Making the Invisible Visable…….
To mix up your holiday reading in the sun which will, if your anything like me, include several light-hearted and no doubt trashy novels – I wanted to peak your curiousity. What is invisible in your life and what are the benefits to you in bringing this into the light, creating visability around it?
We have been hearing many calls for transparency recently. In order to address our 9.2% gender pay gap (which results in the average Kiwi women only being paid for 331 days, for every 365 days the average man is paid for), businesses are being called on to publish their gender and ethnic pay gaps. The MindTheGap campaign presented to Parliament last October calling for such reporting to be mandatory.
Similarily, Crayon has launched The New Zealand Parental Leave Register, a comprehensive database of verified parental leave policies in the country, calling all employers to join. The register providing transparency on parental leave entitlements, which, let’s face it, many of us only started to consider once pregnant. The information provided through the Register enabling Kiwis to make proactive, informed choices for their families.
On the basis that we simply can’t solve what we can’t see, making the invisible visable is an essential step in making impactful change.
If these initiatives are not in your line of sight they are now and you and others can benefit from this visibility by:
Asking your employer about their current pay gap and plan to correct this, encouraging them to report through the MindTheGap Register;
Support your employer to join the Parental Leave Register, spreading the word as to the availability of this data amongst your colleagues and friends, encouraging parenting with financial confidence;
Ensuring you understand the issues underlying these initiatives and the impact on you.
But on a more personal note, how visible are you to self?
By this I mean, how well do you know yourself, your beliefs and purpose, strengths and challenges, your-self talk and its impact on you every day? The beliefs and assumptions that shape the life you lead and the actions you take.
We all have aspects of ourselves or our lives into which we are reluctant to delve, keeping these aspects buried away out of the light, whether they are related to aspects of our personal relationships, relationship with money, the dreaded imposter syndrome, or decisions or change that we are avoiding. But as we dig deep, giving ourselves time to contemplate who and what we are and what might be holding us back or driving us forward, learning more about ourselves, a light flickers on with the opportunity for illumination and the ability to then make a conscious choice as to how we move forward.
Holidays provide a great opportunity for ‘me time’ to contemplate and shed light on what’s invisible to us, writing down what comes. Writing stream of consciousness, without judgement and with later reflection time, can be a useful tool. After all, how can we be and benefit from being visible to others if we are not to ourselves – and who wouldn’t want this for 2023!
