In celebration and awareness of International Women’s Day, Natalie and Shanila from The Wellbeing Collective had a conversation about their experiences of being women in the workplace and their hopes for the future. The following blog shares their thoughts and feelings around this event.
Natalie: The theme for International Women’s Day 2024 is ‘inspire inclusion’. I wondered if you’d be able to talk a little about your overall experience of being a woman in the workplace, Shanila, and how the intersectionality of being a woman and other protected characteristics has affected your experience?
Shanila: I’m a woman, of a certain age, married, with mixed heritage (my dad’s from Mauritius, and my mum’s from Pakistan). Having mixed heritage has, in some ways, made me feel a little bit more aware of where I am, who I am and how I represent my organisation, alongside how I’m representing myself. I identify really strongly with being a mental health nurse. My dad came over here to work for the NHS, and that’s something that’s close to my heart. It’s really important to me that I get the opportunity to follow my interests in the workplace.
Natalie: Do you think the scene has changed from when you first started work and now? Has there been a noticeable difference in your experience over time, or how you’re viewed by other people?
Shanila: Yes, definitely. For me, there’s been a lot around confidence, having impostor syndrome and wondering, is this my place? Are these my people? That’s always been a thread through every job I’ve done. As I’ve become more mature and grown into the interests I’ve had all my life, I have felt more confident to be an ally and speak up when necessary. I coach and mentor: things that help us do well day-to-day and have healthy workplace relationships, because lots of us know how it can not always feel as supportive as we need it to. I’ve had so many incredible coaches and mentors throughout my working life whose openness I have found inspiring.
Natalie: I think role modelling is so powerful and mentors and idols are fantastic to have. You were talking there about your confidence, and I’ve always had thoughts myself about, what is my natural personality, and then what is being a woman? There are psychological studies that have looked into the language women use in comparison to men, and you can try to categorise people’s behaviour into gendered norms. For myself, I’m naturally quite shy, but learning about that has made me question if that’s who I would be regardless of my gender, or if that’s the woman in me. I find myself working on my confidence levels in those two different areas. Seeing other women in the workplace who are confident, strong-minded and have other characteristics that I admire is powerful for me.
Shanila: It’s great to have good role models and be able to identify things we want to cultivate and nurture within ourselves as a result.
Natalie: Can you think of any examples of times you or someone you know has felt actively included at work?
Shanila: When I was a student nurse, I asked someone who stood out to me if I could co-facilitate a group with them early on in my placement. They showed me that they would support me and facilitate the group space. I felt invited by that person to come along.
Natalie: Having supportive colleagues and people around you who are actively inclusive and show positive intent makes a big impact on others feeling welcomed and supported. Would you have any advice for people to make others feel more welcomed? Is it showing up and having your values in the right place? Could we communicate more with others to work out what their needs might be?
Shanila: I think that’s something that we often don’t know how to do. We might shy away or not feel confident to engage with someone who has obvious differences from ourselves, for example, and we might make presumptions. Be honest. You could say, I want to explore this with you, but I’m not sure what’s important to you. Help me to understand what it is that you want out of this scenario. Let’s try and work something out together.
Natalie: We’ve all got our implicit biases and thoughts beneath the surface, so trying to put assumptions to one side and communicate with that person more instead. Is there anything you’d like to see in the next year that would ensure women feeling more included in the workplace?
Shanila: I think I would like to see more mentoring and coaching by women, for women, including women – and for us to understand the difference between the two. I think the unknowns that can come out of those relationships are exciting. It can open up different connections, relationships and opportunities. The way that people engage with their colleagues, teams and line managers can change and develop for the better when we have that one-to-one input and nurturing. I’d like to see more of that in the workplace.
Natalie: And do you have any other wrap-up thoughts associated with International Women’s Day that you’d like to add?
Shanila: I think that it is an opportunity to find out more about each other and what’s important to the women that you’re working with, whether it’s learning and development, dedicated events or things you haven’t thought of before. Make time to have these conversations and improve your working relationships as a result.
Natalie: We all come from different backgrounds and have such different experiences. I entered the workplace as an 18-year-old woman in the 2020s, and that’s going to be a very different experience to a lot of other people. I feel safe at work and privileged for that, but everyone’s got their own story to tell.
Shanila: That’s really nice to hear that you feel that way about your workplace.
Natalie: Well, hopefully we continue to make progress and more people feel that way too. This has been fantastic, thank you for talking with me, Shanila.
Shanila: It’s a pleasure.
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