Part 1. Woman in Business
More and more companies are focusing on empowering woman in the work place and this is a subject close to my heart. The positive outcomes through doing this are amazing and beneficial to all involved and are the inspiration of my upcoming book, which will be launched later this year.
In an article in forbes.com it was reported that only 14.6% of executive officers, 8.1% of top earners, and 4.6% of the Fortune 500 CEO’s are woman. Women often hold themselves back from advancement with self-imposed barriers. As a strong woman myself, I would love to see these numbers improve and I have a few suggestions to help them on their way.
I have been in male led industries for years and never saw my being female as an obstacle to be honest. I was always confident and believed in my abilities to succeed and I did. I never let anything stand in my way of getting what I wanted and this I owe to my positive way of seeing things even from a young age.
As I grew older I found laughter to be key in giving me all I needed to get to where I wanted to be whether at home or in my business.
Here are 4 ways to laugh your way to Woman Empowerment:
1. Build Self-esteem and confidence
- It is easier than you think to be a strong powerful woman. Love yourself and you will see how your self-esteem and confidence grows. If you believe you can do it so will everyone else
- Laughter creates wonderful bonds that will increase your confidence and ability to communicate with anyone
- Get rid of the inferiority complex – it is safe to be a successful woman
- Love yourself laughter
2. Learn job skills and start your own businesses
- If educated in the skills needed to do a job, a woman will excel and take the job to new heights
- Another report in forbes.com was that on average, Fortune 500 companies with more female board representation achieved a significantly higher financial performance than those with fewer female representatives
- Show me the money laughter
3. Fear of failure
- There is no reason why you cannot do a job the same or better than a man – it’s about your ability to thrive in the face of adversity, accept change, be resilient and get back up again
- It’s ok to make mistakes – It is an opportunity to learn and improve and really creates that transparency that is needed in a company – it is not a sign of weakness
- Women have great intuition so make sure you use it
- Laugh at yourself
4. Family Matters
- It’s OK to start a family: A woman should never feel she has to put her career and dreams on hold because she wants or has a family.
Feeling that employers will view them as unable to continue with their job efficiently if they decide to start a family - Be who you are: You don’t have to act tough and show that you are wearing ‘the pants’ at work. You may find that you can actually bond better if you are you and you start talking about your family. People can relate to you and you can have an unbelievable transparent company culture
- Unzip yourself laughter
What can employers do to help woman be empowered at work
- Remove the pressure: A company should always show interest in their staff whether male or female and let them feel comfortable to put their family first
- Create a safe supported environment for families: Ensure benefits to nurture family life by offering flexible work times, in-house childcare facilities, and education
- Encouraging support, mentorship and collaboration: Learn from what other successful woman have done
So be the woman you want to be and empower yourself today YAY!!
About the author: To find out more about Jo-Dee Walmsley, please click here.