The Digital Voice™ Celebrates Change on International Women's Day 2024

This year on International Women's Day, we asked senior women in our industry what their hopes are for driving real change and continuing to break down barriers. Change can happen and these strong female voices are shouting loud and leading from the front. 

Marthe Berlin, partnerships marketing specialist, impact.com

​"Building out effective and diverse teams is the cornerstone to both business success and the active inclusion of women. Having a recruitment approach that specifically focuses on identifying and attracting women - including those from diverse backgrounds - requires a reevaluation of how companies approach talent acquisition and employer branding.

For a business to authentically embrace diversity, it's imperative for leadership roles and prominent positions to reflect a spectrum of backgrounds, with strong female representation in senior roles signalling a genuine commitment to diversity and female leadership. This not only empowers other women to visualise their own future and career paths, but also provides aspiring female leaders with tangible real-life role models for inspiration and mentorship.

Women, particularly those from minority backgrounds, regularly require additional support when it comes to embracing leadership. This isn’t because women aren’t naturally capable or willing to take on leadership opportunities, but because many women have self limiting beliefs and are pre-conditioned to question their abilities and decision making. They see fewer of their peers succeed, and aren’t always naturally the loudest voice in the room. Unless we actively amplify female voices when it comes to decision making and business leadership, we will always miss out on their valuable contributions.

Support for women can take many forms, from informal allyship and ensuring female perspectives are incorporated into all decision making, to formalised mentorship and career pathing. True success is reflected in the makeup of a company’s senior leadership team, and we need to actively pave the way for women to reach their leadership potential."

​Victoria Brooks, global strategy director, The Responsible Marketing Agency

"In the week celebrating International Women’s Day, stories of inequality abound, as do step-by-step advice columns for ensuring equality in the workplace, in society and in our families.

The truth is, there is no simple recipe for righting the imbalances of power that have led us to where we are today, but what leaders can do is face into inequity with an open mind, ready to expose our own blind spots, sit with uncomfortable realities, and see the world through another lens.

Facing these truths will ensure everyone in a workplace feels like they belong. A few ideas for paving the way for greater diversity and inclusion include empowering people to speak up from a position of safety, and recruiting with inclusion at the heart of your process. Counterbalance the motherhood penalty (and gender pay gap) by engaging in open conversations and enlightened parental sharing policies. Embrace an immersive allyship educational programme that helps employees to understand the importance of actively supporting and advocating for their colleagues from marginalised groups.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day this year, it’s the perfect time to reflect and put new momentum into your commitment to a future where everyone's voice is heard."​

Melissa Desmond, business development director

​"As we head towards International Women’s Day, it feels appropriate to share a few pearls of wisdom that I’ve gathered over the course of my career.

Juggling the responsibilities of being a woman, a mother, and an executive in a leadership role can be quite a balancing act, but it’s important to remember you can’t do it all. Some women give off the impression that it is possible, but they’re simply good at making proactive choices about what they are and aren’t going to do - and then owning those choices.

Find little ways to boost productivity, and be brutal about the meeting invites you accept. If your attendance doesn't look critical, or there’s not a clear agenda, it might be best avoided.

Elsewhere, I've personally found reassurance in sharing experiences with others and seeking support from my network. This has involved building connections with like-minded individuals through coaching sessions and mentorship."

Sara Vincent, managing director UK at Utiq

"Inspire Inclusion – two powerful words that become even more compelling when used together. Through celebrating the achievements of women, we can all take the time to remember the contributions they continue to make to society every day and recognise them as the source of inspiration they are for future generations. The simple act of providing visibility to women both past and present across all races, diversities and cultures ensures that the commitment and hard work they continue to endure does not go unseen."

Also published in: LBBonline