International Women's Day: #Accelerate Action

Vicky Fox

International Women’s Day (IWD) serves as a useful reminder that we should all be taking action every day of every year to make our world diverse, equitable, and inclusive. It’s astonishing to think that IWD has been marked for over 100 years and, that whilst there has been huge progress in that time, there’s still so much more that needs to be done. And that’s why this year’s IWD theme #AccelerateAction is so important.

One of the things that the coronavirus pandemic taught me is that all change is possible, given a sufficiently compelling reason. When I think back to nearly 5 years ago when the UK lockdown started, we all changed the way we lived and worked dramatically, almost overnight. Because we knew we had to. So, I’ve become increasingly unsympathetic to hand wringing and inertia in other areas where change is needed. When people say that change can’t happen, what I think they are actually saying is that they don’t want change to happen, or that they don’t consider the reason for change to be sufficiently compelling.

According to data from the World Economic Forum, at the current rate of progress, it will take until 2158, which is roughly five generations from now, to reach full gender parity. We know too, that societies that are more diverse and equitable make better economic progress and produce better results across all industries. These are our compelling reasons to take urgent action now to bring about change faster, removing the barriers and inequalities that women face in education, in work, in healthcare and at home. Now is the time for us all to act, individually and together, to shape our future for the better.

Jane Furniss

Every year #IWD reminds me of the huge progress we’ve made on women’s rights AND how much there is still to do. I grew up in the 50s when it was still unusual for a married woman to work, have their own bank account or obtain a mortgage. The Equal Pay Act (thanks to the wonderful Barbara Castle) was passed only in 1970 and it is still regularly shown that pay may be unequal and unfair in many occupations. The Sex Discrimination Act 1976 was passed only after I started my first job. Hard won fights for women’s freedoms, rights and even their very lives are being rolled back around the world. Here in the UK women continue to be under-represented in senior roles in every profession and occupation and women from BME groups are challenged even more to make career progress.

As a result, I focus my mentoring time and skills on supporting women and girls to overcome barriers and make progress in their careers. And when I work with men in leadership roles, I encourage them to regard progress for women as a priority for their action too. This is why I was keen when I was a Commissioner at the Judicial Appointments Commission and am keen here as a NED in the #Supreme Court to support women and #accelerateaction towards greater equality for all. I believe greater sex equality benefits society as a whole as well as women and girls individually.

Julie Nerney

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #Accelerate Action. It implies the need for pace and for urgency. Someone asked me the other day whether this was really necessary. After all, they said, you chose an education route right for you, built your own businesses, a second career and now serve on several Boards. The tone was very much, surely, we’re beyond the need for this kind of initiative.

I wish I could have said: Yes, we’re done. We have removed the systemic barriers to gender parity and have equal access to opportunities – whether that be work, education or reproductive rights. But we don’t. Part of what that person said to me was true – I didn’t encounter as many barriers as women I now coach and mentor do. But that was because of when and where I was born.

We like to think that as a human race, we are naturally progressive, always looking for improvements. But you don’t need to look long around the world to realise that assumption is flawed and under genuine threat. Only by continuing to work together, across all genders and communities, can we accelerate the action needed to make the world a fairer and more humane place.

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