As a former manager with Accenture, I look forward to receiving invitations to their alumni events. It has been fifteen years now, but the relationships I forged with my fellow consultants are some I value the most. So needless to say, International Women’s Day, was filled with a lot of excited chatter and laughter as we reunited. But today’s event was much more than a reunion. #IWD2017 was a platform to discuss ways to promote awareness of issues impacting women in business.
Below are three key takeaways from today’s event:
- Get involved. Close the pay gap.
- By combining the impacts of three equalizers — Digital Fluency, Career Strategy and Tech Immersion — women in the US can achieve pay equality 29 years faster than without (In developed markets: 36 years; in developing markets: 110 years)
- Encourage girls to be vocal about aspirations to hold a leadership role.
- Promote participation in STEM programs and Girls Who Code.
- Connect young women with a mentor.
- Be brave.
- By combining the impacts of three equalizers — Digital Fluency, Career Strategy and Tech Immersion — women in the US can achieve pay equality 29 years faster than without (In developed markets: 36 years; in developing markets: 110 years)
- Hone your leadership skills. Specifically these three:
- Business Acumen: The ability to apply experience and knowledge … to maximize efficiency and effectiveness
- Emotional Intelligence: A set of emotional and social skills including self-awareness, relationship management, self-management, social awareness
- Continuous Learning: A relentless curiosity and thirst for knowledge, plus the ability to see opportunities to learn everywhere, even in places that new to you, or aren’t immediately recognizable as learning venues.
- Take action.
- Find ways to innovate and transform
- Embrace disruption
- Seek and leverage opportunities for growth.
#GettingToEqual
Harper Strategy 