The Salesforce ecosystem is one that offers a flexible and supportive environment for women, and with a huge demand for net-new talent globally we know that Salesforce and our partners can offer women great opportunities to build rewarding careers around the digital transformation our world is undergoing. So as we approach International Women’s Day (IWD22) on March 8th, and with some fantastic activities planned, we reached out to Eloise Lloyd, our head of Talent Alliance in Asia Pacific to get her take on IWD22 and how the world has, and can, change to be a more inclusive for women.
Before January 2020, working as a woman for a multinational company implied that at some point, during your employment you may need ‘flexible working conditions’ and this was an accommodation that was largely required only by women and ’generously’ provided by employers.
The IWD22 theme “Break the Bias“ infers that there is bias against woman in society, but there is also a related bias that many women need flexible working conditions more than men do and it is the employee who benefits, not the employer. This bias implies that by providing flexible conditions, business productivity is impacted, and a woman’s ability to deliver equal results to male counterparts, will be hampered by their different approach to working hours. The pandemic has not just broken the bias, it has smashed it - hopefully for good.
I would argue that in my international career, my employer needs me to have flexible working conditions more than I need them. You simply can’t work internationally in standard business hours if you need to have a call with New York and London at the same time.
As the Covid-19 pandemic spread across the globe, companies that increased their adoption of technology such as Slack, allowed their employees to be safer, and as productive as ever. Flexible working conditions provided a better workplace for all employees - regardless of gender. Many employees, including me, are working more flexibly and more productively than ever.
Herding Kids and Calls
Multi-tasking is key to being a great employee and mother. But again, there is a bias that you need to focus 100% on the task at hand. Fine, if you are writing key clauses for a billion-dollar contract, but the reality is most people can walk and talk, and can motivate a team on an all-hands call while packing away the breakfast.
I often have my most productive meetings with India when they're halfway through their day, I'm off-video and eating dinner. When I'm folding washing in Sydney at 8am, I'm laser-focused on that conversation with New Zealand because - trust me - the last thing I want to focus on is folding a t-shirt for the 10,000th time in my life.
Flexible working conditions mean that I can work how I want, when I want, and where I want, in order to make the most of my life and be the most productive for my employer. I’m adult enough to know when I write the best emails, when I host the best team calls, and whether I can hold a meeting from my office in Australia, my spare bedroom at home or from a supermarket carpark.
Regardless of what age or gender you are, multi-tasking is a given in today’s age and goes hand in hand with flexibility.
Flexible working conditions are about getting the most out of the 24 hours in each day - for my employer, my family and I.
The pandemic has proven that flexibility and multi-tasking not only work, but they help break the bias. Even before Covid-19, studies had shown that 77% of those who work remotely, at least a few times per month, showed increased productivity, with 30% doing more work in less time and 24% doing more work in the same period of time according to a survey by ConnectSolutions.
Now I have two toddlers under three and I can assure you, I'm writing this while I think about what I'm cooking for dinner. I’m also about to host a briefing with the India team while I fold the washing. I may be a mother of two but I am totally focused on my international career and regardless of what time of day I am working, my productivity for my employer is higher than ever before.
I can have a flexible, international career from my house, and then step on a plane and work from any of Salesforce’s international offices. My Salesforce credentials are internationally recognised and my security pass works at every office location. Salesforce gets it. Our Success from Anywhere program is a response to this changing world - and it works.
My day job is with the Salesforce Talent Alliance, helping find roles for people from diverse backgrounds, in the Salesforce ecosystem. Every day I see people, not just women, taking opportunities in companies that offer flexible workplaces. Those organisations are the ones that prosper. Not the ones that care about ‘face-time’ and how many hours you do at a screen. To those companies who provide flexibility for all employees equally, I say congratulations for breaking the bias - it will pay dividends.
I hope you join our upcoming panel and listen in while you make the bed, order your shopping, or walk in the park. If there is background noise from my dishwasher, I hope you won’t mind.
Join Us
Join us for our upcoming panel session on 9th March 2022 to learn more about diversity, equity and inclusion in the Salesforce ecosystem and discover great career advice and opportunities. Join the ‘150 in 48’ activity to get connected with a mentor who will provide you with industry tips and expertise. Register today >> https://bit.ly/apaciwdelevators
