International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated annually on 8 March, and it is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, whilst bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women.
IWD was started in 1911, and remains an important moment for working to advance women’s equality with the day belonging to everyone, everywhere. There’s no place for complacency, and the IWD is still needed. According to the World Economic Forum, sadly, none of us will see gender parity in our lifetime. Many places around the world have taken a step back or has simply never progressed their thinking around equity. There’s urgent work to do – and we can all play a part.
When women receive the same education and job opportunities as men, they can improve any organization they join. It is proven that diversity of all types (not just gender) increases an organization’s productivity and innovation.
IWD 2023
For IWD 2023, the global campaign theme is #EmbraceEquity.
Equity isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have. A focus on gender equity needs to be part of every society’s DNA. And it’s critical to understand the difference between equity and equality.
The aim of the IWD 2023 #EmbraceEquity campaign theme is to get the world talking about Why equal opportunities aren’t enough. People start from different places, so true inclusion and belonging require equitable action.
To truly embrace equity, means to deeply believe, value, and seek out difference as a necessary and positive element of life. To embrace equity means to understand the journey required to achieve women’s equality.
The IWD 2023 campaign theme drives worldwide understanding why Equal opportunities aren’t enough!
Learn about the IWD campaign theme here, and consider the difference between equity and equality.
A prime employer of women
There are ten criteria to show an organisation is a prime employer of women:
- Demonstrate executive leadership commitment to gender equality
- Embrace a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Forge a female hiring pipeline from early career to executive level
- Value and support flexible working arrangements
- Provide formal avenues to address any concerns of bias
- Ensure women’s inclusion from supply chain through to decision making
- Ensure marketing and communications are consistently free of stereotyping
- Provide external support for women’s advancement
- Monitor progress and outcomes from diversity initiatives
- Participate in external validation of progressive employer practice.
Virteffic – a modern, flexible way of working that understand the journey required to achieve women’s equality.
Virteffic was founded by Tess, who remains the managing director of the business.
The business was set up to allow a greater flexibility and a great work/life balance which has worked particularly well for parents with young children who would not have been able to return to a traditional role at a 9-5 workplace. At Virteffic, our team members work whenever they want, as much or as little as they want – provided that deadlines are always met.
Our team members appreciate and value the freedom and independence that comes from the unique roles that we offer and by entrusting our team members with complete flexibility to set their own hours and working environment, we have revolutionised the way that our business operates. This has resulted in us having experienced and qualified team members with regulatory expertise from lengthy careers in the Channel Islands finance industry who are available to support your organisation.
Our working model at Virteffic, whereby we work where and when we want, allows our staff to have a great work/life balance, and we believe that this approach allows us to be more effective and efficient with our time.
We are stronger together
The majority of our team members (and applicants) are women, and we strongly promote equality.
We are committed to diversity and inclusion and will consider all qualified applicants from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, national origin, religion or belief and gender identity.
Our team collaborate remotely and support each other, in a truly inspiring manner. We have regular meetings and collaborate remotely using MsTeams on client projects. We have a number of internal working group and committees open to any team members who has capacity and ideas. The team members bring enthusiasm and collaborates on a specific topic with the ultimate aim to make Virteffic the best place to work. A key aspect of our sports, social and wellbeing committee is to create opportunities to bond with our virtual colleagues.
We can all truly embrace equity.
It’s not just something we say. It’s not just something we write about. It’s something we need to think about, know, value and embrace. It’s what we believe in, unconditionally. Equity means creating an inclusive world.
For International Women’s Day and beyond, let’s all fully #EmbraceEquity.
