Supporting Fellow Women in the Workplace

It might be hard to believe, but women still need to fight their way to be heard, listened to and taken seriously. 

Without supporting our fellow women in the workplace, our efforts would be taking ten steps backwards.

We need to encourage support, understanding and empowerment and understand the benefits of undivided support for each other.

Here's how you can get started.

4 Ways to Support Your Fellow Women in the Workplace

1. If you observe behaviour that makes you uncomfortable, speak up

If you see other women in uncomfortable situations or you yourself experience them, speak up and stand your ground. Stereotypically women dismiss behaviour that they find wrong or uncomfortable in order to avoid potential confrontation, but this is not something we should continue to do. There is no reason why we should have to accept behaviour that makes us uncomfortable.  

Read more about how you can support other women in the workplace and avoid stereotypical "mean girl" energy.

2. Resist the urge to compete negatively

Never make your fellow female workers your enemy. In every interaction, think about how you can respond to best support that person. You may feel competitive energy if you're aiming for a top spot or you're trying to climb the corporate ladder but having respect and support from your other female co-workers will help you grow higher and quicker than any negative competition could. 

Watch the Ted Talk below to learn more about some beliefs and behaviours that women can engage in, and that can negatively impact their career advancements.

3. Make an effort to check in with one another

Whether you're one of the few women in your workplace or you just want to make more female friends at work, take the time and invest more energy into developing stronger relationships. By extending your community and creating deeper bonds, you'll see a difference in your mood, work ethic and motivation. 

Want to increase your creditability, impact and personal power at work? Take a look at our Confident Communication for Women in the Workplace course to learn performance-based techniques to exert a more commanding presence. 

4. Champion other women through their ideas

During meetings and group discussions, women are still frequently interrupted and given less credit for their ideas. If you come across this happening in a future meeting, interject and say that you would like to finish hearing her idea. Or if a male colleague tries to take credit for an idea that clearly wasn't theirs, say "great idea, thanks to (name) for suggesting it." Everyone's thoughts and ideas deserve to be heard.

This also works the same for celebrating achievements or results. Women are often told they "got lucky" or they "had help from others" from external sources, which undermines their success and hard work.

To ensure achievements don't go unnoticed, look for opportunities for celebration, recognition and reward, and listen out for any negative comments or blame-calling for mistakes they didn't make.

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