Sharing stories have always been a way to help others observe different perspectives, embrace new opportunities and overcome difficult situations. Never underestimate the power of sharing your story whether it’s The Good, The Bad or The Ugly, story sharing is a remarkable way to help others.
For our co-branded event for IWD2022 with Women In Identity and BeyondTrust, I took part in a panel discussion ‘Celebrating Women and Allies @BeyondTrust.
BeyondTrust believe in an organisational culture of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, they choose to build on this through events such as this one hosted for IWD2022 accessed by employees around the globe.
The panel consisted of 3 Women, we couldn’t have been any more diverse.
We were in 3 locations across the globe, we all have different backgrounds, with 3 very distinct career journeys but what we had in common is we were there to share some of our career paths to date, our stories of biases, triumphs and achievements.
Instead of comparing my journey with the other 2 panelists I listened and learned from them as I imagine they did to my stories, along with the attendees.
We were able to overlay our stories honestly and authentically. It hasn’t always been easy for each of us but we’ve all persevered each on our course, living, experiencing and sharing what we’ve learned to help others during the session.
My key takeaways from the event were:
Mentors are invaluable, don’t be afraid to ask someone to support you on your journey, my experience has also been they’ll be glad to help and share their expertise, even if it’s a 15-minute chat.
We are all at different stages of our career journeys, we all will have had varying experiences, adversely comparing yourself or your career journey to someone else could lead to feelings of frustration, which is impairing, be mindful of this.
If you're experiencing bias in your organisation don’t go it alone, speak up or speak to someone else who will be able to help and support you or act as an ally.
Whilst IWD2022 has passed let’s continue the work to support and celebrate the achievements of women around the globe and continue to #BreakTheBias, forging ahead for equality and equity for all.
Written by Rosemarie Wilson