Victoria Potter shares how we are celebrating and empowering women at ID Comms and beyond.
At ID Comms, we've dedicated significant efforts to cultivate an inclusive, supportive, and enjoyable work environment, resulting in a workforce with over 50% female representation. We take pride in being ranked as the #1 UK Best Workplace for Women. Yet, recognizing the ongoing journey towards equality, we acknowledge there's more to be done internally and externally.
On this International Women's Day, we wanted to take a step back and gather perspectives from across our organization and partners to see the challenges we’ve faced and identify further opportunities for improvement in fostering equity and inclusion.
What challenges do we face?
There are many behaviors that still exist in the workplace today which reinforce gender roles and more traditional views of women. I remember a time early in my career where I was the only woman in a meeting. While everyone else in the meeting was talking, it was hard for me to find an opportunity to speak. When I finally worked up the courage to speak, I was told to calm down.
While we may look to external factors to what may be holding us back, internally, women tend to question their own abilities and overthink decisions more than men. Over time, and as more women are included in these important conversations, we find our voice and confidence.
Talking to other mothers in the workforce, there is a constant feeling of being split down the middle. Even when a woman has a very supportive and involved partner, the unseen mental load takes its toll. Not only do women have to balance the demands of the job, but tend to balance the household demands, as well.
Once a woman becomes a mother or caregiver, there is a perception that a person is no longer able to adequately perform their job. We need to continue to support parents and caregivers, while also understanding that mothers should not need to prove that they are still capable of fulfilling their professional responsibilities.
What inspires us?
I love the iconic scene from the 2023 movie Barbie where Ruth delivers one of many gut-wrenching lines:
“We mothers stand still so our daughters can look back to see how far they’ve come.”
Similarly, we can look back and see how those that came before us laid the foundation for where we are now.
Within our organization, we found so many different sources of inspiration. These inspiring women ranged from the famous to the otherwise ordinary. We draw inspiration from women who found their passion later in life, like Julia Child and Vera Wang. These women inspire us that we are not defined by our age and that success isn’t always linear.
We are inspired by our colleagues, who are not just focused on their own success but on lifting others up, as well. And, by those who have shaped us - our teachers and mothers who provide us with the tools to navigate our lives and the changing seasons.
What do we love about being women?
It’s been said “Behind every successful woman is a tribe of other successful women who have her back.” We love being part of that tribe. We love supporting, inspiring, and being inspired by other women. We recognize that our strength is in our differences.
What has been so encouraging to me, as a woman, is seeing more conversations and examples of women leading in different ways than men. For a long time, being successful in business was shaped in a singular way. As women have more seats at the table, it has been wonderful seeing how there is more than one path to success.
Women bring something unique and important to the table and we need to keep adding more chairs. As Ruth Bader Ginsburg said,
“As women achieve power, the barriers will fall. As society sees what women can do, as women see what women can do, there will be more women out there doing things, and we’ll all be better off for it.”
What are we doing at ID Comms to foster an inclusive environment?
- ID Comms is over 60% women. Our leadership team is 55% women and our Board of Directors is 33% women. Having women in positions of leadership creates more opportunities for all women.
- At ID Comms, we are a fully distributed workplace that provides flexible schedules to meet individual commitments and, since it is something all employees are entitled to, it doesn’t stigmatize mothers and/or caregivers.
- We have implemented wage transparency. We believe in equal pay for equal work and are committed to fostering an environment where compensation is transparent and fair.
- Our active Diversity Task Force is committed to continuous improvement. Some of the ways that we have done this is through the creation of Employee Resource Groups and wellness surveys, to ensure we are meeting the needs of our diverse workforce.
- Our wellness funds ensure that our staff have the resources to invest in their physical and mental health, empowering our workforce to thrive both personally and professionally.
I am proud to be part of such a progressive organization that is committed to empowering women and providing an inclusive and equitable environment for all.
We say all the time that Brands Deserve Better Media. This idea comes from a deep belief that the media and advertising industry deserves a better future. ID Comms is proud of the many ways we work to this end, but on today, International Women's Day, we are especially proud to celebrate and empower the women in media who are delivering a better future for the ones who will follow us.
A very happy International Women's Day from all of us at ID Comms!
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