For International Women's Day 2022, we decided to celebrate successful women in our business, get to know them and promote their achievements both inside and outside of the workplace.
What do you like about working at Midwich?
Personally, I have been given the opportunity to learn and grow substantially since I joined Midwich. I joined as a content executive in quite a junior position and have managed to work myself up to marketing manager. I thank Katie Ford for this, she really saw my potential. She helped me work on developing my skills to progress into more senior positions, taking on more responsibility and eventually leading my own team of content writers.
Would you be able to give a little summary of your role?
I am the content marketing manager at Midwich. I support our marketing strategies and ensure we are creating engaging campaigns, including our quarterly magazine Connected. I have also had fun hosting Midwich TV and our Out Of Office podcast.
What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
I am glad that we celebrate IWD at Midwich as I think it is very important. It is a day for everyone to celebrate successful women, shout about their achievements and join together in allyship.
I usually also take the day to shed light on ways that sexism still exists in the world, especially in the UK. With the good always comes the bad and on IWD we often hear the term “haven’t we achieved gender equality already”. The fact is we haven’t, so every year I share a LinkedIn post highlighting the effects of casual sexism in the workplace and education systems and how systemic sexism is still installed in many industries and disproportionally affects women and those that identify as femme.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
One quote that has always stuck with me is…
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...” ― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Who is your role model?
I grew up in a very close-knit family and I've often turned to my parents for help and advice, ever since I was little, both my parents empowered me to be the best version of myself.
Do you have any pets?
Anyone who has ever met me knows that I have a dog. Her name is Zelda the Twilight Princess of Hyrule (or Zelda for short) but her recall is really bad so you can yell whatever you want at her, and she will ignore you.
What is your guilty pleasure?
By far my biggest (not so guilty) pleasure is reality TV shows. I love them! My all-time fave is Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
What is your go-to karaoke song?
All Star by Smash Mouth.
What is one important skill that you think everyone should have?
One skill that I value the most and wouldn’t have been able to succeed without is the ability to look at a problem from other people’s perspectives. It’s so easy to get caught up in the moment and only see what affects you rather than how something may affect others as well.
What’s the hardest part about working remotely for you?
I think to begin with, in 2020, I really struggled with communicating with the team. I am very autonomous and had no problem cracking on with my work, but I was essentially neglecting others in the team. I now make conscious reminders to check-in socially with others. Admittedly this can be hard to remember when I am busy, but I think over the two years we have been remote (or hybrid) at Midwich it has certainly got easier.
International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women's achievements or rally for women's equality.
International Women's Day has occurred for well over a century with the first gathering held in 1911. The campaign theme for International Women's Day 2022 is #BreakTheBias. Whether deliberate or unconscious, bias makes it difficult for women to move ahead. Knowing that bias exists isn't enough. Action is needed to level the playing field.