International Women's Day: Harness the Power of Visibility to support Workplace Equity!
In this article learn how visibility and inclusion go hand-in-hand, and how we can all take action to make a positive impact on workplace culture.
Visibility is defined as "the quality of being able to see or be seen." How can we put this into practice at work?
Why being seen is important.
With a focus on women in particular, "Lean In" underlines ‘If women’s ideas aren’t heard, it can make it harder for us to be perceived as key contributors, which can harm our career progression. When teams miss out on women’s insights, it can also mean your company is missing out. Teams that foster diverse points of view often have better ideas and get more done.’
Think about the progress we could make if we accepted all viewpoints and provided individuals with the "ability to thrive by allocating the exact resources and opportunities needed to achieve an equal outcome, and understood on a personal, impartial level.
As Lean In states ‘Equity affects many people, but most commonly historically it has marginalized communities such as women, people of color, disabled people, the economically disadvantaged, and those from the LGBTQ+ community.’
As a professional woman with over ten years of experience, I have learned working hard is not always enough. I am aware that it is both my obligation and the responsibility of other organisations to take the initiative, be out in the open, speak up, and encourage other women in their career goals. The situations where I had to push myself to complete the difficult tasks and as a result, become more visible in the present, I believe, have been the ones that have helped me the most.
We would be much closer to embracing equity and fostering an environment for a fairer and more equal workplace if people used the power of visibility as a strategy to advance their careers, highlight their strengths and accomplishments, and speak up, not just for themselves but also for someone else in the moment. As a result, one method to assist employees to express themselves boldly in their careers would be to make them more visible within the company and encourage them to contribute their skills openly.
Why the power of visibility is a great strategy to embrace equity in the workplace.
People could create amazing things and advance confidently in their careers if they used the power of visibility as a strategy. Employees would then feel present in their jobs, appreciated, and ultimately fulfilled.
Organisations must not undervalue the significance of motivating their own workforce. Since we frequently gain information via experience, sharing our expertise and value with others can spread this to our peers and serve as a source of inspiration.
How do you keep yourself motivated at work? How hard do you work to make yourself stand out, get new opportunities, use your skills, and become more visible? How can you demonstrate that you offer a unique contribution? How prepared and structured are you to challenge yourself to prove yourself in various ways? Consider the ways in which you serve as a leader and how you enhance the lives of others.
How you can use the power of visibility to accelerate your career and embrace equity in the workplace.
By establishing a solid network of support for your teams and getting to know each member personally, you can act as an advocate for change. A step in the right direction will be taking on systemic and structural impediments that may obstruct people from thriving.
Below are 8 strategies that you can use to be more visible in the workplace:
Participate verbally in meetings.
Celebrate other people's accomplishments.
Discover a mentor.
Take advantage of educational opportunities.
Demonstrate your expertise.
Develop a stronger rapport with your boss.
Ask for tasks with lots of visibility.
Volunteer to speak on behalf of your group.
The secret to promoting change and advancement towards a fairer and more equal workplace is to celebrate women's accomplishments and increase visibility while calling out discrimination and imbalance. Everyone will have the chance to succeed as they should at work if we embrace this and comprehend equity among teams.
3 Empowering Takeaways:
Affirm your right to speak up in the heat of the moment on behalf of both you and others.
Promote change because you learn by helping others and because someone has to take the lead.
While still "calling out" inequality and injustice, praise other people's accomplishments to boost their prominence.
Source: https://leanin.org/iwd
