On Thursday 5 March, our London community kicked off celebrations for this year’s International Women’s Day with a screening of four female-focused short films, accompanied by a gourmet selection of cinema treats. In this blog, we share how our people interpreted this year’s theme of ‘Each for Equal’ during the panel discussion which followed…
“I was raised in an environment of opportunity. I didn’t really have a sense of the difference between races and genders. It wasn’t something I focused on as a child. To me, ‘Each for Equal’ means creating a similar environment that I had, and trying to do the same for my kids, my nieces and nephews and extended family, which Capco is a part of.”
She continued, “And for our organization, this [IWD theme] means equal opportunity for us all to succeed and feel supported.”
She later advised the audience: “Find people who you think you can trust. If you try, you’ll be surprised with the number of people at Capco who have a similar mindset to you, so take the chance to be open and be vulnerable. It’s one of your biggest superpowers.”
“I would invite you all to reflect on how we can remind ourselves every day that whilst we’re on a great path, there’s more we can do to uplift each other. Inclusion is not about women or men, it’s about how we all can fulfill our potential.”
She later shared: “I believe everything we do is culturally conditioned and think there’s a real opportunity, as we continue to build the Capco community, to say ‘How do we want to express ourselves?’ One of the most important parts of this is to each be more self-aware, and to help create safe spaces to enable conversations.”
“At the end of the day, we are all human, with different goals. But our end goal is the same; and coming here to these events then going back to client-side shifts your mindset. It’s about empathy, and that’s what makes Capco great.”
“I’d like to encourage everyone to put themselves forward, to share and to collaborate. Then maybe we might really be able to change things for the better.”
“It’s not just about gender, it’s also about intersectionality. We [as individuals] are not simply defined by one diversity stream, so do not put yourself in one bucket. There’s always going to be someone who understands and who can identify with you. They might not look like you, but they probably have experienced similar challenges.”
“Unconscious bias is a problem for both genders today. While my husband is the primary carer for our two girls, I’m the one who typically gets called by our school when there’s a problem; and sometimes my husband even gets funny looks from other mums when picking or dropping off the kids. We have to respect balances of commitment, and we need to be more inclusive in our thinking, and maybe park some of our own biases.”
“I do think that we do things differently at Capco. We are a very focused consulting business and have a chance to use our differences as a differentiator with our clients, people and proposition. I also believe we are more open and more embracing as a culture than many other businesses today. We want to be more diverse, and that’s what events like this evening are all about.”
1. What Do These Kids Understand That Your Boss Doesn’t?, 2018, Norway
2. Life of Pie, 2019, USA
3. The Mirnavator, 2017, USA
4. My Mom Vala, 2018, Greenland
For more information about life at Capco and our unique Be Yourself At Work culture, visit www.capco.com/byaw