IWD: Bucking the trend with women-friendly workplaces
International Women's Day is a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. As gender disparity remains persistent in society today, the challenge to create a gender inclusive world remains highly relevant, especially with Australia dropping a further 10 positions in the 2016 Global Equality Report.
In Australia, women still earn considerably less men and only occupy 16.3% of CEO positions and 28.5% of key management positions. Frustrated with the constraints and inequalities within the corporate world, film advertising manager Irene Falcone decided to challenge these statistics and build her own business powered by women.
Statistics show that childbirth can disrupt employment opportunities for women, with a quarter of women permanently leaving their jobs before childbirth and only 6% of mothers returning to fulltime work within the first year. As a woman and a mother of four children, Irene Falcone understood the struggles that women, especially mothers can face in the workforce.
Irene’s business, Nourished Life, took the issue head-on, challenging the corporate norms and setting an example for Australian businesses and young women. Four years on, Irene’s thriving business now employs 15 working mums and is on track to turn over more than 20 million dollars a year.
Irene believes, “The younger generation of women need to feel empowered and believe in a world that provides opportunities for all. Becoming a mother should not restrict your career opportunities.”
“I wanted to create a workplace that embraced mums of all ages and championed flexible working hours for mums wanting to return to the workforce. Most of our customers are mums, I am a mum, and I know that if you want something done you give it to a busy mum!”
Bucking the trends of a heavily male dominated executive world, where women earn 16.2% less, Nourished Life proves that implementing family friendly policies and employing mothers can lead to significant business growth. Driven by its 'mum-force', Nourished Life experienced a staggering 355% increase in revenue year on year.
Irene says, “As a busy mum of four children, I found the corporate world incredibly difficult and didn’t want to miss being able to spend time with my family. I knew that by creating an environment where women feel empowered would ultimately lead to success.”
Irene’s business success has been widely recognised with a lengthy list of achievements including the 2016 Telstra Women’s Business Awards NSW Entrepreneur of the Year. Nourished Life was also ranked number 9 in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Australia and moved from position 89 in the BRW Fast Starter list 2015 to position 24 in 2016. Irene’s most recent accolade puts her in the company of online powerhouses Woolworths and Coles, with Nourished Life achieving the Top 100 Australian Online Retailers for 2016.
“It’s disappointing that Australia is falling in the Global Gender Equality rankings, however, I’m thrilled to be able to shed light onto women-run small businesses, as well as being able to set an example on flexible working hours and how going against the norm can prove successful.”
Irene’s advice to other women concerned about managing a career or returning to work after childbirth would be to, “follow your gut and never be afraid of changing direction if it feels right.”
Four years ago, Irene became so alarmed at the impact mainstream products had on our environment and animal life and was shocked to realise she was applying almost 500 chemicals onto her body and made the decision to dispose of all of them—throwing $5000 of products into the bin. In a matter of weeks, she started to feel better, her energy returned, her skin and teeth improved and her skin became clearer.
Since that day, Irene has become passionate about sharing this experience with others and founded Nourished Life, which has the strictest requirements for environmentally friendly and sustainable products has helped thousands of Australians. Irene won the 2016 NSW Telstra Women’s Business Award for Entrepreneur of the year.