‘Mic Drops’ is a new series of industry interviews conducted by The Digital Voice™.
Here, Julia Linehan, Founder of The Digital Voice, explains why she believes International Women’s Day is an occasion worth celebrating…
What does IWD mean to you?
International Women’s Day is a time to celebrate the amazing women I have had the privilege of working with, both now and in the past. These women have inspired me personally and professionally, shaping my career in positive ways. It is also a moment to acknowledge the ongoing challenges that women face, and to look ahead. In today’s rapidly changing world, it is crucial to emphasise, not only during International Women’s Month, but consistently throughout the year, the need to continue breaking barriers, combating bias, discrimination, and stereotypes to create a gender-equal society.
This year’s theme is #inspireInclusion – how are you planning to honour this year’s theme?
We foster a creative, inclusive environment where we can be proud of our differences, focusing on supporting each other and learning about the things that make us individual – knowledge is power! Diversity and inclusion empowers different thinking and this makes us stronger and definitely more creative. We honestly value and celebrate diversity and we will be having a virtual IWD day lunch to join together – men and women of The Digital Voice™ to honour our inclusive team.
How initiatives and communities are championing women?
It’s all about leading by example and leaning in as much as possible into important initiatives that are really making a difference. Programmes like GirlRise from Digilearning and the Bloom mentorship programme which also supports WomensAid are having such a significant impact for women. Women can also support each other through community groups, such as Digital Leading Ladies, The Women in Programmatic Network, WACL, Bloom to name just a few. These communities are there to help women with advice, guidance and above all, cheerleading each other.
Where are you seeing the most progress in gender equity?
We’re seeing more women in leadership positions today, and representation across industries and organisations. We’re also seeing more men taking paternity leave as caring responsibilities are becoming more evenly split. But often, there are biases like performance bias and attribution bias that hold women back. It’s critical that organisation’s look for these biases and train managers to be on the lookout for them. It still blows my mind that the gender pay gap even exists. This should just not be part of the conversation; it should be a given that everyone is paid the same for the same role.
What can men do to support IWD this year?
We need men to act as allies consistently throughout the year, not just on International Women’s Day. It involves actively listening, being open to fresh perspectives, and confronting deep-rooted biases or stereotypes. Collective action for driving gender equality every day is going to make the most difference, and create lasting change.
