Belinda Clemmensen

On IWD we’ll look at gender inclusion specifically, although we can’t talk about inclusion without taking an intersectional perspective. This keynote begins with taking stock of how we’re doing on gender equity and inclusion so far. We’ll cover the key milestones reached over the past years, as well as the misses and the work left to do, so we can understand both the progress and the ongoing challenges. Organizations have a key role to play in the movement towards equity and inclusion, and we’ll learn from some of the best practices and research about what kinds of organizational strategies and cultures lead to the most inclusive workplaces. Although inclusion is a worthy endpoint in and of itself, there are many well-researched benefits for all of us when we create more inclusive organizations. We’ll explore these benefits, which range from employee attraction and retention, through to higher levels of engagement and innovation and positive impacts on KPI's

In order to support and empower women in the workplace, and women in leadership, we need to surface and discuss the many dimensions of where women stand today in the world of work, how we got here, what progress has been made and what is left to do. Developing women is one piece of the puzzle, building understanding among allies and others for women in the workplace is another, and creating a culture where women thrive and are successful is an additional critical piece. In this session we explore themes of psychological safety, intersectionality, practical supports for women and their careers, the impact of parental leaves and other caregiving roles, understanding women’s roles in the home, family and community and the ongoing need for male allies and allyship of all kinds. This is a powerful session that challenges participants to envision more inclusive workplaces and accept that we each have a responsibility to make it happen.

Many of us want to be good allies, and we definitely want others to be good allies to us, but it can be confusing when we’re also facing the truth of our own conscious and unconscious biases. The reality is none of us are perfect when it comes to diversity and inclusion. We’ve all grown up with varying degrees of stereotypes, sexism, racism and other biases because we’re part of a larger society that is reckoning with these very issues. It's helpful to think of allyship as a verb. It’s not who you are, it’s what you do, the actions you take. And thankfully, those actions and behaviours can be learned and developed so that we can have the kind of positive impacts we want to have, even when we’re not perfect or don’t have it all figured out. This session starts as a conversation about what we want from our allies and what it takes to be a good ally ourselves. We’ll each look at how we can shift our actions and behaviours personally, and how to ask for more allyship and support.