This year’s IWD theme is about Embracing Equity and forging equity isn’t limited to women solely fighting for change, allies play an important role in change. Who have you identified as allies throughout your career?
I have been fortunate enough to benefit from many work-based allies, from my editor at the publication I started with when I left university to the wonderful leaders I’ve been supported by at Edelman. I also don’t take it for granted that I have an amazing support system in my male family and friends who have always enabled and encouraged me to seek out new career experiences. My husband and I took shared parental leave after the recent birth of our daughter, which helped us to delegate work and home responsibilities more fairly from the outset. More broadly, I think the shift to viewing any gender as equally likely to take time off to have a baby is absolutely fundamental in addressing issues like the gender pay gap and some of the persistent drivers of inequality experienced by many women who have had a baby.
In your opinion, how do our individual actions, conversations, behaviours and mindsets have an impact on our larger society?
Everything ladders up: how we conduct ourselves as individuals undoubtedly impacts society at large. I find that my attitudes and actions shape my experience of the world, too, and I’m not surprised by research that suggests positivity and resilience help people to make better decisions about health and life.
What do you believe will be the biggest challenge for the next generation of women?
The UNDP’s Human Development Index - which measures how long and well people live, whether they have access to education, and what’s their standard of living - had been on an upward trajectory since 1990, but that changed a few years ago. COVID-19 and war have taken an obviously major toll on the global economy, but so has climate change and its impacts will only worsen unless drastic action is taken. We saw during the pandemic that women carried a disproportionate burden, including job losses and taking on additional caring and domestic responsibilities. So, a challenge for the next generation in totality will be to navigate the upending of a long-term trend for increasing prosperity and social mobility, but more specifically to ensure that the impacts of climate change don’t disproportionately impact women.
In your opinion what does it look like to elevate women forging change via technology and sustainability in communities, workplaces and beyond?
The implications of an extremely connected, automated, and technology-driven society are complex, relevant, and both compelling and challenging. We’re both more available and more isolated, and I personally think that building a robust network of people who will help to create new opportunities for you and back you in the ones you create for yourself, whatever the context, is absolutely essential.
ABOUT ELEANOR BEST
Eleanor Best is a Director in the Sustainability, Social Impact and Brand Purpose team.
