Why Are We Still Banging Our Heads Against The Glass Ceiling?

In this guest post, Azadeh Williams, the founder and managing director of AZK Media. Candidly shares with B&T how she’s gone up against the glass ceiling and what she has learned.

Williams (main photo) has consistently been recognised as B&T’s Women in Media and Women Leading Technology. She’s a force within the industry, with a unique point of view.

You can grab tickets to our Women In Media Awards HERE.

You’ll also have the chance to rub shoulders with Williams in person.

I’ll never forget the first year at AZK Media pitching for new business, entering the boardrooms and immediately feeling ‘different’. Not in capability or experience, but in the way I looked, my name and my gender. I was the only dark-haired female in the room that didn’t have a traditional Anglo-Celtic name.

This ‘difference’ wasn’t at all a problem before ‘Agency land’ when I was a global business and technology journalist. Nobody cared about my appearance or gender, as long as I could write a great story about them.

But I turned the tables and got into the ‘business decision-making room,’ and the atmosphere was very different.

I remember becoming increasingly anxious about each of these pitches. Not because of the business. I knew our Agency could win, but knowing the ‘biased feeling,’ I’d be subjected to.

Knowing the first question the prospect would ask would be something along the lines of ‘where is your name from?’ Knowing that I wouldn’t be subjected to this barrage of irrelevant questioning if I were an Anglo-Celtic white male.

But speaking about this issue with men, women, mentors, peers, former colleagues; it became apparent the bias runs deeper and broader.

“If you feel different having dark hair, try being the only blonde woman in the room,” said one of my female peers. “I need to constantly prove that I have some level of intelligence and worth listening to.”

At this point, I actually ‘felt’ like I was banging my head against the glass of some sort of illusory aquarium ceiling, and that on the other side, there was the success I was seeking.

The hard facts

According to the Australian Workplace Gender and Equality Agency, women are underrepresented in key decision-making roles across almost all industries in the Australian workforce.

While women make up half of the employees in the 2020-21 WGEA dataset (51 per cent), women comprise only:

• 4% of CEOs
• 5% of key management positions
• 33% of board members
• 18% of board chairs

Meanwhile in the B2B technology sector, which our Agency operates in, nearly one-in-ten company boards have no women. So what can we do to break the bias?

Your vibe attracts your tribe

There came a tipping point in all the moping and frustration that made me realise breaking the bias would be a slow burn, and I’ll never look like the typical ‘bloke you’d have a beer and do business with’.

And you know what? That turned out to be OK! Because if you:

• Are genuinely good at what you do
• Position yourself as a trustworthy industry leader
• Demonstrate you can deliver tangible business results
• Prove you help businesses transform for the better

Then your product or services will be in demand – regardless of what you look like. The right prospects and clients will seek you out and value you for what you can do for their business. For us, this turned out to be technology companies seeking global expansion.

At AZK Media, we believe diversity from board level down has a profound ability to transform all companies for the better. Diversity brings different perspectives to the table to solve complex business problems, which fosters fresh ideas and business innovation.

How to break bias and encourage more women to challenge the status quo

Educate and inspire more women to own and celebrate their differences: Don’t try to be like ‘one of the boys’ to fit in. Just embrace who you are! Remember, what makes you different, makes you special. When you own ‘you’ and teach others to do so, you start to create a movement in ‘normalising’ diversity in all its power and glory.

Be fearless: Stand up to the laggards, traditionalists and those who are afraid of change. Continue to make noise because together, our voices are far louder.

Mentor and be the guiding light: If you have reached a position of power and influence as a woman in leadership, there’s an instinctive duty to lead the next generation of female leaders. So keep on being proactive, mentor and give that helping hand when it’s needed. Even the smallest referral – or a shoulder to cry on – can make all the difference!

‘You’re worth it’: Often, female leaders fall into the trap of having to constantly ‘prove their worth’, taking on more workload and responsibilities than their male counterparts. Work smarter, focus on your wellbeing, and be more in tune with your authentic self – don’t get too wrapped up in the ‘weeds’ of your role.

Define what success looks like to you: Diversity, delegation and collaboration are critical to scaling your business. By investing in people, a company not only has the premium resources and capability to deliver the best value for its clients, but it can also collaborate together and function like a ‘well-oiled machine’ becoming  a productive, happy and thriving business.

Define priorities: Family, health, and wellbeing come first. They fuel our passion, productivity and motivation. More organisations need to realise that, regardless of gender, background or religion, wellbeing matters and is the backbone of a healthier and more innovative talent pool. It’s what we believe at AZK Media, and what we believe more organisations need to embrace in order to grow in today’s increasingly globalised marketplace.