International Women’s Day 2017 at Fashionizer

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International Women’s Day is cause for celebration and interest for us here at Fashionizer. Not least because 85% of our workforce are women.

A whole year has passed since Ruth Cadbury mentioned us in the House of Commons on International Women’s Day 2016, as an example of a company that has a creative approach to employing people, particularly women. We have been delighted that the past year has given us the opportunity to practice further what we preach. We have grown our team over the last year, enabling us to offer flexible working opportunities to new Marketing Director Katie, who joined us part time in February and our Projects Manager, Avril, who manages three children at home, as well as Fashionizer’s production.

We asked Katie and Avril to give us their feedback and their opinion about working for a women-run SME and the impact it’s had on their work/life balance.

Katie notes that, in addition to a significant change in culture between the dynamics of working in an SME, versus the large corporate organisations she has worked for previously, there are other differences in the attitudes of a majority-female environment.

“Juggling work with parental responsibilities is a daily challenge but an enjoyable one. The flexibility offered at Fashionizer to fit work around childcare works really well for me as the company is able to be more accommodating than larger, more structured companies I have worked at previously. As any parent or carer knows, it is the unexpected situations – like a child suddenly coming down with a temperature which means they are unable to attend nursery – that can cause chaos for even the best of planners. Reporting to an MD who fully understands the daily balancing act is important and extremely valuable for me.”

Avril notes “being able to work close to home is very important to my children’s well-being.  As a working parent, you are governed by after-school and breakfast clubs to care for your children whilst you work.  Having a workplace close in location allows me time in the morning with my children and a chance to connect with the school.”

“Being in an environment with like-minded parents and women, make the responsibility of having to explain the challenges faced and multi-tasking that much easier.  My husband works away from home during the week and rarely has the task of juggling work and family life, his experience is like many men I have worked with, who are often hard-pressed to understand the complexities and stress placed on working mothers.  At Fashionizer I enjoy working in an environment with such diversity of women in terms of ages, culture and experience which makes for an interesting days work.”

Although we are celebrating International Women’s Day, we should also mention that being an equal opportunities employer , we also have three male employees who benefit from flexible working hours.

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