Times of Eswatini

Promoting women’s health & safety

- BY INTERNATIO­NAL SOS GUEST WRITER

Trecent Internatio­nal Women’s Day commemorat­ion left a lot to ponder. From the loud silence of many males, to wondering if we will ever see more women representa­tion in Parliament later this year.

The canvas of the portrait we want to paint of women empowermen­t will not be painted by women alone. It needs the involvemen­t of all parts of society. It needs to go from awareness to conversati­on and positive action, as the passionate advocates have been preaching on March 8. They preached a good sermon. Mainly to the converted. But among the congregati­on are males. The congregant­s have said an amen (so be it), but will they share with their peers on Monday? Will they implement the sermon message daily, from personal relationsh­ips to profession­al ones? Will the woman empowermen­t word drive them to improve society, or has it been in one ear and out the other? We pray not. And this year, the message has been more aggressive. The seeds have been scattered, and they need to fall on fertile grounds to grow the seeds of women’s empowermen­t that will be the trees that provide great shade for our society. And men, now more than ever, need to be a part of the voices advocating for women empowermen­t. Some already are but we can have more. When it is Mother’s Day men post their mothers, when it is Valentine’s Day they post their woman loves but come to the other days like 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence and now Internatio­nal Women’s Day, the frequency is much lower. If it is cool to express love for women as males, it must also be cool to show support for empowermen­t

HE

O NMarch 8 we celebrated Internatio­nal Women’s Day. The Internatio­nal SOS encourages employers to recognise how women’s health and safety issues can have a detrimenta­l impact on their workforce, and to take steps to create a culture that promotes awareness and equity. Internatio­nal SOS’ case data shows top health concerns for females in 2022 included infectious diseases, respirator­y illnesses, heart attacks and accidents and injuries. Requests for mental health assistance were common. Research shows that mental health issues affect both men and women, but not in equal measure1. Dr Irene Lai, Group Medical Director at Internatio­nal SOS, comments; “Organisati­ons can do a lot to improve the health and safety of their female population. Gender-based difference­s need to be considered when and also protection of women against abuse. The canvas of the portrait of women empowermen­t needs all of us, not just one artist, to carry a brush to provide all the colours to make the painting strong, bold and long-lasting.

CELEBRATED

We celebrated Women’s Day on March 8. Interestin­gly, we have seen two themes emerging in recent years, one from the IWD page and the other from United Nations (UN). For me, I feel they complement each other and the more the themes, the more awareness about gender equality. According to the IWD page, this is a global day celebratin­g women’s social, economic, cultural and political achievemen­ts. The day also marks a call to action for accelerati­ng women’s equality. IWD has occurred for over a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911, supported by over a million people. Today, IWD belongs to all groups collective­ly everywhere. IWD is not country, group or organisati­on.

Meanwhile, the UN, under the theme ‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality’, UN Women, the United Nations and its partners and allies around the world celebrated Internatio­nal Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8 2023, calling on government­s, activists and the private sector to ‘power on’ in their efforts to shape a safer, more inclusive, developing policies for workplace wellbeing programmes, but importantl­y also for travel management programmes. Creating tailored wellbeing initiative­s that respond directly to women’s specific health requiremen­ts can go a long way in increasing female employee engagement and ensuring that women feel supported and understood in the workplace. ‘‘Awareness and education can help break down the stigma and create a culture where open and supportive conversati­ons about all health issues, regardless of gender, are the norm.”

FEMALE

Female safety risks are also prevalent in both personal and profession­al settings. Women can face various forms of threats to their safety, such as physical and sexual violence, harassment, and discrimina­tion. By acknowledg­ing the unique challenges which women may experience and implementi­ng policies and training that address these risks, organisati­ons can create a safe and supportive environmen­t for all employees. and more equitable digital world for all. The official press release states that a paradigm shift is needed to harness the potential of technology and innovation to accelerate progress on the 2030 Agenda and the sustainabl­e developmen­t goals.

EQUITY

The IWD website theme was Embrace Equity, noting that around the world, people are having meaningful conversati­ons about why equal opportunit­ies aren’t enough and why equal isn’t always fair. The website states that people start from different places, so true inclusion and belonging require equitable action. If we truly believe in, value and embrace equity, then women are more likely to have access to what’s needed to succeed. So IWD calls on others to engage in those impactful conversati­ons, raise awareness, and help forge positive change for women.

So back to the topic today. Looking at the engaging in impactful conversati­ons pillar, how many conversati­ons did you have on women empowermen­t on IWD? How many did you have before IWD? How many will you have after IWD? Some will say none, and some will say a few. However, we have seen some entities like FNB Eswatini profiling each year what they and other entities do to lead the way in creating that awareness. They have been among those leading in impactful

Sally Llewellyn, Global Security Director at Internatio­nal SOS adds; “Empowering women to participat­e in the same opportunit­ies as their male colleagues, including travelling to or working in higher risk environmen­ts, is an important way to drive female participat­ion in the workplace and offer diverse career pathways. Organisati­ons can support this empowermen­t through sound risk management practices, including educating employees about security risks and mitigation measures based on the environmen­ts in which they’re operating and their individual profile.”

PROMOTE

Internatio­nal SOS shares top tips on how organisati­ons can help promote women’s health and safety:

Understand the healthcare

support and benefits your workforce needs and regularly review your wellbeing programmes: Survey your employees to better understand which workplace interventi­ons would best support them.

Build a culture of inclusion: encourage

● open communicat­ion to reduce taboos and stigma. Discussing employee wellbeing regularly, helps to normalise conversati­ons and make conversati­ons, such that this year they even involved men in their conversati­ons. After all discussion, women empowermen­t issues with only women are incomplete. Apart from sharing memes about the heart-warming demolition of Manchester United by Liverpool, we have rarely seen others engage in conversati­ons on women’s empowermen­t this week or in this women’s month, and we can do better. We have witnessed awareness raised by the media and aforementi­oned entities, but we are still failing women in terms of grabbing the baton and implementi­ng equity in everyday lives.

PILLAR

The last pillar of fostering positive change for women is one that also is important because we can talk about women’s issues all we want, but if it does not result in positive change, it would not have been so impactful.

So that is where awareness then translates to conversati­ons and then positive change. We regularly see Boards of directors appointed, and we rarely see women made chairperso­ns. Looking at one Board compositio­n that trended last year and was made up only of males. While we agree that excellence should get you appointed to any position, it is also unquestion­able that many women are capable leaders of excellence. We need to see more of them being given equal opportunit­ies.

them more inclusive.

Provide pre-travel training: ensure

● that travelling employees understand the risks in their destinatio­ns, in particular difference­s or trouble spots that may apply to women.

Promote health: Provide employees

● with accurate informatio­n about health risks through participat­ion in events such as Internatio­nal Women’s Day and World Health Days. Encourage a healthy lifestyle:

Motivate employees to adopt healthy lifestyle habits by providing healthy food choices at work, on-site exercise programmes and encourage regular health screening.

COUNSELLIN­G

Provide Employee Assistance ●

Programme (EAP) and mental health counsellin­g: provide support, guidance and informatio­n on a wide range of work related and personal issues that can affect employees’ mental health and wellbeing.

About the Internatio­nal SOS Group of Companies:

The Internatio­nal SOS Group of Companies is in the business of saving lives, protecting your global workforce from health and security threats. Wherever you are, we deliver customised health, What if our solutions are with them?

We read the other week that there was a song composed by Lutsango encouragin­g people to vote for women. What a great moment this year it would be if we broke the mindset of yesteryear and voted for capable and deserving women for Parliament.

There is no better time to vote for a woman than in an era that needs leadership cut from a fabric of empathy. With rising living costs and the VUCA era (volatility, uncertaint­y, complexity, and ambiguity), we need leadership to be adaptable and lead with heart. VUCA also describes the constant, unpredicta­ble change that is now the norm in specific industries and areas of the world. This is not to say men are less capable, but to say that the sum of the two genders would make for an even more potent leadership potion, perfect for such times. We have previously voted for a few women, and we need to do better.

WOMEN

The women themselves need to vote for more women, and why they never do is still baffling. The developmen­t partners of Eswatini, European Union (EU) and the UN have also spoken about the need to vote for more women this year. We have been urged and we hope this year voters do.

Where do men feature gender issues?

The UN notes that for gender equality to be achieved, men must also be educated on perspectiv­es, experience­s and challenges women face and then engaged as their crucial allies working

hand-in-hand to transform the world into a place where men and women can thrive equally. We need more men in women’s days. While we celebrate all these days, men’s faces also need to be visible, their voices need to be heard. If they are silent, we will struggle to continue to reach the objectives of gender parity. It is possible and it starts with me as a male writing this article to play my part in making my spaces gender equitable it also starts with you reading this to say you want to do more to play a role in the empowermen­t of women, youth and all humankind.

security risk management and wellbeing solutions to fuel your growth and productivi­ty. In the event of extreme weather, an epidemic or a security incident, we provide an immediate response providing peace of mind. Our innovative technology and medical and security expertise focus on prevention, offering real-time, actionable insights and on-theground quality delivery. We help protect your people, your organisati­on’s reputation, as well as support your compliance reporting needs. By partnering with us, organisati­ons can fulfil their duty of care responsibi­lities, while empowering business resilience, continuity and sustainabi­lity. Founded in 1985, the Internatio­nal SOS Group, headquarte­red in London and Singapore, is trusted by 12 000 organisati­ons, including the majority of the Fortune 500, as well as mid-size enterprise­s, government­s, educationa­l institutio­ns and NGOs. 12 000 multicultu­ral medical, security and logistics experts stand with you to provide support and assistance from over 1 000 locations in 90 countries, 24/7, 365 days. To protect your workforce, we are at your fingertips: in the

www.internatio­nalsos.com

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