Minister for Women meets inspiring women from Mars
Members of the team at Mars were delighted to meet the new Minister for Women, Baroness Stedman-Scott, to showcase Mars’ work towards inclusivity and workplace fairness.
The meeting over Zoom allowed the Minister to speak to:
- Fiona, Chair of the Women’s Business Council
- Helen, a Regional HR director about ambitions for gender equality at Mars
- Anna, one of the founding members of Mars’ Women of Digital global network
- Sabrina, who has built a Women in Supply community across Mars Food Europe
- Louise, who coaches others in the organisation
- Mariama, Store Director at M&Ms World London
- Philipa, Plant Director at Mars’ iconic factor in Slough.
Read our interview with Mariama, Store Director at M&Ms World London, and Philipa, Plant Director at Mars’ iconic factory in Slough.
Why do you think flexible working is important?
Philippa: Flexible working is important to enable women (and men) to balance demands at different times of their lives to stay fulfilled. My personal view is that without this workplaces can lose great talent because people are unable to progress whilst balancing demands outside of work.
For the last year I have been very privileged to run our Slough factory, and that means I’ve chosen a role that requires me to be present in the factory on most days. My partner has chosen a more flexible role so that our family unit works for us. It’s not easy to offer complete flexible working in all roles, however the chance to move to different roles so employees can make new decisions at different life stages is really important.
Mariama: We all are expected to juggle so many things in life, and meeting expectations if not exceeding them at work is something that I strive to achieve. We also know that when life calls, i.e. motherhood, social occasions and our own mental health, flexible working allows for us to place down one of our work hats and then pick it back up at another time. In my first year at Mars I was able to drop my daughter at nursery, come to work as a part-time associate on our world famous chocolate wall, and then make it home in time to collect her.
Do you have any role models?
Mariama: Many! At this moment I would say three. My mum — she worked three jobs to provide for me and my brother. Whilst keeping a smile on her face and sharing words of wisdom along the way.
My daughter — she is 12 years old and the life lessons she continues to give me as she grows are priceless. For example, the other day I kept saying I was going to get back on track with my fitness etc, after my routine had changed. After listening to me for two days, she said “Mum, just do it” — less talking, more action, and so I did exactly that.
The third is Denise Lewis OBE. I recently hosted a one-to-one conversation with her on behalf of Mars to celebrate Black History Month. One of the things that Denise said to me was “why not you?” when we touched on self-doubt and sitting at senior leader tables. Now whenever an opportunity comes, I repeat those words back to myself.
Philippa: A previous boss, both him and his wife had very successful careers and I saw him making choices so it could work for them both. He also gave me some great advice not to make too many personal sacrifices.
Plus my leadership team on-site — many of them have young families or other passions outside of work and they actively use the flexible options that Mars offers to stay fulfilled at home and at work, whilst delivering on the demands of the job.
What advice would you give to a woman at the beginning of her career at Mars?
Mariama: Be you. Most of us would have heard that at some point in our journeys. Yet, we don’t always take the steps in ensuring we stay true to who we are. You’ve been chosen for a role, so why not lean into it with everything that makes you, you.
Mars is big on development so take advantage of this. Over my ten years so far I have been on leadership courses, wellbeing, retail workshops and given the opportunity to be trained as a Mental Health First Aider to name a few. Not only does it mean that I have more tools in my tool box to grow as a leader, it is also mutual (one of our Five Principles) as it means I can pass on to others.
Philippa: Understand what’s important to you in order to stay balanced and true to yourself, so you maintain your energy at work and outside of work. This might vary at different stages in your life, it could be sports, staying connected with friends or spending time with family — there will never be enough hours in the day, so it’s really important not to get into the habit of making personal sacrifices.
For me it’s really important to spend time with my children, so even though I need to be on-site each day, I’ve made a commitment to drop them off at school at least once a week and be home for story time in the evenings.
What is your favourite product at Mars?
Philippa: Ooh that’s a very tricky question, I’m lucky enough to get to taste them every day fresh from the line at our morning Quality panels. At the moment I have to say that it’s a close tie between Ripple and Maltesers….although I do love a Snickers bar!
Mariama: M&M’S of course! Crispy was my first love, then Salted Caramel, now our limited edition flavour Brownie has me saying “yummy”. I do have fond memories of Skittles growing up, as my mum would buy them for me as a treat.
