International Women's Day 2023

In a nutshell

We’re very excited for International Women’s Day this year because tomorrow we’ll be holding our first ever all-day event hosted by our Women’s Network (Wom-N) for women and minority genders in the company. To mark International Women’s Day today and introduce our event tomorrow, we’ve been speaking with Newton consultant and co-founder of Wom-N, Amy Elias. Read on to discover what the day means, what the aims of the network are and for a shout out to some of the women Amy finds inspirational…

Newton Europe

WRITTEN BY

Newton Europe

Posted March 8, 2023

Why do you think International Women’s Day is important?

I think this breaks down into two parts really; it reminds us of how far gender equality has come but also how far we still have to go both on a global level and within smaller groups.

It offers people worldwide the chance to pause and reflect. I always think it’s amazing to see the volume of voices from all over the globe that come out to champion women- on socials, TV, radio- everywhere you look, brilliant, powerful and energising stories appear which is hugely inspiring. I also love the fact that the majority of this is women championing women.

Then there’s the flip side in which the day pushes us to think about how far there still is to go; to challenge ourselves on the issues women and minority genders are facing and what we need to do to resolve them.

I think these points stand true from a more individual perspective too. In Newton, Wom-N uses the day for women in the organisation to network and connect but it does also acts as a reminder of the journey we still need to take. Wom-N reflects on what more we could be doing as a business to further the experience of our female colleagues.

 

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I always think it’s amazing to see the volume of voices from all over the globe that come out to champion women- on socials, TV, radio- everywhere you look, brilliant, powerful and energising stories appear which is hugely inspiring.
"

Can you tell us more about Wom-N and its purpose in Newton?

Of course, so Wom-N has been around now for just over three years and was something I started when I first joined. Coming into the industry, I was aware that consultancy was traditionally male-dominated, and it felt right to have a space to celebrate the women in the business and champion them. Newton is very supportive of these employee-led networks, so I was encouraged and helped with creating the group.

Since then, the network has gone from strength to strength and we have established three main aims:

  1. Building Networks- Creating the structure and space to bring women together.
  2. Development and Inspiration- Actively coaching and celebrating the skills and qualities that will help us grow.
  3. Amplifying Women’s Voices- Bringing Newton together to drive change in the areas that matter most.

I guess, this may sound strange, but Wom-N is about making itself redundant. We want to get to a position where all the structures that are in place, and the way that women and minority genders feel valued and represented in the business, means we don’t need to be pushing this agenda. We want to reach a point where these levels of equality and inclusion are so engrained and fundamental that they happen naturally for women and other minority groups. 

Tell us about the Newton IWD event.

There’s a big mix of things planned for the first ever daylong Wom-N event. We’ll be joined by guest speaker Joanna Abeyie, an award-winning social impact entrepreneur to open the day. There will also be a range of workshops, a self-defence class, a clothes donation and book swap, networking and much more- it’s going to be busy!

The overall idea is to further the three main aims highlighted above and to think about how we can further gender equality in Newton. This will be combined with a focus on delivery, as we will also be thinking about client problems in some of the workshops. Hopefully by wrapping up with a networking event, it will allow people to understand the value of building connections, and everyone will leave the day feeling excited and energised.

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Coming into the industry, I was aware that consultancy was traditionally male-dominated, and it felt right to have a space to celebrate the women in the business and champion them.
"

Finally, who is your female role model?

Ending on a hard question- within Newton there are so many!

I suppose if I had to choose, I’d call out my Development Manager, Charlotte Bailey, who is amazing at everything and really takes time to understand and listen to the people around her. Then I’d also have to say my fellow Wom-N lead Rani Mehta- her name means Queen and she really is. She has an incredible ability to make stuff happen and she’s great to work with.

 

Keep an eye out on our socials to hear more about the Wom-N event. If you’re interested in making people feel included in your organisation, also look out for Newton’s upcoming Culture Report. Surveying 2,000 UK workers, the report explores the current view on UK workplace culture- coming soon in March. 

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