Twitter is a worldwide social media phenomenon and a symbol of our age. For years they have been the social media platform of choice for all the world to have their say on what the current issues of the day are. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that they are very active in pushing diversity and inclusivity in their outlook and their workplace.
On the 17th October 2017, Twitter hosted an event called #TwitterWomen, which was a chance for other women in all sorts of sectors to be inspired by the stories and advice from a panel of four amazing and successful women. They were:
☆Angie Greaves of Magic Radio
☆Nilufar Fowler, CEO of Mindshare Global
☆Irene Moore, Co-Founder and CEO at DM London
☆Carrie Timms, Unilever U.K. Media Director
The first topic of discussion was the subject of mentors and sponsors. The ladies had lots of advice to give to people who are looking for sponsors or are looking to make the transition from mentors to sponsors. Mentors are people that you can go to for advice on your career and who can give you guidance on important decisions. Some companies have official Mentorship schemes, but some people benefit from a more informal mentorship. However, sponsors are people who invest in you – they are your advocates in the room you can’t get into yet. You shouldn’t feel like you need to wait for someone to come to you and offer to be your sponsor/ mental – be bold and ask! However, if you feel like your relationship with your mentor is ceasing to be beneficial to either of you, you shouldn’t be afraid to cut the cord either.
“Never be afraid to dare to be different.”
Next, we talked about putting yourself forward for positions. You definitely do not need to be 100% qualified to put yourself forward for anything. You should take any opportunity that comes your way – you have nothing to lose. Failure will happen, and that is OK – so long as you make sure that you learn from your mistakes. Of course, the Pressure of being the ‘ first woman’ to do a specific job can be paralysing, but it can also be motivating. By doing that job, and doing it well, you are paving the way for other women to do the same job. An entire new job option would be opened up to people who didn’t even know it existed before.
“Where you tread, others will follow, so be careful where you tread.”
The next topic of the night was how far the media industry has come on the issue of diversity. In comparison to other sectors, the media sector has come quite far, but there are still a million miles to go. We should not let ourselves be silenced – if you see injustice, you should always speak out.
