Celebrating International Women's Day - Cate Walter, Director, Rhino Safety Ltd & Roar Business Coaching Ltd

Cate Walter, Director,
Rhino Safety Ltd & Roar Business Coaching Ltd

 Cate Walter, Director, Rhino Safety Ltd and Roar Business Coaching Ltd shares what her organisation is doing to be more inclusive and drive change and what a diverse and inclusive future means to her:

What have you/your organisation done to be more inclusive and drive change?

From the very inception of our business, we have held flexible working as one of our core foundations on which we build and grow the company. For us, flexible working doesn’t just mean accepting requests from working mothers to work around school drop-off and pick-up; flexible working is something each and every member of our team has from day 1. We also don’t define flexible working around strict boundaries; it is personal to each individual. Start times, finish times, hours and days per week, working from the office or from home are all completely fluid. Our mantra is that we count the work, not the hours. This means that we open up work opportunities for people based on their talent, not based on what their individual circumstances allows them to accept, resulting in a diverse workforce. I am personally passionate about advocating this approach in business (particularly for SMEs) because we are living proof that a business can be both highly flexible and highly productive and profitable! It sounds niche to pick out flexible working for inclusivity, but actually it’s the cornerstone for so much of how successful our company is.

What would an international future that is diverse, equitable and inclusive mean to you?

As a woman with two daughters, I want them to be able to choose careers based on what they want, rather than what their personal circumstances are. I want them to know that they are competing for roles based on their individual merit, rather than having to fight against discrimination or privilege. I want them to work alongside peers from a variety of backgrounds so that they are able to learn and grow from diverse experiences. I also want them to recognise their own privilege and use it to amplify the voice of those without. Above all, I want to see a future where every individual is confident of their worth because their contribution is valued implicitly and explicitly.

Which (global/international) woman do you think lives these values and inspires you? 

I am always inspired by Jameela Jamil’s activism, and try to emulate her commitment to continuous progression and improvement. I think it’s important to recognise that work on diversity, equality and inclusion will never be ‘done’ and there is always more to learn. Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris and Zarah Sultana are doing tremendous work in empowering women and minority groups. And as a lifelong football fan, I think Alex Scott is doing a great job of promoting women in football and sport as a whole.