This year’s IOB’s annual graduation ceremony was held on International Women’s Day. We welcomed over 600 graduates from across Ireland, together with their families and friends, for a celebration of learning and professional development.
As I met with the graduates, I was struck by how much the IOB community has evolved and grown throughout IOB’s history. When IOB was founded in 1898, there would have been no female members. If the graduation ceremony had been held even 40 or 50 years ago, there would have been far fewer women wearing caps and gowns – and fewer women on stage among faculty and leadership.
This year, of the more than 2,400 members who completed our UCD accredited programmes - over half are women.
The writer Gloria Steinham said that International Women’s Day belongs to no single person, but to the collective efforts of all those who care about human rights. The theme for this year’s campaign is Accelerate Action.
As an education partner for the financial services sector, we see how committed the industry is to fostering the talent and experience of all women in financial services. While female representation in the general population of financial services firms tends to be equally balanced, differences emerge in the progression to more senior levels.
It is encouraging to see that over 100 financial services organisations have signed Ireland’s Women in Finance Charter. IOB is proud to be the Education partner to Women in Finance and supports the financial services industry’s ambition to see increased participation of women at all levels, including junior, middle and senior management, leadership and board roles within financial services.
Our Inside Out Leadership programme - which we deliver in collaboration with Woman Up - is now in its fifth year. The programme is specifically designed for women working in the financial services sector, guiding emerging female leaders through the leadership journey.
At a global level – the picture for gender equality is starker. With the current rate of progress, it will take until 2158, which is roughly five generations from now, to reach full gender parity, according to data from the World Economic Forum. It’s quite shocking and it's similar to another global challenge we face – the climate crisis.
When it comes to the biggest challenges we face, we can’t afford to wait for change to happen organically. And we can’t accelerate action – on gender equality, on climate change - without everyone being involved.
At our graduation ceremony, I reflected on the importance of inclusion.
Research has consistently shown that we are happiest and perform our best when we work in inclusive workplaces.
An inclusive workplace is an environment that welcomes people of different ages, races, ethnicities, religions, genders, sexual orientations and abilities, supporting and encouraging them to grow and succeed.
Multiple studies have shown that organisations embracing inclusivity deliver dramatically better results and enjoy a better reputation among prospective employees.
As individuals, all of us can play an active role in building more inclusive workplaces. In building more inclusive communities and societies. At IOB, we offer a number of culture programmes – supporting professionals to lead, manage and measure culture in their organisation.
A saying we often have when it comes to culture is that change requires a movement, not a mandate. As individuals, all of us can play an active role in building more inclusive workplaces. In building more inclusive communities and societies.
In doing this, there is one skill that can make a big difference. Listening. Otto Scharmer, a senior lecturer at MIT, offers a unique model for listening which can help shift our listening practices to foster inclusion. He highlighted four types of listening:
Downloading: Listening to confirm what we already know.
Factual Listening: Listening for surprises or unexpected information that challenges our assumptions.
Empathic Listening: Putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes, allowing us to see the world from their perspective.
Generative Listening: Creating a space for new ideas and possibilities to emerge through our interaction.
Scharmer believes that how we listen can be life-changing for us as individuals and transformational for businesses and industries. He said, “if you are not a good listener, there is no way that you can develop real mastery in any discipline.” Listening, as we know, is such an important part of learning.
When it comes to making progress on the biggest challenges we face – the best solutions are crafted together. On our own, we each have our unique viewpoint and perspective on the world – but by including others, we broaden that perspective.
But we also have a responsibility to bring our unique self into discussions and decision-making, being brave and confident to express our views to others.
I leave you with the same challenge I shared with our graduates last weekend. In the coming days - whether it’s at home, with friends or at your workplace – to try out a new practice: Speak as if you know you’re right, and listen as if you know you’re wrong. That way, you’ll contribute with confidence and allow others to do that too.
I hope it helps you explore new conversations, and find new ways to include and value those around you.