In light of International Women’s Day 2023, let’s discuss this year’s campaign theme #EmbraceEquity, and how we, as a community, can progress toward Equity.
What is Equity, and how does it differ from Equality?
Although they sound similar, equity and equality are distinct ideas, whether in the context of a broader society or the workplace.
- Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities (equal input).
- Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances, and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.
Importance of Equity in the Workplace
The foundation for workplace equity is belonging, transparency, and equality. And it may be challenging to create a workplace that is entirely free of bias and discrimination, even in workplaces that are already diverse. While prioritising equity requires effort, a McKinsey & Company study demonstrates that businesses gain from creating an equitable workplace. Businesses with leadership that are diverse in terms of gender, ethnicity, and culture are more likely to perform better financially than those that do not.
At Funding Societies | Modalku, we are working toward a more equal, diverse, and inclusive workplace through the work of Cassandre Debonneville, our Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (IDE) Specialist. After focusing on the theme of happiness at work in 2022, she is launching an Inclusion and Diversity learning program in 2023.
“By focusing on inclusivity, this inclusion and diversity program will create a work environment that values and respects all individuals, regardless of their background, race, gender, or orientation. The sense of belonging is key as it fosters engagement, leading to improved productivity and job satisfaction.” Cassandre Debonneville says.
Some of Funding Societies | Modalku’s initiatives in taking a step towards Equity include:
- Changing employees’ and managers’ mindsets, through training, workshops, and social engagements.
- Creating a safe environment by updating procedures, policies, and guidelines to support the strategy, such as creating psychological safety, including a diverse workforce, handling discrimination, and offering equal chances to our women employees.
- With a strong People Experience team, we have improved our female-to-male employee ratio by 5.5%, since August 2022, taking a step toward gender equality.
- Supported women empowerment through several initiatives like hosting monthly #IamRemarkable (a Google initiative) training sessions, supporting mothers in the workplace by adding maternity leave insurance policies, facilitating conversations in our #BossMoms support group, and sharing our women employees’ success stories in our #MakingHERStory blog posts.
We have also pledged to the One Global Women Empowerment (OGWE) platform, an initiative by the B20 Women in Business Action Council (WiBAC) during the 2022 G20 Indonesian presidency, which promotes inclusive, resilient, and sustainable global economic growth through empowering women entrepreneurs and women in the workforce.
Let’s take a step (or two) towards equity! #EmbraceEquity