometimes felt like I had to be more masculine at work in order to stand out. But I’ve seen over the years that believing in myself and my skills is far more effective. I am enough, I am good at what I do. So stay true to yourself and trust yourself, don’t try to be someone else.”

Always be open to learning
Many generations of women have come before ours, fighting different injustices but all with the same goal in mind for gender equality. Women should always be open to learning, and always remain intellectually curious, suggests Sue Dunmill, HR Manager at Mackwell.

“There is always more to learn from life, and from those around you, and taking that on board you will continually grow into the best version that you can be,” she adds.

Caroline Gray-Mason, Director of Water and Energy Solutions at Cenergist, explains how women can do this in the workplace.

“Find a good mentor, someone to sound off to. It’s important to work hard, but do so as honestly as you can.”

The learning process also includes being prepared to make mistakes, says Evgenia Koutsouki, Editor at European Medical Journal. She elaborates: “I am a true believer in learning from your mistakes and I think making the “wrong” choice is an opportunity for a life lesson, so do not be afraid of making mistakes as they will give you experience that can’t be taught.”

Being open to learning goes further than the individual, though; companies are only just beginning to understand the value of representation. Monica Majumdar, Head of Creative Services at Retail Marketing Group, describes her experience of reaching a role where she can show younger women what is possible.

“Representation is something that is also particularly important to me. I’ve seen the importance of this when attending recruitment events and having younger candidates of ethnic minority see that achieving a role of my level is possible. When I first started as a ‘Saturday girl’ I never thought I would be representing the marketing of a business of this scale, and now I can show younger women that it is attainable.”

Choose your moments wisely
Qualifio’s Renaudin illustrates the importance of letting work speak for itself. She begins: “Trust yourself and your skills, your brilliance will shine through if you believe in yourself.

“You don’t need to shout loudly, the quality of what you say is far more important than the way you say it.”

Being vocal and knowledgeable on issues that matter is always important, though, adds European Medical Journal’s Koutsouki.

“One piece of advice that I have come to truly appreciate is the importance of acquiring a political consciousness. This can have a deep and meaningful impact on your life and career choices.”

Advocate for wider change
Of course, forcing change within industries goes beyond the individual. Beyond Encryption’s Howard stresses the importance of reflecting the wider societal changes that movements such as IWD have encouraged.

“For me, it’s a celebration of how different the attitudes are towards women in the workforce now, from when I started my career in 1982. It’s a celebration of the opportunities that my 24-year-old daughter will have that simply would not have been available to me at the same age

So, how can this progress be continued? Implementing processes that tackle issues such as unconscious bias are absolutely crucial, adds Stephanie Eltz, CEO and Co-founder of Doctify.

“As a team, we are active and ongoing in our efforts to support every employee and are always scrutinising our policies, procedures and culture for new ways in which we can attract and retain a diverse workforce. We have female leaders across the Doctify team. Our hiring managers receive training in unconscious and conscious bias.”

And, with IWD 2022’s theme of “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”, Deborah Johnson, Head of Sustainability at Agilitas IT Solutions, describes how businesses can achieve this.

“Gender equality needs to be addressed in companies’ sustainability agenda in order to attain long-term success as companies with an inclusive culture are six times more likely to be innovative, and twice as likely to hit or better financial targets.”

Empowering future generations
Ultimately, International Women’s Day allows people to come together across companies and industries, celebrating achievements and recognising success – no matter how small. Giving women the space to be heard encourages all to address ongoing issues head-on, creating an equal future for generations to come.