What is the One Woman Challenge?
At its core, the One Woman Challenge is about connecting and contributing to a woman’s career in business by pledging to help with one supportive act. Every gesture—from supporting a promotion to making an introduction to taking a coffee meeting—creates opportunity and change at the individual level. Each individual action creates a swell that can change the tide. One woman at a time, we can all make a difference. The #OneWomanChallange is a campaign to challenge people to take a real action to support women in business.
The Challenge ask is simple:
-
Commit to one supportive act for a woman within the month of March.
-
Share your experience on social media with an MJFreeway @-tag and #OneWomanChallenge.
-
Tag two other people and challenge them to join. Challenge them to commit to one action and post about it, and remind them to challenge two people. Every individual creates a swell.
Why are you launching the One Woman Challenge?
We have a smaller percentage of women in tech than 25 years ago. To compound the issue, while we made strides in getting women injected in tech, we can’t keep them in. Women are leaving the industry at nearly twice the rate as men. In fact, more than 56% of women drop out of their tech careers at the mid-way point with more than half of those abandoning their training altogether. So how can we ever have parity at the upper levels if the talent pool leaks like a sieve? It starts by taking action and engaging in meaningful ways.
While we as a tech company are focused on tech, there’s a need for parity in business across the board. We need women in leadership levels to drive creative solutions, innovations and change that impacts the individual, the company and society-at-large.
How do I start?
Consider those around you and ask about what they are working on, what’s challenging them, what goals are ahead. That one discussion can spark a wealth of ideas. Look at your team and talk about aspirations and growth areas. Call your alma mater and see if there’s a mentoring program. Check your LinkedIn and see if anyone is looking for a new position. Take that coffee meeting that you never seem to have time for. The opportunities are all around you.
______________________________________________
