As we celebrate International Women’s Month this year, we are provided with the perfect opportunity to ponder over where companies stand in the professional empowerment of their female employees and how we can grow from there. One way of achieving that could be greater diversity in positions of leadership, as only 41 companies had female CEOs from the list of Fortune 500 companies in 2021.
Workplace Equity must be upheld across every organization, and this means equal treatment, equal pay and equal regard for opinions among male and female employees.
Women’s Entrepreneurship Day was founded in 2014 by Wendy Diamond, with the intent to celebrate, honor and support women entrepreneurs for all days to come. November 19 marks the day we celebrate Women’s Entrepreneurship Day but celebrating and supporting women founders should not only be an annual thing. Let us as women build each other’s entrepreneurial ambitions, either by leaving a positive review of women-owned businesses, or by helping young female entrepreneurs in launching their businesses.
The Sky Is The Limit
Every business comes with its own set of challenges: Laura Mckee, Co-Founder and COO at Hucu.ai took those challenges head on in launching a revolutionary digital health solution that has changed the landscape of U.S healthcare entirely.
“When I first met Asif, the first question was, is Hucu.ai something that people want and need? What we found was that Post Acute Care providers were very interested in finding better ways to communicate and support their team.”
Laura’s entrepreneurial journey has been long, and difficult but rewarding in that Hucu.ai is helping care teams communicate better, saving their time and leading to better patient care. Even on a more personal level, Laura McKee believes that Hucu.ai is touching the lives of many,
“I would say on a personal level that these last years working with Asif and the Hucu.ai team have been incredibly rewarding. It’s enough to distract me from the personal challenges of grieving aging parents and their eventual transitions. To know that we are building a solution that helps people through this very situation is very meaningful to me.”
Hucu.ai’s Customer Experience Specialist, Aleema Ajmal is making a difference by supporting the whole Hucu.ai team as well as Hucu.ai’s clients. Aleema has contributed significantly in getting the word out about the importance of person-centered care supported by great communication.
“I enjoy researching the topics that are important to our blog audience. It’s really great to see my background in research and writing applied to a growing enterprise.”
A Collaborative and Supportive Workplace Environment
If we want women to succeed in the workplace, there need to be more avenues for safe and open means of communication. Leaders play an important role in this, as they must ensure that their employees can comfortably discuss anything with them, especially the women. This will benefit the company and will drive women to reach their full potential in the workplace.
Sarah Brennan is the Customer Success Manager and Partnerships Lead at Hucu.ai. Sarah believes that choosing a career path in itself is a challenge but to come across one that is meaningful and enjoyable at the same time is a rarity.
“Being part of the Hucu.ai team and getting to work alongside motivated, innovative people every day has changed my perspective on what it means to be passionate about what you do. With leaders who genuinely want to help their team members grow, my experience at Hucu.ai has been a true gift with seemingly endless opportunities to learn new skills, people, ideas, industries, and cultures.”
Hucu.ai’s Web Specialist and SEO Expert, Munaza Firdous did not shy away from accepting that life throws many challenges your way but believes there is always an answer, and that one should never lose hope. In her own words,
“The first challenge I faced when I joined Hucu.ai was Website Speed Optimization, which I was confident I could complete because nothing is impossible. I have found that Hucu.ai has a very collaborative and supportive environment, which I really like. I never feel pressured, and I enjoy working here.”
Zoha Javaid, who is the Junior Software Quality Assurance Engineer at Hucu.ai, sums up nicely how teamwork can help in overcoming workplace challenges.
“Luckily, I have a good team lead who always guides and helps us how as a team, together at Hucu.ai, we can deal with all the challenges.”
Helping Working Mothers Find The Right Balance
As more and more women steer into the workplace setting, there is a greater likelihood among them to prefer working from home. Why is that the case? Is it simply because women like working remotely or does this paradox stem from unfair expectations over a woman’s household responsibilities and managing a career at the same time?
The reason: Women opt for remote work and more flexible work arrangements as their household responsibilities often outweigh those of the men. Women even before the pandemic were working a “second shift”, as sociologists refer to it, spending greater time on household and caregiving chores besides doing paid labor. The dynamics of remote work operate quite differently for both men and women: employed women are far more likely to be their child’s primary caregiver while working a full-time job. This makes it increasingly difficult for a woman to balance her career while doing a disproportionate amount of household/caregiving chores. Some women have even opted out of the workforce altogether because of such difficulties.
Women were leaning more towards remote work opportunities even before the pandemic. To say the very least, remote work will make it easier for the woman to manage both a career and her household/childcare duties.
Remote work may actually be a blessing in disguise for many women as society continues to place the burden of household chores on women to this day.
Hearing from Azqa Zeeshan, Customer Success Representative at Hucu.ai, we get to acknowledge every working mother and the tremendous amount of effort they put in every day.
Luckily, Hucu.ai has made it easier for Azqa to balance both her career and her household responsibilities.
“Being a mother and working full time was the most difficult thing for me. Now, juggling motherhood and working full time has become that much easier thanks to Hucu.ai. Having remote work access allows me to explore my potential in the best possible way.”
The Way Forward for Women
Women have struggled in a multitude of ways in a number of settings but what keeps a woman going is that she does not give up hope and does not give up that easily on a challenge. She will embrace that challenge and make it her own and that without a doubt, is a woman’s greatest strength.
This was best addressed by Kelly Watson (Mahnoor Shakeel), the Sales Development Associate at Hucu.ai as she struggled in adapting her selling approach to a consultative approach but what she found instead was far greater: building relationships is the answer instead of being constantly driven by immediate gains.
“At Hucu.ai, I question myself everyday, what can I do better?”
This is what every woman needs to ask herself and in time, she will find the strength and motivation to face any challenge she faces at the workplace.
“Hucu.ai is proud of our team and we’re particularly proud of our amazing women and the work they do during International Women’s Month!” said Co-Founder Laura McKee.
Sources
(1.) Five Ways to Empower Women in the Workplace. Jennifer Acree. 7th May, 2022. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/03/07/five-ways-to-empower-women-in-the-workplace/?sh=fe8e7e930fde
(2.) For women, remote work is a blessing and a curse. Rani Molla. 13th July, 2021.
https://www.vox.com/recode/22568635/women-remote-work-home
(3.) 7 Practical ways to celebrate and support women entrepreneurs. Violette De Alaya. January 2, 2021.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/7-practical-ways-to-celebrate-and-support-women/359695
