In aid of International Women’s Day 2023, we’re shining a light on the inspirational women we work with, collaborate with, or have pure admiration for as female pioneers within their fields.
As part of our Words of Wisdom blog series, we interviewed seven inspirational female founders from tech, PR, research and fundraising to discuss this year’s Embracing Equity theme.
Victoria Ulph. Head of Research at Dialect. A qualitative specialist with over 12 years of experience delivering meaningful insight to clients like Netflix, Logitech and the public sector.
How can organisations be more inclusive to encompass marginalised and vulnerable groups such as youth, women, persons with disability and so forth?
For me, the number one priority should be removing barriers put in place based on a traditional education system. Not everyone needs a degree to climb the corporate ladder. Leadership skills are not exclusively made at university. They stem from natural ability, life experience, outstanding managers and mentors, self-development, personal drive – and more. We must give people from all backgrounds an opportunity to rise.
Companies have started to become more conscious about recruiting from all ethnic backgrounds, locations and those with disabilities. But as humans and society continue to change, so must the way we embrace individuality, from sexuality to gender identity. We must create a safe space for all to be themselves with equal opportunity.
What does embracing equity mean to you?
Zero judgement. Zero preconceptions.
As a researcher, I am trained to enter any environment with this mindset. However, we are all at fault of making judgements without fair evaluation.
For example, the most junior person in the room can often be overlooked, which is wrong. We must look past experience, job title and status and listen harder to what all people have to say.
Finally, equal pay and fair pay. The gender pay gap is growing, and pay is not always transparent or fair. A major part of showing you value an employee is paying them fairly. In the end, people talk and find out the truth. Avoid this in the first place.
In which areas should more efforts be employed to ensure more inclusiveness?
The removal of needing a degree to apply for a graduate program. Companies should look to nurture a corporate culture that embraces and values juniors with fresh thinking and perspective.
A corporate culture that does not only embrace but encourages self-expression and individualism.
We must work towards a future where workplaces and job roles are designed for all abilities and vulnerabilities. Employees are not chess pieces. We’re individuals with individual needs.
Please share any good examples of practices, measures or initiatives that can be adopted, shared and/or scaled up.
At Dialect, we are constantly broadening the recruitment field, not just looking for graduates.
We also have several internal initiatives that embrace individualism, such as queer and women-only groups.
For more info about Vic and Dialect, visit: https://www.dialectinc.com/