Yes we expect to see more than a hashtag.
Wouldn’t it be good if International Women’s Day didn’t exist? An entire day traditionally dedicated to the shameless backslapping, hashtagging or simply @ing all the female colleagues who ever taught us a thing or two.
Maybe you’re conflicted, wanting to be at one with the spirit of the thing, agitating for the greater good of XX chromosome humans everywhere as opposed to talking about it on LinkedIn. But you know, time is money. And there’s a school play later.
So, for one day/month, we are asked to ‘Inspire Inclusivity’. Spotlight and celebrate women, recognise their achievements. Should we not do that every day?
We are asked to fill out endless questionnaires for our clients about our DE&I policies. And we stop and ask ourselves ‘why’? Not because we don’t passionately believe in DE&I, but because we wonder how is this information being used to genuinely support progress?
Cogs & Marvel are proudly woman owned and we don’t want to be applauded for it, or win business just because of it. But, we’d like it to be recognised for more than just one day. If it’s important to your brand then make it important all year long!
We wanted to do a robust IWD survey to convey the realities. Something to quote right here with punchy illustrative super stats that would have you thumping the desk in thinly-veiled rage. But we didn’t have time.
It’s been a busy year already. Between San Francisco, London and Dublin. We are seventy-five per cent women jugglers, all leaping, reaching out, leaning in, plugging gaps. We’re good but we’re tired.
A quick not very statistically viable sweep of the office told us that not everyone wants to be a female CEO. For all the International Women’s Days of the last millennia, we’re often the ones who feel guilty when leaving home – and leaving work.
It's easy to poke fun at hashtags, but we know IWD isn’t just for a day. Nor is DE&I. It’s a belief that women (everyone really, but for the sake of today let’s keep this about us) are more than workers. We’re lovers, mothers, partners, friends, mentors and well, three-dimensional beings with interests. Those human rights, that we all deserve to enjoy unencumbered.
So what are we all doing about it?
We want to begin a stripped-back conversation, with our employees, clients and friends. A baring of souls and coming together of truths – the sort that you pretend don’t exist when you are on the other side of the table.
Clients, agencies, employees and younger people coming into the industry all deserve to stop the endless performance, masking the fact we have separate lives and competing demands outside the workplace or space.
At Cogs & Marvel we’re in the business of experience. Not just words or slick animation. Taking a need and turning it into reality. That’s what we do day in day out. For the people that work for us as well as our clients.
And we’re not going to shut up. We are assertive, talented, energised women who work with equally assertive, talented and energised men. We are here for more than a day.
Talk to us and tell us what you think. Let’s get a real conversation started.