March the 8th marks International Women’s Day for 2022. This year the theme is #breakingthebias. This year’s theme got me thinking about the evolution of our business and the influential role women have played in its success.

In 2021, we released our Social Frameworks document, and a large portion of the paper was focused on: 

  • Improving the participation rates of women in IT
  • Increasing the number of women in leadership positions
  • Ensuring support mechanisms are in place for women, particularly in disadvantaged situations
  • Making sure staff have an optimal work/life balance helps keep women in the workforce

To that end, since our founding, we have implemented the following:

Improving Participation 

  • We are actively putting women in leadership positions, including our Executive. Of our six senior executives and directors, 2 are women. There is still some work to be done, and as we grow, we will continue to strive for 50% representation.
  • We have established policies and procedures that encourage the employment, ongoing training, and support required for women to thrive in the industry. 
  • We provide mentorship of female staff to grow their careers and responsibilities. 
  • We actively ensure that we have no gender pay gap across our business. 

Flexible Working Conditions

  • Too often, women leave the workforce as inflexible work practices make it impossible to balance family and career. We have implemented flexible working conditions for all staff and support working from when needed. This practice will stay even as the pandemic conditions ease.

We give time to our staff to participate in industry events, such as ACS, Code like a Girl and other industry events. 

Family Violence Support

We are committed to fostering a workplace free from all forms of violence. However, we recognise that employees may sometimes experience family violence or abuse, affecting their attendance or performance at work. 

To address this, we have implemented: 

  • Up to 20 days of paid leave per year for medical appointments, legal proceedings or other similar activities to assist in dealing with the consequences of family violence or remove them from dangerous situations. 
  • We have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to provide employees with a safe, anonymous avenue to seek help and advice where needed.
  • Our People Managers have clear policies and procedures for dealing with issues arising from team members raising family violence issues. Our priority is always the safety of our employees and their families. 

Lastly, it’s essential to take the time to celebrate the wins. Like many organisations, we will take some time to celebrate IWD this year. To the women in the Etica family, thank you for helping in our success, and keep the great ideas coming. We also encourage any women in the industry to apply for roles with us, we’d love to have you join.

Simon Hammond
CEO and Founder
Etica Digital