stonewater

'To have not just an ally or mentor, but an employer that genuinely believes in your capabilities is special'



If you were to look at my CV, you would probably say that I am ambitious. I have taken new roles, increased responsibility and pursued opportunities when they have come along.


However, ambition, especially when describing a woman, often has negative connotations.

In fact, in a recent poll by American Express, in partnership with The New York Women’s Foundation, the majority of women surveyed (65%) would identify as ambitious, but less than one-third globally would be comfortable describing themselves as that publicly.

Women have traditionally been told that they should be modest. But shying away from sharing our goals means opportunities are often missed to find allies and mentors that champion us, even when we might not fully believe in ourselves.

Following University, I knew I wanted to work in the public sector, but public sector graduate schemes are rare, so my first job was in the private sector for an accountancy firm where I stayed for three years. I was then able to spend four years working for the NHS, before moving back to private sector employment.

When I applied for my inaugural role at Stonewater, I didn’t know the first thing about social housing, but thought it was too good of an opportunity not to apply.

Despite minimal knowledge of the sector, Stonewater took a chance — and this was the first of many prospects that came along when someone else championed and believed in me to take the next step. This is something that has become a common thread throughout my career.

While in my first role at the organisation, my interim manager encouraged me to apply for her position, and I was offered the role.

During my time on maternity leave while I was in this position, another, more senior, job became available. Yet again, I was encouraged to apply, even though I wasn’t planning on an imminent return from welcoming my son.

Stonewater believed in me and offered me the role, even keeping it open for me to return to when I transitioned back to working life.

Without this level of encouragement and support, I know I wouldn’t have pursued many, if not most, of these openings of my own accord as my lack of self-belief made me think I wasn’t good enough for the role.

I also assumed the business would want to hire external talent — but to have not just an ally or mentor, but an employer, that genuinely believes in your capabilities is special.

And this support goes much further than just encouraging career progression, because that outlook doesn’t fit every employee.

Supporting individuals to find the work-life balance that fits their individual needs is vital to a happy and successful work force. In many ways, the pandemic has forced this change, but now life is returning to ‘normal’, it is companies that maintain the newfound balance that will be sure to reap benefits of an engaged, supported and empowered team.

When the pandemic hit, Stonewater stepped up. Everyone across the organisation had its full support. Personally, I was able to split my time between work and tag-teaming with my husband to look after our son.

Furthermore, Covid has helped break down the barriers of balancing a career and homelife for everyone — not just women.

We have seen inside people’s homes. We have seen people’s real lives.

And as company culture shifts to further support colleagues, regardless of where they are in the world, I hope that others can benefit from having people believe in them, day in, day out.



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