Diversity makes business sense Inclusion is better for society and better for business, writes TARA TURKINGTON.
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DON’T WAIT FOR OPPORTUNITY TO KNOCK; CHASE IT DOWN AND CATCH IT BY THE ANKLES!
Tara Turkington
36 I W O M E N I N T H E M E D I A
themediaonline.co.za
love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.” – Maya Angelou Gender inequality in the workplace, including the media, advertising and communications sector, remains rife in South Africa, as it does around the world. That doesn’t mean we should accept it as something inexorable we can’t change. Gender equality is at the core of human rights and is something we should all fight for, in whatever big or small ways we can. Women are still paid less than men for doing the same work, and the glass ceiling is still thick. While South Africa does have a few women editors and agency leaders, they are still all too rare, and way out of sync with the much larger number of women entering the media and allied professions. If I had to give some advice to my younger self or others starting out in their careers now, it would be this: Work hard and challenge yourself every day. Don’t wait for opportunity to knock; chase it down and catch it by the ankles! Your power will grow with your experience. If you’re a woman, you will need to work harder to earn your opportunities, so get going right away. Also, the career ladder is an outdated idea. I like to think of a career more as a jungle gym – play a bit here, then a bit there, mastering the different equipment. It’s amazing how some experience
