I do believe there has been great progress made in the past few years when it comes to achieving gender equality in the workplace, however, it’s tough to read statistics like those and realise how far we still have to go. I think the two biggest barriers we face as women in the workplace is the unconscious bias that can exist in recruitment and career progression processes and decisions, as well as the limiting beliefs that a lot of women hold about themselves, compared to their male colleagues. The latter is something I’ve read about in numerous books and articles, but until I entered the workplace, I never really grasped the reality of it. As women, we often doubt ourselves and don’t think we’re ready for opportunities that our male colleagues don’t think twice about. It’s not an easy issue to overcome, but organisations can make a significant impact by developing and encouraging female employees to break through the glass ceiling by establishing mentoring and women’s development programs.

 

I have a lot of hope about the progress that will be made over the next decade. Being one of the small but growing number of Generation Z’s in my workplace, I can see the change that our generation is bringing and demanding. We’re progressive in our thinking and we act on the social issues we care about. I’m excited to see the changes we make in the workplace as we begin to rise up the ranks. We’re fortunate to start our careers now, when the opportunities for women are greater than they have been for previous generations. I think we owe it to the generations that follow us to continue the amazing work that women before us have done to achieve gender equality.