Finding Workplace Empowerment Through Career Networking for Women
Words by Emma Sayle
Coupled with hard work, boardroom success is a result of confidence. Women are represented in the boardroom today, but existing in that space doesn’t come without its challenges, prejudices or stereotypes about women’s knowledge in their sector, or their ability to deliver results.
This is what I’ve experienced first-hand as a woman in business and tech, and we‘ve seen women being marginalised throughout history. Women endure prejudice and stereotyping in a patriarchal society, and it’s often by being part of a community of like-minded women, with similar stories and interests, where we can work together and help each other rise.
However, you need to look after yourself, before you can look after anyone else, and through platforms like Sistr, women wanting to succeed in the workplace have been able to improve themselves by learning from others who’ve faced roadblocks to their boardroom success.
Build your tribe
Being a part of an empowered community for women in business is a fantastic resource. As three-quarters of the part-time labour force, women were hit hardest when part-time jobs fell 70% in the first 11 weeks of the pandemic, and lockdown forced women to change career paths.
For many women it was about finding a new job in the same sector as soon as possible. For others, it meant turning a side hustle into a full-time job, but for most, it came down to economic survival.
I’m a firm believer in the power of us all working together, and a social platform for career women to network creates a safe space for women to empower one another.
The only way we can re-build our economy post Covid is by investing in women – changing attitudes and connecting women to empowered female peers and leaders.
Sistrs helping Sistrs
Deloitte’s 5th edition of Women in the Boardroom reported before the pandemic that every FTSE 100 company had at least one woman on the board and that there were increases in the amount of female representation at non-executive director level.
Despite record highs of female representation at board level in recent years, confidence is still one of the biggest deterrents for women’s success in the workplace, and this confidence gap between the genders is huge.
Making the positive decision to join a group, relate workplace experiences and invest in yourself in a safe space is a great way to build that confidence to succeed in the workplace.
Women are stronger when connected, and through career tips and workshops on topics like job hunting, nailing interviews, launching that lockdown idea, and finding your voice, women of any age or professions access a community of resources to better their working lives and achieve career goals.
One piece of advice I would give women at the start of their career is to be unapologetically selfish, and to lift up female peers wherever possible. I built my business by getting out there and meeting people I could learn from, who were willing to help me nail that confidence. Because when you nail that, you nail the workplace.
Working at the forefront of women’s empowerment, as it shifts daily, is the most exciting part of my work, and seeing the micro changes we make become bigger changes in a society is all the more reason for women to work together to advance their careers.
Emma Sayle is the CEO of sex-tech company, Killing Kittens Group. Killing Kittens and its partnering brands liberate thousands of people across the globe. Re-imagining the world of networking and mentoring, Sistr gives women access to a community of inspiring and supportive peers and friends.