Embracing Inclusivity in the Workplace

I remember standing in the Halls of Keble College, Oxford looking at a large portrait of a striking-looking woman.  “Who is that” I asked.  It was Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon, the founder and CEO of Stemettes, a social initiative dedicated to inspiring the next generation of women in science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) careers.  She reflected on her own experience as a woman in STEM, being one of three girls in a class of 70 while studying Maths and Computer Science at Oxford University.  

Dr Imafidon is a respected thought-leader in the technology space and trustee at the Institute for the Future of Work.  In 2017 she was awarded an MBE for her work as a renowned champion and inspiration for women in the world of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

#AISummit

Skills’ shortages were discussed at the AI summit in June this year, which took place at Tobacco Dock in London. Discussion panels filled with government, business and academia spoke a lot about the need to encourage young people to consider careers in Artificial Intelligence, Engineering and Data Analytics.  While the UK has one of the strongest AI strategies in the world, it really needs young people to consider careers in these niche disciplines to maintain competitiveness.

I asked my niece, Tara, for her thoughts and hopes for a modern working environment.  I also asked if she agreed with the following quote:

“Our world is made up of biases. Even with the hardest efforts, we will still be biased human beings. It is thus important that teams building the future of our world with AI applications embrace internal diversity as much as they can, in order to create an inclusive AI and represent a right image of a multi-cultural society. That’s why we need not only more women in AI, but more diversity in general. This can extend to the skin color, religion, education, country, family, age and etc.”  – Women in AI

“I want to work somewhere that holds space for all voices.”

As I am going into my second year of University, I am thinking more about what potential jobs I may want to go for in the future, and how our attitudes to inclusivity within the workplace will hopefully change. I want to work somewhere that holds space for all voices, values, and cultures, breeding new ideas that are reflective of our multicultural society.

I think that my generation will strive for an environment that embraces inclusivity of all identities, where success and happiness are not mutually exclusive.

In a man’s world, industries are underpinned by the masculine attributes of ‘arrogance and focus on individual wins’, as Mary Portas coined it. So, if women want to reach the top, they must cosplay as men, be cogs in the collective machine. It is merely a case of survival; you must speak and act alongside these masculine values, or otherwise risk your voice be drowned out.  

It’s not entirely men’s fault for adopting these characteristics. As we socialise children within a system of patriarchal values, boys are taught that feminine traits such as empathy, collaboration, and sensitivity, are weak. Now is the time to tackle these stereotypical notions and recognise that no one trait is objectively weak or strong, and expecting children to act a certain way due to the gender they were born as, is reductive. A team comprised of both genders, and a range of characteristics, will be a successful one.

Let us embrace individual differences and encourage children to develop core values uninfluenced by their gender. Let us show young women that there is a space where their voices can be heard. And let us show young men that they shall not lose respectability for being gentle. We can aim to transform such a system that that breeds a division of attitudes and embrace individual ways of thinking instead.

I feel a key way to aid this is visibility. An example of this is the Lionesses’ letter to the government, asking them to encourage girls to play football and to support female PE teachers. I think this holds a direct link to all industries. Having role models of strong women in every workplace will help to break down gendered stereotypes and pave the way for girls to follow their dream job, outside of the narrow ‘feminine roles’ of domesticity, nurturing or creativity. I would love for young girls to be encouraged from an early age to enter power roles and STEM subjects, while also supporting those who do wish to be creative or caring. The choice will be theirs to make.

---

Let’s respect individual differences in the workplace

---

A fact I also think all working women should be aware of is the biological difference in how each gender approaches productivity. In fact, the daily 9-5 work life revolves around the masculine paradigm of productivity. Whilst men’s hormonal cycle lasts 24 hours, in which their levels of testosterone fall throughout the day, ending in a recharge overnight, women’s hormonal cycle lasts 28 days, in which they are most productive at the start of the month. This shows the need to cater for individual differences in the workplace, instead of striving for an equal similarity in how both genders approach work.

We must demand our own standards; the workplace should be an extension of our core values, a microcosm for the world we are striving to live in. I think that my generation will strive for an environment that embraces inclusivity of all identities, where success and happiness are not mutually exclusive.