In time for International Women’s Day, whose theme this year is Accelerate Action, 10Eighty have some advice for women about career planning.
Women make up nearly half the workforce, they achieved educational parity with men more than 40 years ago and now outperform men in formal educational settings. Sadly there is still a glass ceiling and gender pay gap. This is partly the result of discrimination, including biases in recruitment and promotion, but there’s a lot that women can do to help themselves.
Equality is essential
Equality is not a women’s issue, it’s a business issue. Gender equality is essential for economies and communities to thrive.
A diverse workplace is self-reinforcing. If women and minority groups feel welcomed in a workplace, that workplace will attract further candidates who can make their own unique and value-adding contributions to the company.
Thanks to technology, communication and freedom of movement, women in the workplace now have much more career choice. Women are more proactively forging their own career paths and taking control of their professional successes.
Plan for success
10Eighty suggest five ways you improve your chances of career success:
- Define a career plan – your mission in life, what are your hopes and aspirations? Be honest and practical and be ambitious. Showcase your work and show that you have the skills and potential to manage and lead. Demonstrate skills and potential so you are in line of sight for promotion and career advancement opportunities.
- Strategically build a portfolio of experience that will enable you meet your goals. Make time for self-reflection so as to assess your career progress, identify strengths, and plan a clear path forward. Do this on a regular basis. Invest in yourself to ensure you can reach for your goals and accrue the right experience to enhance your visibility and chances of success.
- A mentor can help you identify tactics and routes to success. Someone experienced in your corner to offer advice, support, and perhaps open doors. A supportive mentor can guide a woman facing challenges and barriers at work and help her reach for otherwise inaccessible opportunities.
- Build good short and long-term habits, strategies and processes to ensure your career longevity. Be aware of the changing environment around and aim to be ahead of the curve and ready for challenges and barriers as they arise.
- Network and help others around you. Create a supportive network of like-minded and ambitious people. Building a network takes time and effort, you need to establish connections to help you forge career momentum. Be open to new people, ideas and opportunities to expand your horizons and perspectives.
Women to the forefront
Women have huge opportunities in today’s fast-moving and transformative business environment. So, be ready to spot gaps in the market, seize opportunities and exploit them, overcoming boundaries and prejudice if necessary.
Women no longer have to plead their case for a seat at the table. The female perspective significantly contributes to richer ideas and solutions. So stand up for your career – think about how to add value to the company and focus on high-impact work.
