A fairer economy is a stronger one, says Lyndsay Nickerson on International Women's Day

As we tentatively move out from the shadows of the pandemic, a society that’s being re-imagined must recognise that a fairer economy is a stronger one.

We know women have been disproportionally impacted by the pandemic, but progress is being made to level-up the workplace. Liz Truss the Minister for Women and Equalities last week called for flexible working to be normalised and offered as standard from day one of employment. It’s a huge step forward and one that we’ve been championing for some time, contributing to the Flex Appeal campaign.

We need more action though. The education system, access to quality childcare and the coming together of all under-represented groups are part of the solution to reset social norms and expectations if we are to really tackle inequality in the workplace.

At Aster we’re not at the end of that road – far from it – but we have the commitment and desire to create a fairer workplace. We’re working hard to close our Gender Pay Gap. From flexible principles, to re-thinking how we operate to create new ways of working, our progress has been significant. We’re also proud to be surrounded by inspirational women at all levels of the business from the boardroom, to the those on the front line.

For the first time it feels as though societal change is happening and the systemic barriers that have stood in the way for so many women for so long are being genuinely broken down.

Lyndsay Nickerson, Transformation Director, people and communications