Isn’t it time for women to lead the way in leadership?

Post-pandemic, research has found the countries with women in charge have handled crises better. You only have to look at Jacinda Adern, the prime minister of New Zealand, to see why.

She won her second term and handled the pandemic better than any other country in the world, all while raising a toddler. She shows us that women in charge are a force to be reckoned with.

If that isn’t convincing enough, recent studies have shown that businesses that support gender equality see more productivity as well as better performance. This is something we can vouch for at Engage Hub. We are building a strong female leadership team, and this is something we are incredibly proud of.

Our current female leadership team is as stands:

• Sian Walker – agency director

• Charly Booth – influencer partnerships director

• Natalie Wilson – head of people

• Holly Stone – head of talent

• Catherine Mason – brands director

We are committed to championing women and always supporting them in their careers. As a company that wants to inspire the now generation, we want to set an example. We hope that the more women who are seen in leadership, the more it will encourage young girls to strive for a career like this.

As a company, we also have many initiatives in place that are there to support women to create the perfect work/life balance. These include flexible working, childcare support, four-day weeks, AXA healthcare and clear, fair progression.

We spoke to some of the women in our team and asked them a few questions about why it is so important to have women in leadership, and who inspires them to be the strong leaders they are today.

Natalie Wilson, our head of people, said: “Why wouldn’t you want women in leadership? Women bring a completely different perspective, attitude, passion and a cultural difference to leadership roles and companies. For such a long time women were overlooked and undervalued in all aspects of life, but especially for roles within leadership, which is madness to me. There has been so much research that shows how effective women are for companies.

“Also, for women to feel inspired to push themselves, there needs to be more women in those senior roles to do that. My daughter Remi inspires me to be the best person I can be. I want her to look up to me and be proud of what I have and will accomplish and who I am as a person.

“Unconscious bias still plays a role in whether women get promoted into leadership positions, so I think until women are seen as full and proper equals by all and men start standing for and with women to become leaders, there will continue to be a need to stand up and champion ourselves.”

Sian Walker, our agency director, said that Engage Hub helps to champion women. “At Engage Hub our only ‘gender agenda’ is becoming an inclusive and gender-neutral workplace. I have worked at agencies in the past with an all-male directors club and it isn’t an easy place to be as a woman. Engage Hub has a much more progressive view and promotes a supportive culture of inclusion and equality. As a result of this culture, we attract like-minded employees who all strive for the same level playing field and champion a diverse workforce.”

Charly Booth, our influencer partnerships director, started as an intern while she was at university and has made her way up the agency, shaping the influencer team and offering to what it is today. She is the perfect example of why championing women is so important.

She said: “Look what we can achieve when we’re supported. Women are now in a vast majority of industries, roles and sports, and it’s genuinely inspiring to see. I know we bring a whole new set of skills and viewpoints to the table – that’s why it’s absolutely necessary to champion the women in your business or teams.

“I absolutely love to see women thrive and evolve in leadership positions. It’s incredibly important to me to have women in these spaces, as I believe we provide a different approach creatively when dealing with problems and as managers.”

Holly Stone, our head of talent, understands perfectly the juggle of having a career and a family: “Engage Hub recognizes my identity outside of the workplace as a mother, and offers not only childcare support but also remote working and a four-day week so I can manage a more balanced home and work life while being able to continue to develop and progress in my role. Engage Hub makes work work for parents.

“As a mum of a little girl myself, I think it is important to have women in leadership because it gives young girls role models to look up to and be inspired by. Women also can be great empathetic leaders, and having both men and women in leadership teams creates a variety of different attributes creating a powerful agency like Engage Hub.”

It’s clear to see that women are the future and a force to be reckoned with. We can’t wait to see them run the world.