“Give to Gain” – The Power of Women Supporting Women in the Public Sector.

Hello PPMA members and friends

Last Sunday was International Women’s Day and with a theme of ‘Give to Gain’, it’s a reminder of the progress women have made in the workplace, while highlighting the responsibility we all share to go further. In this post, our President Elect, Sandra Farquharson talks about the importance of women in our profession and sector continuing to champion one another, support wellbeing, and create the conditions for women across the Public Sector to lead, influence and succeed.

The HR Profession is heavily dominated by women, yet men are often disproportionately represented in senior leadership positions. It is time to not only celebrate the tremendous talent of our women, but to act as leaders to ensure that we are strategic allies, champions and advocates for other women across the Public Sector.

The PPMA proudly provides insights, visibility and influence across the Public Sector to help us to shape and lead on empowering women within the workforce, acknowledging the significant difference that we all make. Balancing professional aspirations with domestic responsibilities is often a challenging core element of many women’s lived experience, yet it is exactly this that makes our contribution to the workplace so highly valuable. It is also important to point out that the lived experience is not uniform, it varies significantly based on race, ethnicity, and identity.

Wellbeing is such an important part of our success as women are often the primary providers of empathy and conflict resolution, in both their working and home lives, they face a unique set of challenges to their own success. When your job is to support others through layoffs, mental health crises, or workplace conflict, your own emotional reserves can run dry. Prioritising wellbeing is what allows women to stay in high-impact roles without burning out.

Success often depends on having the boundaries and support to manage these competing demands without sacrificing health. It is important to understand and celebrate the collective power of women giving to each other. Giving your time and your experience to other women allows us to have the strategic thinking space that fully appreciates the unique challenges that we share.

We don’t have to do this alone. You can reach out to another woman in our profession and offer some of your time to coach or mentor them, and especially those who may not typically have access to those resources. There are a lot of myths about what it takes to be a leader. Each one of us can be one. ‘Give to gain’ means that we will continue to make progress towards achieving a fairer and more inclusive workforce and our support for one another in turn will be of the greatest benefit to society as a whole.