This is awkward. Posting about International Women’s Day 24 hours after everyone else.
No excuses. It’s been a busy time. Today’s my wife Lisa’s birthday. We went out to dinner at a recently opened Italian in Wells yesterday evening to celebrate. I’ve seen her work hard over the years to complete her MSc in Systemic Psychotherapy and become a family therapist in a busy team in Somerset.
My daughter Penny heads to New Zealand for a month on Thursday. She holds down two jobs to save for the trip since getting the grades to study archaeology at York in September.
My mum Gwyn ran a high street business for decades with my dad, who she married at 18 in 1973. Fiercely loyal, she stuck by me during some wild times when I didn’t deserve it. It’s their wedding anniversary tomorrow. I’m looking forward to seeing them in Pembrokeshire later this month.
Clever, caring, dedicated, honest. These women make the world a better place.
I’m so lucky to have them in my life. So, yes, of course I celebrate them. But I’m also hacked off that we’ve got some way to go to create a world that they deserve. If anything, in recent times it feels like we’ve gone backwards.
Beyond the huge volume of celebratory posts we face some huge challenges. The Middle East is in crisis. Russia continues its hostility towards Ukraine. The climate crisis is deepening. Economic uncertainty is growing. Men are running things badly. Women and girls bear the brunt.
That’s why we start this week clear-sighted about how much further we have to go, in so many ways.
Supporting inclusive employment
Distinctive’s vision is to use communications as a force for good and be recognised as a good employer.
At a time when inclusive employment is under pressure, we are proud to be the smallest organisation to be fully accredited members of the West of England’s Good Employment Charter. This standard assesses employment practice against seven principles, outlined below.
Flexible working is a hill I’m prepared to die on. We are a diverse team, with a supportive culture that supports young parents and colleagues with caring responsibilities.
Our approach includes a ‘work anywhere, anytime’ policy, which enables colleagues to flex their working pattern to suit them. We also invest in training and professional development to support colleagues’ progression. We have enhanced paid parental leave, that goes beyond the basic level of public support for new mums and dads. Our pay bands are transparent and pegged against industry standards. This helps us to build an exceptional team.
We’re not perfect, and I’m not pretending that this is enough. But as another International Women’s Day passes, the challenge of making things better every day remains.
In a year’s time, we’ll be further forward at Distinctive than we are today.
Here’s hoping those who have the power to make a bigger difference start the week with the same intent.