Women In Enterprise Launches Lean In Program At IWD Breakfast
The GFSB Women In Enterprise group hosted a successful breakfast workshop at the Garrison Library to mark International Women’s Day 2023.
A statement from the GFSB follows below:
The event reflected the themes being explored by many women and supportive men, across the Rock IWD once again gave the opportunity to focus on the need for greater diversity, inclusion and dialogue surrounding balance between the genders.
Opening the event, Minister Sacramento reminded those gathered that IWD has a long history in Gibraltar and will continue to be marked until the balance between genders is visibly addressed. Fiona Young then addressed the audience from a historical context, reminding those gathered that human survival as a species depends on better allocation of tasks and division of labour based on skill, ability and circumstance -rather than on contrived assumptions about Gender. Stewart Harrison then inspired the audience with his explanation of the role he has had in normalising gender harmony in cyber-space world, creating a new generation of diverse coders, programmers and computer scientists. Rebecca Jackson then assisted the participants to divide into small groups to experience the Lean-in methodology first hand. Giving each other insights into questions such as “what would you do with an extra hour?” “what one word would your friend use to describe you?” and “what advice would you give to your younger self?”- helped the participants explore together their personal needs, approaches and experiences in a way framed to build empathy, connection and understanding.
Michaela Rees and His Worship the Mayor then closed the event with heartfelt pleas to those gathered to encourage others to join in the dialogue about diversity. His Worship the Mayor identified that he was “preaching to the choir” referencing the almost exclusively female audience. It was recognized that until the outstanding matters are discussed between the genders and a diverse range of people actively engage together on addressing these matters, the movement towards diversity will remain extremely slow, which holds the whole of the community back.
The general conclusion was that there needs to be far greater opportunity for men and women to work side by side tackling stereotypes, sharing domestic tasks and identifying and utilizing a person’s key strengths -regardless of gender. While it is clear there is much more to be done and a much wider audience to reach before hopes for change can become a reality, the event cemented the understanding that an excellent starting point is honest discourse and connection between colleagues and peers, both men and women. The GFSB and WIE will be providing more information on how to receive training to create Lean in Circles in their workplace. Anyone wanting more information about this, or becoming a member of the GFSB Women in Enterprise, please email Georgie at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
