A genuine safe space at work for women
The spotlight shines on the amazing people around us as we celebrate International Women’s Month this March. We never tire of honoring and paying tribute to the women who inspire us every day simply by being themselves.
We are blessed with unique stories of survival and resilience from women who hit rock bottom and rose through their experiences. Their wisdom from failure and humility to embrace life’s lessons reminds us that we sometimes need help. The idea of women supporting women is empowering, liberating, and lifesaving.
They are our mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts, leaders, friends, co-workers, mentors—everyone God has placed in our lives to be the woman we admire and aspire to emulate. I could go on and share how my mother’s grit shaped the woman I am today. I’ll never tire of honoring my late Mama Fe, a simple woman who battled life’s trials to support our family. I’m forever grateful for the lessons she imparted.
Today though, I want to celebrate the women in the workplace who champion safe spaces in our corporate environment. So what exactly defines a genuine safe space at work for women?
A culture that fosters respect, recognition
A safe space at work is an environment that celebrates every win for women—big or small—while respecting our unique life situations. Our domestic setups, economic statuses, and personal choices should not get in the way of having equal opportunities to contribute to our organization’s success.
A practice of open communication and dialogue should be upheld, so that when there are areas for improvement, one can be better aligned on what to work on and focus—rather than discussing issues behind someone’s back, which only breeds disrespect.
The work setup should acknowledge growth, improvement, and the hard work driving us toward company goals. Encouraging remarks like “Well done!”, “You did great today!”, “I love your idea”, “Let me know how I can help”, or “We are in this together” go a long way in making women at work feel respected as individual contributors and recognizing our self-sacrifice.
A workspace where there is stewardship in leadership
Women thrive in workspaces that allow them to bring out the best versions of themselves—where power struggles are absent and mutual respect prevails, where leadership is a synergy of many contributions, and where service to the team and organization is prioritized with stewardship as the main goal.
A safe workspace for women is where servant leadership is evident and there is a genuine desire to help them grow at work while fulfilling family obligations. Leaders recognize that their greatest gift is the ability to transform a woman’s life through sincere, consistent support, providing opportunities to participate in projects that build confidence and empower them to achieve more.
Stewardship in leadership means guiding women to avoid overextending themselves until there’s nothing left to give, while remaining mindful of their limits, as excessive self-sacrifice without self-compassion is unsustainable and destructive. It embodies holistic care by nurturing the intellectual, spiritual, social, and mental well-being of fellow women.
A safe space to share failures and address them with compassion
This definitely is not to be misconstrued that irresponsible work output is acceptable, but rather an emphasis that failure is part of the learning procedure.
Lessons learned from early missteps are critical for mindful growth when trying again. Women need a work environment that recognizes failure as essential in building character, so that when things do not work the way they do, the instinct is to seek immediate resolution rather than succumb to blame or worse, the feeling of helplessness.
To stress this point even further, allow me to quote, “The impediment to action activates action and what stands in the way becomes the way.” The struggles and challenges that a woman goes through fuel them to bring out the feistiest versions of themselves given the right encouragement and environment.
There should be a conscious effort to create a work environment where, when one is down or facing life’s lows, empathy and compassion are freely offered, whether through a listening ear or the assurance that women can lean on each other as a soft place to fall.
You hold the key to your safe space at work
I would have stopped at point three, but allow me to add one more in good faith: We hold the key to our safe space at work by recognizing that we cannot control how others operate or how work ethics differ. We should respect individual differences and be mindful of our own responses and actions.
As women in the workplace, we set our own boundaries for respect and recognition. We win by contributing, learn by going the extra mile, earn respect by giving it, and build our motivation by inspiring others. We hold onto hope by recognizing our mutual need and our special place in our Creator’s heart.
Let us continue to rally for our safe space by being a safe space for other women.
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The author is the managing director of Megaworld Hotels and Resorts (MHR)
