Women of Encore Group Driving Meaningful Change
Encore recently launched the APAC Women of Encore group with an inaugural event dedicated to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion by focusing on gender equity, stereotypes and issues faced by females in the workplace.
The event featured several incredible Encore employees who identify as female, with keynote speaker and former staff member Elizabeth Talbot who is now a Clinical Psychologist, recounting her experience of gendered language and behaviour at work where her technical input was disregarded, and she was replaced by a more junior male peer for his input. Plus a highly engaging ‘in-conversation’ interview with Jane Lyons, General Manager, Hyatt Regency and Encore’s Katherine Pfahl, Director of Strategic Partnerships. During their in-conversation session they discussed the importance of females going for opportunities that push them outside of their comfort zone. This is a gendered attitude that has historically set women back as statistically men will go for jobs when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, whereas women will apply only if they meet 100% of the criteria. Women are typically underrepresented in leadership positions in the workforce, with only 30% of key management and 17.1% of CEO roles being held by women.
The voices of Encore ranged from Sales team members to AV Technicians all of whom had amazing stories and reasons for loving working in the rewarding, yet challenging events industry that is predominately dominated by men. For example, gender biases around women being more interested in the creative than technical side of events. A recent AV Women and Girls study debunked this assumption to be completely unfounded, with the majority of women saying that they actually preferred the technical side.
Encore’s progress in breaking down barriers and facilitating female team members careers was outlined by Managing Director, Scott Nodsle who shared statistics from Encore data showing that during the increased focus of female hires from 12% to 29% over the past 10 years business profits have exponentially increased. Making for further evidence that a more collaborative and diverse workforce is not only beneficial but advantageous for a business to play to the strengths of all genders. While there is a long way to go until we reach an equitable workforce, Encore has certainly been making strides this week to raise awareness for meaningful change to take place.
Sources:
- This is a gendered attitude that has historically set women back as statistically men will go for jobs when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, whereas women will apply only if they meet 100% of the criteria.
- Source: Harvard Business Review, 2014 Why Women Don’t Apply for Jobs Unless They’re 100% Qualified (hbr.org)
- Women are underrepresented in leadership positions, with only 17.1% of CEOs and 30% of key management personnel being women.
- Source: Australian Government, Workplace Gender Equality Agency. (2021). Gender composition of key management personnel by industry. https://www.wgea.gov.au/data/fact-sheets/gender-composition-key-management-personnel-industry
- Women are more likely to experience gendered language and behaviour in the workplace.
- Source: Australian Human Rights Commission. (2018). Language, tone and tenor in the workplace. https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sex-discrimination/publications/language-tone-and-tenor-workplace