In the lead up to International Women’s Day 2020, The Pistol’s culture team came together to plan some festivities for the big day, with a brainstorm stirring up ideas of baked goods, education pieces, and informative decks aplenty. With these plans in place, we also percolated on how important it is to us, as women and young professionals, to work at a company whose leadership team is 80% female. Having recently joined the full-time work world myself, I can honestly say that I have been inspired by the incredible women (and men) that I find myself working alongside at The Pistol.
What the females at The Pistol have to say
Upon reaching out to the team for some thoughts on IWD and what it means to them, many of my female colleagues cited the reason they love working at Tiger Pistol is that here, a woman’s personal life is never counted as an obstacle to their professional success. Below are just some of the messages I received from the TP team!
Yulia, Strategic Growth Director
Yulia, our spectacular Strategic Growth Director, spoke for many in our team when she explained how inspirational it is to see female colleagues blowing stereotypes out of the water. Reflecting on the memory of seeing two pregnant The Pistol employees, or as she put it, “two badass female leaders in the business,” present at our Hype Session last year, Yulia explained the following:
“This was SUCH an inspirational moment for me because it was the first time I truly felt like I could stop apologizing for being a woman. You can be a leader, you can kick goals, you can be a mum, and you can do it all, for real. Until then, I lived with a real fear of unfulfilled potential and saw my own pregnancy as a barrier to achieving my career goals. Now, having returned to work after 6 months of Mat Leave – I feel like the complete opposite is true.”
Grace, Head of People & Culture
Our powerhouse Head of People & Culture, Grace Lum, added to this idea, explaining that The Pistol’s majority-female leadership team has led to many positive changes within the business.
“The Pistol has looked more closely at the problems/lifestyles of employees. [Having a mostly-female leadership team] has enabled The Pistol to address unique issues like helping everyone to balance professional and family life etc. not only just for working mothers but for everyone.”
Grace also mentioned that she believes IWD’s role as a reminder is what makes it so important:
“I think having a day to remind us of the importance is why it is important. The best quote I’ve come across is “Teach girls to be somebodies instead of somebody’s”.”
With Australia’s gender pay gap standing at 13.9% as of November 2019, Grace’s statement rings true; IWD reminds us of the progress that has been made, whilst calling for us to take action for the future.
One of our amazing Account Managers, Alison Brown, referenced similar reasoning when explaining why she loves working at The Pistol:
“The high percentage of women in the leadership team is the main reason I came to work at The Pistol. I feel very lucky and empowered to work with a bunch of superstar women of all ages. Not only are each and every one of the women at The Pistol brave and intelligent, but they are also extremely inspiring [ . . .] – there is a whole lot to learn from these women and it’s a privilege to work with them every day.“
As a team, it is clear to us that a huge part of The Pistol’s current success comes from the way we support the creativity and power of women. IWD 2020 will see us further this culture by honouring the achievements, talents, and personalities of our 30+ female employees, through intelligent discussion and wholehearted praise, whilst enjoying some sweet treats and end-of-week drinks.
Happy International Women’s Day from all of us at The Pistol – here’s to the women amongst us, and all those out there, who are kicking goals and having an impact on the world around them; today we celebrate you! Check out some more of our amazing female colleagues who make TP an inspiring place to work at on our about us page here.
