100 Little Ways to Celebrate Inclusion
On Friday, March 1, the Whirlpool Corporation Women’s Network (WWN) kicked off their campaign “100 Little Ways” to celebrate Women’s History Month.
The campaign embraces the idea that there’s not one big way to be an ally…there’s 100 little ways. Change does not happen in a moment, it happens one person at a time, one act at a time, one word at a time.
“We strive to make Whirlpool Corporation a great place for women to work,” said Kristy Proos, WWN co-lead and Director, Investor Relations. “Providing an inclusive and respectful working environment where women can achieve their full professional potential requires everyone, both men and women, to take action.”
Providing an inclusive and respectful working environment where women can achieve their full professional potential requires everyone, both men and women, to take action.
As part of the kick off event, Women’s Network members and allies were given a booklet filled with 100 suggestions that were sourced from honest and raw suggestions written by women across the company. Throughout the month, allies are encouraged to incorporate the suggestions into their daily lives.
We had to engage more of our male peers and leaders in the conversation if we wanted to drive real change.
“About a year ago, the Women’s Network made an important determination,” said Lynn Moersch, WWN co-lead and Senior Director Sales Strategy & Operations for the North American Region. “We had to engage more of our male peers and leaders in the conversation if we wanted to drive real change. Creating a more inclusive culture takes everyone! The concept for 100 Little Ways was created from a conversation with a couple of our allies. It’s so exciting to see it come to life and have such a positive response!
We’ve put together 10 ways that you can join us this March and celebrate inclusion in the workplace and at home.
- Recommend me for a new project, assignment, role if you believe I am qualified.
- Ask me for my opinion on business decisions.
- Reinforce my ownership of subjects/projects with others
- Take note of and recognize me for great work.
- Do not assume that my plans to have more children should curtail the responsibilities I have at work. We should have an open dialogue about my career aspirations and timing.
- If I provide you feedback that I felt overlooked or interrupted in a meeting, please don’t diminish my perception, but seek to understand more.
- Tailor your advice to every specific individual.
- Apologize when you have misstepped.
- Actively seek out opportunities to mentor women.
- Make sure to give me credit when I was the one to come up with a new idea
