Today Redrawn started a tradition of eating our own statistics. We won’t always post about it but you can be assured it will be happening.
Redrawn was started to address unequal opportunities in the engineering industry. There have been many amazing women who for decades have been battling against bias and inequity. They have been doing lots of heavy lifting with few allies.
Redrawn wanted to be easily identifiable as a safe space for people to learn new skills. So, each year on International Women’s Day, one of the men in a management position will bake two cakes that matter. One cake represents participation of all genders in the workplace, the other represents participation of all genders in management positions. By eating the cakes we have made through the year, the intention is to take actions throughout next year that will make for a better cake.
Statistical representation is a measurement of diversity. It doesn’t guarantee inclusion but it is a quantifiable yard stick to track our progress. Long term, lack of diversity is a symptom of a lack of inclusion.
So this year’s cakes shows us that overall participation of women in the business is industry leading (62% of staff are women). Our goal is to maintain this strength going forward with lots of small inclusive actions. We also hope to welcome a non-binary segment of icing in future years.
Both the icing quality and the metaphor for this participation cake were better than the management cake. The management cake highlights the biggest area for improvement. Redrawn is owned and managed by two men. Over the next year, the Redrawn team are seeking to expand the ownership and leadership opportunities.
This isn’t about cake, which is just a symbol. This is about strengthening the decision making skills as a group and making the working lives of Redrawn’s staff better. Long term Redrawn needs representation at all levels to obtain the benefits of diversity of thought. We’re off to a great start but today we set a tradition in place which we believe will deliver ongoing effort and awareness.
Thank you to all the women who have joined Redrawn to change the face of engineering. Happy International Women’s Day!
#Redrawn #iwd2023
