International Women’s Day is an annual global celebration of women’s social, economic, cultural and political achievements. The event can be traced back as far as 1911, when more than one million women and men attended IWD rallies campaigning for women’s rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination.
Thanks to the actions of these brave men and women well over 100 years ago, the world has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in both women’s and society’s thoughts about women’s equality. However, there is still work to be done to achieve gender parity and “
break the bias” in order to level the playing field between men and women.
As an organisation, AB has long been a supporter of IWD. But what does the occasion mean to us as individuals? We asked a range of male and female associates in our APAC offices to tell us what this year’s theme of “
break the bias” means to them.
“I am inspired by all the inspirational women around me who continue to
break the bias: women who speak out against biases, friends who smash the glass ceiling, and colleagues who are committed to strengthening diversity and inclusion. There is still a long way to go, but together we can, and must, continue to challenge stereotypes to create a more equitable and inclusive world.”
Female employee, Melbourne
“International Women’s Day is an important day to recognise and acknowledge each of the women in our lives, both professionally and personally. Whilst this is a dedicated day in the calendar, I feel this recognition and awareness should form part of every day and everything we do.
This year’s
#breakthebias theme focuses not only on our awareness of bias, stereotypes and discrimination but what actions that each of us take to break those biases.
For me, as an AB manager, I’m focused on having a diverse APAC client service team which treats all team members equally and inclusively, promotes a variety of thoughts and opinions, and supports the growth of women within the business.
I enjoy working with the many women in our senior management teams across the domestic and regional/global businesses, learning from their perspectives and experience, and working collaboratively together.
Outside of work I try to be a role model for our young children and help create awareness as they begin to navigate the world for themselves.”
Male employee, Melbourne
“Women shouldn’t need to single out a day to recognise women’s achievements. We should be able to get up every day and be our authentic selves and go about our work, about our day without the constant worry of discrimination and unfairness.
I know as a woman I would value ALL the hours I could have back in my day if I didn’t constantly need to challenge old stereotypes and feel the need to conform”.
Female employee, Sydney
“As an investment management firm, AB’s ability to deliver strong results to our clients depends on us being able to make good choices every day about markets, asset classes and stocks. Our research into human biases and group decision making has clearly highlighted the benefits of “diversity of thought”. To win, we need to bring as many perspectives and backgrounds as possible to the table, and we need to make sure that we are listening to and incorporating these different views.
Gender equality is a key aspect of this diversity – indeed, a standout piece of research in Harvard Business Review has clearly demonstrated that gender-balanced teams outperformed all-male teams (or all-female teams, for that matter) by a considerable margin.
Breaking the Bias isn’t some abstract nice-to-have goal – rather, it’s a key determinant of our business success. We at AB are fully supportive of this this campaign theme for IWD 2022.”
Male employee, Melbourne
“
Breaking the bias acknowledges that we all have biases. None of us are perfect and we all see the world through our own lenses. Once we acknowledge that biases exist, we can work towards creating a world that meritocratically fosters the skills and talents of everyone, regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, religion or any other lens. It’s my belief that we all benefit from breaking our biases and building families, organisations and societies that allow the best of people to thrive.”
Male employee, Sydney
“To me, “
Break the Bias” means identifying conscious and unconscious bias within and around me, actively calling it out, continually striving to create an inclusive environment that elevates and celebrates equality and ultimately, becoming part of the solution to break down bias in all its forms.”
Female employee, Sydney
“In my 30ish year career I’ve been fortunate to work in four different countries, experiencing many situations where culture, background and individual bias influence behaviours. Importantly, I found that it is also the company, not just the country, that I worked in that heavily influenced the levels of gender equality, diversity, and inclusivity in the workplace and beyond.
With hindsight, I cringe at some work situations that used to occur and wish I had been more proactive in seeking to create a more balanced work environment.
At AB, I’m fortunate to work in a very diverse team and hopefully help create an environment that allows all team members to reach their potential based on their effort and contribution. Generally, we aim to recognise and reward good performance and behaviours though I believe we are now more willing to “call out” situations that create bias and poor outcomes. A focus on
Breaking the Bias highlights how far we have come …and what more we still need to do.”
Male employee, Melbourne
“I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by strong women my entire life, from my family, to friends and to the people that I have worked with. When thinking of bias, I never thought that these people who have held such sway in my own life would, or even could, have experienced any bias against them. However, as you grow older you realise that everyone has had their own experience of bias, so it is always important to remember that everyone has their own story. People’s strength can be born from battling their own personal hardships, as well as being lifted up by those around them.
Breaking the bias for me is trying not to make any assumptions of who people are by what they look like.”
Male employee, Sydney
Tuesday 8 March 2022 is a day when we are all encouraged to imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated.
International Women’s Day is not country, group or organisation specific. The occasion belongs to all groups collectively, everywhere. And, collectively we can all
#BreakTheBias - on International Women’s Day (IWD) and beyond.
For more information on International Women’s Day visit
https://www.internationalwomensday.com/