International Women’s Day at Brightwater
Happy International Women’s Day 2023 from Brightwater! We recognise and celebrate the achievements of the women in our company every day. Today we want to again: thank you to the women that form the backbone of our business.
The Businesswomen of Brightwater
When out for our lunchtime walk in our beautiful local town of Musselburgh, we took a picture of Jan Barberton, our Head of Sales, and Gemma Middlemass our Head of Operations. Without these ladies and the other women on our senior leadership team, Brightwater as a business would not be where it is today. In these times of uncertainty, it is important to take moments to champion our team members and strive for equality in businesses both locally and around the world.
Women in Work Scotland
We feel that as a UK business, it is important to highlight the current issues with the latest PwC Women in Work Index that has been published. Currently, there is an average of 14% between men and women in terms of median hourly earnings. At the current rate, it will take around 50 years to close this. In Scotland, we are proud to say that according to the Scottish Government, our young women are having higher levels of attainment in schools, and our full-time gender pay gap has decreased. Our gender pay gap is lower than in the rest of the UK. We feel at Brightwater it is important to close the gender pay gap, that way you retain the most talented people in business. Which is why we support and help grow the women who work for us.
50 Years of Women Changing Scotland
The BBC released a new series in February that celebrates and acknowledges the amazing women who have shaped Scotland over the past 50 years called ‘the Modern Women Who Changed Scotland’. The three programmes cover some of the key women who made contributions over the past 5 decades. This includes women defying sexism and the status quo in the 60s-70, and women who seized new opportunities in workplaces during the 1980s-90s. It also talks about women in recent years who are stepping up in communities, workplaces, and politics. It is well worth a watch. As a modern Scottish business we need to inspire modern women to keep pushing forward.
We hope that some of the sources we have given will give fellow businesses food for thought. As a business that is still growing, it is important to help shape the industry we want to work in. And for us, we see that future as women and men standing on equal footing in their careers.
Interested in our Water Services? Find out more here.
