How is mobility supporting women — and how can we be better?

March 8 is International Women’s Day, a “global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.” As both a woman and a business leader myself, I find it very important to make sure women have their place in the corporate world.

This also has me reflecting on how mobility can play a part in furthering this cause. I’m a firm believer that mobility programs can and do play a key role in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) efforts within companies, including supporting female employees. How? I think a key is building a program that uses inclusive language — to help attract a wider pool of relocation candidates in the first place — and then offers the type of support that truly meets people where they are.

As the article below highlights, supporting women in the workplace often equates to supporting working mothers. The author notes the importance of providing “flexibility and support,” and I think mobility leaders should focus here, too. What kind of benefits are you offering that are targeted toward children and families? Could you be doing more and making the experience better? Stats and surveys can be quite useful here — what benefits are being utilized (or not) and what are these employees saying about their relocation packages overall?

Of course, supporting women doesn’t just mean supporting mothers. Many working women don’t have children, and your program should meet their needs, too. That’s really what a DE&I-focused mobility program is all about — finding a way to welcome and support relocating employees from all walks of life.

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Ben Cross on "Love + Relo" about how mobility can do better at supporting DE&I initiatives generally. We also spent some time discussing the realities of being a woman in our industry and other corporate environments, and I'll leave you with what we finished with, which is my top five ways for women to build their brand (and empower themselves professionally):

1. Lift other women up
2. Own your voice
3. Never stop learning from anyone or anywhere
4. Know your true passion
5. Know your strengths