Written by: Vanina Pitsch, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
In honor of International Women’s Day, I would like to celebrate women all around the world and encourage individuals and organizations to strive to embrace equity. As a woman who once felt stuck professionally, I feel called to share the importance of becoming aware of what may be blocking you and what resources and/or tools you may require to continue growing in your career.
Have you ever been in a position where you felt like you were working really hard and were convinced that you did all the right things, but felt unappreciated, unrecognized, and overworked?
Well, at the beginning of my career this is exactly how I felt. I felt very frustrated, helpless, and did not know how to get “unstuck” in order to get promoted. Back then, I thought I was the only one who felt this way but with time I realized that I was not alone. And if you’re feeling this way too, you too are not alone.
Based on McKinsey's article “Women in the Workplace 2022". “Women leaders are switching jobs at the highest rates we’ve ever seen, and ambitious young women are prepared to do the same”. One of the reasons is due to the fact that women tend to be overworked and unrecognized at work. They are also confronted with more challenges when it comes to advancing in their careers compared to men.
But how does the idea of equity fit into the picture and how is it different from equality? According to this resource shared by the International Women’s Day organization, “...equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity in turn recognizes that each person has different circumstances, and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.”
Understanding this difference is important as most organizations strive to aim for gender parity and embrace equality in the workplace. While organizations need to provide professional development opportunities and create an inclusive work environment, they also need to start looking (if they haven’t already done so) at providing the right resources or tools for employees depending on their individual needs.
On the flip side, employees are also responsible for expressing what tools and resources would be helpful for them to grow and thrive within an organization. The more self-aware you are, the further you can go, as you are able to clearly identify and express your professional needs to your manager.
Here’s what employees can do in order to become more self-aware and advance their career as desired:
Have the courage to take the first step
Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable and ask for help. Asking for help will get you where you want to be a lot faster.
Be honest with yourself
Try not to make excuses or make up stories that are not true. This won’t serve you and you will actually end up standing in your own way.
Practice mindfulness or take a mindfulness training
Mindfulness is mental training that helps you connect to the present moment in order to become more self-aware.
Identify your limiting beliefs
You can ask yourself what’s holding you back and see what’s coming up for you. Perhaps you’ll gain a lot of insight by simply answering this question. However, if you still feel stuck or you need more clarity about what’s holding you back, you can seek out a coach to help guide you (see next idea below).
Seek out a career and leadership development coach
A coach can help you find out what you may need in order to grow. He/she will also help you identify your limiting beliefs; by reflecting things back to you, and guide you towards your own realizations.
Celebrate your successes
As you become more aware of your needs and uncover your blind spots, celebrate any insights you gain as you get closer to providing yourself with and expressing what you may need.
Tips for managers to help cultivate a culture of equity in the workplace:
Provide feedback and lean into difficult conversations
While this may be uncomfortable, you can open the door by letting your employees know that you are looking out for their best interests.
Ask how you can support your team
This will give you insights into what your employees may need on an individual basis and how you can adapt your support or find the right resources/tools to share for each member of your team.
Ask for feedback so you can improve your leadership management skills
This will give you an opportunity to reflect on your leadership skills while getting to know your employees as well.
Conclusion
You can embrace equity by starting with yourself. By practicing Mindfulness, you can become aware of your strengths as well as your areas that need improvement. And with that understanding, you can discover and ask for the tools and resources you need in order to excel in your role and work environment.
When I think back to the time when I felt stuck, I started by looking at my situation from an objective point of view and accepted the situation for what it was. I also attempted to perceive what others were seeing when I was expressing myself in meetings. Their reactions and facial expressions helped me gain some insights into what I needed to take a closer look at. It’s from this place that I started to focus on certain skills that I wanted to develop. With that said, I could only get so far and decided to hire a life coach to help me gain perspective and work on myself. For instance, I have worked on setting boundaries for myself and being able to say no. I have also worked on my self-confidence and stopped doing things to please others. Instead I started to listen more to what I needed and made myself a priority.
I know this may not exactly sound like what you would have expected but one of my biggest breakthroughs came from creating a solid foundation for myself, expressing my needs, and serving from a place of wholeness rather than trying to fill a void and trying to please everyone around me.
While I am still a work-in-progress and believe that growth never ends, I have grown significantly in the last three years and I am now leading a team. I am also feeling grounded, centered, and empowered in my day-to-day at work. When you create a solid foundation for yourself and serve from a place of wholeness, your professional and personal life changes for the better.
For more information about organizational mindfulness, you can read this article. I would also encourage you to check out these IWD resources, So you can find out what action steps you can take to aim to embrace equity.
If you would like some support in learning how you can improve your self-awareness in order to advance your career, I would be happy to support you. You can book a free clarity call with me via this link.
For information about my services, visit my website. For more content and inspiration, you can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Vanina Pitsch, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Vanina Pitsch is a leadership development manager, mindset coach, and mindfulness facilitator. She is the founder of GloWell Coaching ‒ a coaching and mindfulness company aimed at bringing empathy and mindfulness into organizations and supporting professionals in their careers and life so they can evolve into their next-level selves.
Certified as a Personal and Professional Coach (PPCC) from Concordia University, she offers a variety of different coaching packages and organizes online wellness events as well as urban wellness retreats for professionals and organizations.
She believes in the power of the mind, leadership development, creating inclusive work environments, and teaching others to take care of their well-being. So they can serve from a place of wholeness and be in alignment with their soul’s purpose.
