Today, we celebrate International Women’s Day, a day that globally recognizes the significant strides women have made and encourages them to move forward to greater heights. At Decimal, we honor this day as a symbol of equality.
This year’s International Women’s Day theme is “Breaking the Bias”. It doesn’t need reiteration that people are treated differently in most societies simply because they are male or female and not based on their capabilities. Biases cause us to form prejudices against others. However, it’s my belief that diversity is the key ingredient to drive innovation, creativity and empathy in any organization, and I don’t mean just gender diversity but all types of diversity.
At Decimal, We believe that diversity is not just a business imperative but essential to creating a future centred on innovation. Everyone matters. We believe that the more diverse the teams’ backgrounds, the better their performances. This Women’s Day, to bridge some gaps, we are launching our “Career Vapasi” Program focused on attracting women who took career breaks due to family commitments. This program will provide an opportunity for them to restart their careers at a comfortable pace.
Over the past few years, I think we have taken big steps in reducing these biases at the workplace. And though inappropriate behaviour towards women in the workplace might still exist, but it is openly condemned. Especially at Decimal, we have a zero-tolerance policy.
I am no stranger to unconscious bias. In the formative years of my career, being the only woman in the team, my manager would neglect to invite me for smoke breaks or after-office drinking sessions. During these casual “hangouts”, many crucial work-related decisions and information sharing would take place, inadvertently leaving me out of the loop. This left me at a disadvantage, and more often than not, I would learn about important issues post decisions were made. But I was too young and inexperienced to speak to my boss about my feelings until one of my mentors advised me to speak up. And I eventually did put my point across, which brought a big change in perspectives.
So on this Women’s Day, my advice to all the Women would be to:
- Speak Up! Don’t assume people know or should know what you want – either at the workplace or in your personal life. Always remember, silence implies compliance.
- Be confident! Believe in yourself, and everyone will believe in you. Doubt yourself, and the world will see that and pull you down.
- Get out of your comfort zone! Don’t worry about the uncertainties or failures that may come from trying new things and facing new challenges. To succeed and keep growing, you must keep learning and adapting to new environments.
Happy International Women’s Day! Let’s go #BreakTheBias!