Women benefit from equality
But the workplace and home benefit more from women when they are given the opportunity
A year ago, I attended an #Iamremarkable seminar organised by my then employer to celebrate International Women’s Day 2020. I was one of 2 men in a room of 10 or so colleagues and listening to women discussing the unique issues they face in the workplace was an enlightening experience. The best learning moment was however yet to come. At the end of the session, a couple of attendees were chatting when the facilitator who had just returned from maternity leave announced “I have been busy for the past 4 hours, I need to go pump”.
A fellow colleague was visibly embarrassed on my behalf at what must have seemed like TMI (too much information) for someone I’d just met. For me, it was another learning opportunity as to how tasking it must be for a working woman to juggle the worlds of work and career. I was glad — not embarrassed — to see the lines being blurred between both worlds. For most men, we have the luxury of carefully separating our personal life from our work. The impact of this is that when women invariably request time off for those “mundane” tasks — school drop off and pick ups, vaccinations and other childcare matters — they ultimately pay the price in career advancement.
I consider myself an ally and advocate for women. I grew up seeing and appreciating intelligence and enterprise of my mum and other women around me. On getting married and entering the workplace, I thought women deserve an equal opportunity to grow their careers despite the unique challenges they face.
I was wrong. Women do not deserve an equal opportunity to be the best version of themselves at home and at work. It is the other way round — their families and workplaces that choose to support them deserve their skills and talent.
The best and most impactful managers I have had in my career have been women though in the interest of full transparency I must say the most dangerous was also a woman. It is however at home that I have received the greatest lesson in the benefits of equality and discarding traditional misogynistic tropes such as men being breadwinners and women being home keepers.
I have always encouraged and supported my wife at home and with her career and entrepreneurial ambitions because I believed it was the right thing to do. Over the past year, I have reaped the benefits in two major and interconnected ways. First, I found the courage to leave a job that nearly killed me because I could see my wife thrive as an entrepreneur and had come to learn a lot from her. Second, I am here in the UK on a spousal visa on the strength of Funkola’s accomplishments.
To all my fellow men, sponsor, coach, encourage and mentor the women you have influence over — at home and in the workplace and you will surely be richly rewarded.
Happy International Women’s day!
