A trade show panel discussion gave Bluebird Agents & Consultancy’s Katie Marshall and opportunity to reflect on the power of women’s voices in the furniture industry – and to consider a few strategies for levelling the playing field, especially when it comes to younger members of staff …
I was recently asked to take part in a panel discussion at Top Drawer, London, which was a lovely afternoon spent with some creative, driven and thought-provoking women as part of Clarion Events’ Women In Furniture Network (WIFN).
The topic of choice was ‘Amplify your Voice’. At first glance, you realise that speaking out and being heard are two very different things – we all have those moments when we’ve spoken up, yet our words didn’t seem to register with those they were directed towards.
I shared insight into times I’ve presented hard-won work to a customer, to then be left out of the follow-up conversations for somebody more ‘senior’ (or, dare I say it, simply ‘male’) to have questions directed to. I’ve had to then step in, to break conversation, to refocus calmly and reassert some authority.
In hindsight, it seems like an easy process – but can the same be said of a younger employee starting out in the industry? How do we impact those younger women in the trade, who are currently without the benefit of experience and age, and the confidence that comes with it? We need to support, nurture and lead these women, to show them how things should look. For a balanced workforce, their voices are just as important.
Now, this isn’t to diminish men in the workplace – of course we need a balanced force – but I think we can all accept that, due to past societal norms, maternal roles and rights in the workplace, we women often have to fight a little harder to be heard.
So, how can women, in an often male-orientated trade, be heard, be included, be decision-makers, and be dealt with as such?
The discussion showed that the key to this is building a support network – to have your ‘team’ whom you can trust to be honest and supportive with you and your role. We need to empower the next generation of women in industry by being role models to those coming through, and as a business we need to show the female workforce that they can, and should, be heard.
With the added experience that time can bring, and to know that we shouldn’t be afraid to make mistakes, the rounded, driven and confident woman in industry develops, and with guidance can be the lead in change.
To start this process, we unfortunately have to have some discussions that might make some uncomfortable.
We understand that we are different from men, and navigate many stages of life whilst holding our roles in the workforce, and we cannot (and should not) sweep these under the carpet. A working woman’s life will often (but not always) sit alongside children coming into the world, long breaks from work, and the menopause, sometimes juggling the care of children and elderly relatives, and to be a good employer and nurturer of women in the workforce, an understanding of these life changes has to be there.
Once we’ve recognised these lifestyles and the changes that can occur, we can then put in place the elements that will help women in the workforce feel heard and understood. To make our whole workforce feel comfortable in speaking up, we must make them feel happy, settled and confident – to feel able to put their words out there, without an underlying fear of judgement, fear or contempt.
The people that are the building blocks of the business must be a supportive team, and they must project this support to all employees. This is often where the phrase ‘leading from the front’ drops in – those in senior positions must show this support, to perpetuate the company ethos down the line.
How can your business then build and boost confidence among its women? After all, instilling confident character and an open mindset is key to a fully inclusive workforce, which brings success and contentedness. There are many ways – further training, team building, experience hand-downs, buddy approaches, communication sharing spaces and timelines, and much more.
One of the closing topics from our discussion was how to instil in younger workers the knowledge that only really comes from experience. Mentor programmes allow those in this position to relay their experience to those not quite there yet – and let us not underestimate the value of our older workforce in this role.
If we, as a business, can focus on making our workplace inclusive, open, honest, communicative and confident, we release the power of enabling our whole workforce to speak up and be heard. As a woman in business, I believe that this change will come from both sexes, and will lead to a more balanced industry as a whole. Through networking and mentorship, we can grow and strengthen our voices – and I, for one, would like to be part of that revolution!
Read more from Katie here.
