Counting Women In Beyond International Women’s Day

With the work that GentleWomen’s Union does and wants to achieve, I can’t think of a better time to launch our blog on 8 March, International Women’s Day.

As a glass-half-full kind of person, International Women’s Day reminds me of the great progress that has been made so far to advance gender equity. But there is also a voice inside me every International Women’s Day asking why the progress is so slow.

We have tried the women’s rights are human rights argument – just look at Amnesty International’s page, which highlights some of the inequities experienced by women around the world.

We have also tried the business case approach – studies have shown that including women in key decision-making could make a company more profitable. McKinsey’s Global Institute report estimates we could add $12 trillion to global GDP by 2025 if we advance women’s equality. 

If you don’t want to read a long report, what about Business Victoria’s article? It talks about 5 reasons why gender equity can improve your business.

While our arguments are sound and strong, unfortunately, progress is slow. Using the gender pay gap as an example. The recent WGEA Employer Gender Pay Gaps Snapshot shows women are paid less than men in every private industry in Australia.

That’s EVERY private sector surveyed!

No wonder every International Women’s Day has me confused.

If women are worth celebrating and business case worthy, then what are we waiting for?

I looked at the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day – Count Her In: Invest In Women. Advance Progress. – I thought to myself, what must we do to continue advancing women?

I posed the question “What do we have to do to count her in?” to four brilliant professional women including our very own GentleWomen’s Union Founder and President Claire Quigley. And the responses I got back were brilliant.

Here is a snippet of what Claire has shared in my Count Her In & Invest In Women: A Practical Approach article.

“Often systems put in place at [the] company level do not address the core issue – that women (on average) often have more responsibilities than men.  

Take corporate travel as an example. From Ubers, coffees, cocktails to meals, one can seek reimbursements on a variety of travel-related expenses – basically anything required to get you from point A to point B, keep you at point B for a few days and get you home. Everything except things that are typically ‘women’s work’ – childcare, laundry, meals at home, for example, which are prerequisites, if you are a mother, in order to make a business trip.  

So while you can expense $500 in food, you can’t expense a babysitter. If you are the person who needs to drop your kids to school, you either must pay out of pocket or you miss out on the trip.”

Like I said, brilliant!

If you resonate with Claire’s response to my question “What must we do to count her in?”, I invite you to read the rest of Count Her In & Invest In Women: A Practical Approach.

As we kick off the GentleWomen’s Union blog, it is my goal that we use this forum to ask hard questions and be honest and real about what we can do to support one another.

If after reading this article, you have more practical “count her in” tips to share, drop me an email. I’d love to hear from you.

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About your author Dr Suzi Chen

Based in Melbourne, Suzi is an impact investor and self-leadership advocate who also runs a project management consulting company Notonos .

Suzi’s work has taken her to the UN Headquarters where she chaired a 2018 gender equity summit in New York City.

Known for her “structured spontaneity”, Suzi combines analytical skills and a creative mind to deliver outcomes. She draws inspiration from her migrant background, writing, arts and interesting people.

The former medical scientist is also an award-winning graphic designer, published author and an avid traveller whose footprints have reached as far as Mongolia.