International Women's Day 2023

Happy International Women's Day! This year's theme, #EmbraceEquity, calls on us to take action towards creating a more equitable world for all. March 8th is a time to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, and to highlight the ongoing fight for gender equality. This year's theme reminds us that true gender equality can only be achieved when we embrace equity, recognising and addressing the systemic barriers that prevent marginalized groups from achieving their full potential.

Our article features interviews with some successful women at Globe Locums, inspiring others to challenge gender bias and inequality. Join us as we explore the theme of #EmbraceEquity, examining the progress made towards gender equality, the challenges that remain, and the actions we can all take to create a more equitable world.

Emma Spencer, Recruitment Consultant at Globe Locums, shares her thoughts for International Women's Day 2023.

What role can recruiters play in embracing equity in the workplace?

As the link between the worker and the end client, recruitment agencies play a key role in embracing equity in the workplace.

In regards to the workers they are looking to secure roles for, recruitment agencies are often vital in enabling them to fulfil their potential in the workplace; sometimes this can be as simple as securing a role for them in the first place. Recruiters will also help to remove any obstacles that individuals may face in navigating the recruitment process, and liaise sensitively with the end client in regards to any adaptations that may be needed to ensure equitable treatment.

In relation to their clients, recruiters can work with them to develop shared values and ensure an equitable recruitment process is in place at all stages. This has the benefit to the client of helping increase the diversity of their workplace, with the associated benefits to the company, their employees and ultimately society as a whole.

What advice would you give to a company looking to create a diverse hiring strategy?

The key advice I would give to a company looking to create a diverse hiring strategy would be to have equity at the heart of their strategy, and to always be open to considering what adaptions may need to be made to the hiring process to ensure everyone has the chance to achieve their potential. Often, the reasons why one person may need more resources or opportunities than another to achieve an equal outcome may not be immediately obvious, so companies should also always be aware of this and look to put processes in place that ensure everyone can be treated equitably without requiring individuals to disclose detailed sensitive information that they may not feel comfortable discussing at an early stage in the hiring process. Fulfilled employees will ultimately lead to increased productivity for the company, so the advantages to companies of embracing equity and diversity are numerous.

Amanda-Jayne Forward, Divisional Manager at Globe Locums, shares her thoughts for International Women's Day 2023.

What role can recruiters play in embracing equity in the workplace?

Recruitment can be a rewarding job on many levels and is not restrictive to gender, ethnicity and age but it is still a male-dominated workplace. Our role as female recruiters is to help in establishing an environment that eliminates any form of inequality. Our company values and benefits are centred around equal salaries; equal opportunities to advance up the career ladder; incentives and rewards are gender and age neutral.  

What advice would you give to a company looking to create a diverse hiring strategy?

My advice would be that it needs to be a strategy that is reflected through every aspect of the company to begin with. If the roles being hired for are inherently diverse throughout the staff member’s career, then the rest will come naturally. Training processes and courses, company policies, employee benefits, social events etc needs to be inclusive to all employees and a positive HR support system able to effectively eliminate any discrimination is key.

Gillian Ferguson, Senior Recruitment Consultant at Globe Locums, shares her thoughts for International Women's Day 2023.

What role can recruiters play in embracing equity in the workplace?

It is important to be aware of your colleague and candidates' requirements in both your workplace and in the process of recruiting locums. We all have our own unique requirements within our personal and work lives. Ensuring we as the recruiter remain consistent and fair by being responsive to these needs while also remaining impartial to anything we may not understand or agree with is vital. It is easy to hire those that reflect your own beliefs or opinions, but a great recruiter is one that is responsive to others' needs and also open-minded during any conflicts.

What advice would you give to a company looking to create a diverse hiring strategy?

Searching for diversity for the sake of diversity is where many companies have failed in the past. Expanding on my point above, here at Globe we ensure to always be aware of bias thinking (group think) whereby many hire and interact with locums and colleagues that reflect something about themselves. It is important to ensure an office reflects the diversity of the nation and the workforce we work in, rather than what we are comfortable with. Diversity should be about actively engaging people from these varieties of ethnic and social backgrounds and making sure all feel safe and included.