Rebecca White is CEO of Your Own Place CIC in Norwich. Here she shares her story about how diversity in the workplace can help women (and all employees) thrive.

 I'm old enough to remember when the image of a businessman was just that - an older white man in a suit. And for that and millions of other reasons, including the absence of people who looked like me in business means that I don't believe I can do it as well as a man, we need the support to get over ubiquitous and singular male imagery and build new ones for young women to believe in.  

I'm not sure I see the world as women having stronger characteristics or assets than others - I think this is just another kind of inequality that unhelpfully pitches us against each other. Every single human sees and experiences the world differently and more diversity you have in your team the more different ideas, creativity and fun you will have.

Latent sexism still exists - it's everywhere in the unconscious bias of men and women. Sometimes it's overt and abhorrent and women are denied promotions, opportunities and spoken over and even assaulted in the workplace. In environments and situations that feel hostile or male-dominated, women can find themselves not wishing to compete on that level and then find themselves accused of not standing up for themselves or putting themselves forward. This is of course a vicious circle.  

Male colleagues can help if they stop and think. Think in a meeting about the ratio and how much women have spoken. It's a tiny and practical thing we can all do - give the floor to a woman!  

I have probably had to overcome a challenge in business because I am a woman, but I tend not to think of them as negatives or dwell on them. This is because the events in my life really have made me a stronger and better person. I also don't really think about my gender a lot, believe it or not. Comparative to so many other people, I am very advantaged and prefer to see my glass as half full. My energy is more directed towards wider and more profound inequalities than those I face day to day.

Your Own Place is a social enterprise. Our culture of coaching and empowering works really well for women who lack confidence. I'm a female CEO, more than half our team are women and half our Board are women too. We are leading by example and showing what women can do. No-one at Your Own Place is aggressive or shouts, no one is made to feel uncomfortable and everyone is free of blame - these should be the norms of course, but they are not. This is an environment where women flourish. We've just hired a new young woman and I cannot wait to see her blossom in confidence under this approach.  

If I could give my younger self tips on how to succeed in business it would be to just bloody do it. My mantra now is 'what's the worst that can happen?' Trust me, it's just about all happened and I'm still here and still smiling. And care a bit less - not everyone is going to like you - focus on those that can open doors and champion what you do, some people will simply never accept you and they probably aren't worth your emotional energy. 

Rebeccca’s top tip to support women in business

Don't wait. Every meeting, debate, forum and conference you run, you HAVE to make it equal in representation. To not do so in 2021 is unforgivable and unacceptable.