Happy International Women’s Day from all of us at Dorchester Collection!

This year’s theme is Break The Bias: we want to Celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness against bias, and take action for equality. At Dorchester Collection, we are celebrating in these different ways:

EDUCATE

Care for Female Health to Foster Gender Equality

As a Company and within our We Care culture we believe that female health is unequivocally linked to gender equality, inclusion and belonging. We recognise that fertility challenges and choices, peri-menopause and menopause can have a significant impact on those who are affected – both physically and mentally – and that this impact can affect their wellbeing at work.

Dorchester Collection is committed to ensuring that our employees are treated with respect and that our workplace is inclusive for all. We believe that by fostering a work environment that is supportive towards female health, and by taking this outside of our workplaces into the wider world, we can all contribute to eradicate gender & age biases and discrimination that have a disproportionate impact on the social and economic wellbeing of those affected.

We briefly covered this topic during our World Mental Health Day celebration last October, and since then we have had some really great conversations, including during our Benefits Breakfast in November where we gave a preview of some important upcoming new company policies in this field. Therefore, on this special day, we officially launch our new Fertility and Menopause Policy.

In a nutshell, the purpose of this policy is to introduce the topic of fertility and menopause as one, challenging a traditional approach that sees them as separate areas of interest. It provides basic education on symptoms, causes and effects, and it covers the emotional and practical support that we can provide as a company to those who are directly impacted, or their supporting partners, or their managers at work.

Champions – Creators – Leaders – Pioneers – Warriors

Women’s contribution to our development as a society is unquestionable - they have relentlessly fought against adversity throughout history, challenging the world with their words and actions through cultural and generational challenges. We wanted to share some of their stories with our team, so this year, we've placed "rebel girls" story cards on our employees' desks to use as conversation starters, that they can exchange with colleagues or take them home and share with family or friends to keep the conversation going and their legacy rolling! We've also added Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo to Fully Booked, our employee library.

COMMUNICATE

Mentoring Future Champions

At Dorchester Collection we take real pride in showcasing the bonds and mentorship our wonderful women leaders provide within our hotels.

This year we have focussed on the unique mentoring relationship between our women leaders and the Ultimate Leaders in our global graduate management programme. We recognise how this relationship supports other women in the workforce, aids their professional development, builds their confidence, and guides them through challenges as they advance in their careers.

We will be posting some great stories from each pairing throughout the month on LinkedIn, and we encourage you to keep an eye on your daily feeds to read through these powerful experiences.

Speaker Sessions

The team at The Dorchester and 45 Park lane are hosting a panel interview with 5 women leaders that is open for all employees to join - tune in today on LinkedIn Live! They've also invited a guest speaker to talk about ‘magnetic leadership’ for women managers to help them ‘step up’ at the end of this programme.

Emma Jayne, Area Director of People & Culture for our UK Hotels is also running a 90 minute break the bias workshop, during which everyone makes a commitment to #breakthebias!

CELEBRATE

Our hotels are celebrating our women in style! The team at The Dorchester have decorated the women's locker room with empowering quotes, pictures of women who break the bias, a red carpet, stickers on the mirrors and a ‘wall of celebration’ where employees can write an achievement that they are really proud of and should be celebrated. The team has also created a colourful timeline timeline of the history of international women's day outside the employee restaurant. They've also been raising money for their CSR partner, a primary school in London to purchase books for their little library on famous women in history.

International Women's Day  is celebrated every year on March 8, to commemorate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women. While the world has come a long way, we know that the journey to equality is not over and we strive to uplift the women within our organisation and in the greater community.

Share with us how you are breaking the bias this International Women's Day!