Many of our women are parents and carers, so ensuring that we're a family friendly workplace and providing flexible and hybrid work options is critical for our female staff to thrive.
So the theme this year means to me that we're going to invest in women's leadership capability.
So that means building that capability up, but also making sure that we accelerate women's progress, getting them into the. Leadership positions. That are important to us at the. University.
Countering the means that shining the light on women who are quietly. Working in this university.
So what this theme means to me really is that we've got to provide women with opportunities. We've got to open doors, accelerate development, you know, and they've got to really take the risk in managing their careers and not to wait until everything is good and old boxes are tick. Just go for it.
We've got all that environment for you to grow and to develop in them and in others, and we're there for you. Investing in women is important to me because of the multiplier effect.
So when we invest in women, whether it's through childcare, flexible work practices, we're not just investing in one of many.
We're benefiting a family with any financial resilience. Investing in women and nonbinary colleagues is incredibly important because women and a number of my colleagues bring so much diversity of experiences and knowledge and interest and passion. And we need that. We need that as a university.
So inclusion is not a nice to have anymore. It's something which needs to be embedded in everything that we do, and we can take lessons from abroad. In terms of making this a reality long term. This needs theme. For me means making sure that women have voices of influence at the tables where really important decisions are being made. So not just, you know, decisions that affect the population or the planet, though they're very important. But even here at the university in our schools, making sure that we are counted on sisterhood. And listening to.
Investing in women means to me that women who are the indispensable pillars of our society and my faculty that they deserve the best possible support we should give them. This year's International Women's Day has a very exciting peak counter in that is just such an important aspect in our society. Unless we measure it, we don't know what's happening and we can't do anything about the gender. Wage gap is one accelerate progress, include women in society.
And then my personal message for women, particularly as an older woman, I say to younger women, don't be afraid, be kind to you.
So you will always be your own worst critic. Be courageous and have fun and be healthy. Celebrate in.
