Since the beginning, Blue Signal has worked to advocate for women - both internally within our company, and externally within our greater community. In 2019, this took a more official form with the founding of Blue Signal Women of the Workplace (BSS WOW).
This female empowerment initiative brings together everyone in the company, with the working purpose “to promote education, connection, and empowerment for women (and those who support women) and their contributions to the broader goals of Blue Signal… and beyond!” Just like Blue Signal’s other DEI initiatives, BSS WOW has an impact that extends beyond just the internal organization. Below is an update on the projects we’ve worked on over the last year.
BSS WOW Partnering with Live and Learn AZ
Live and Learn is a local non-profit organization that was created to empower women in the Phoenix-metro area to break the cycle of generational poverty. They support the financial independence and career growth of women in our community by offering classes, workshops, and training geared toward accomplishing each individual woman’s goals. Their incredible education programs have resulted in life-changing successes, like earning degrees, landing jobs, and so much more.
Blue Signal’s Women of the Workplace has been supporting Live and Learn in this mission since 2020, by providing resume writing tips and interview coaching. Through collaboration and a little bit of recruiter magic, Blue Signal has been able to walk these women through the resume writing process and renew their confidence to dive into the job market. In 2021, we are excited to continue this partnership and plan to provide as much value as possible to the clients of Live and Learn AZ.
BSS WOW Education and Certifications
Despite COVID-19 changing the way we meet, Blue Signal’s Women of the Workplace has continued to come together since our company moved to a fully remote work model. We meet virtually once every other month to discuss updates on our Live and Learn philanthropic work, learn about issues surrounding women, and empower one another through discussion and shared experiences.
In our meetings, BSS WOW has discussed gendered language and its impact on how we understand and represent the workforce overall. We have examined articles, like this one from the New York Times that has stirred quite a bit of commentary surrounding gendered titles like “Female CEO” in corporate leadership. We’ve also covered difficult topics like biases, intersectionality, discrimination, and privilege. Through prioritizing these meetings, we’ve discussed everything from #GirlBoss to “fireperson,” learning along the way about inclusivity and empowerment. These topics have also led to conversations about ways we can implement better industry practices for emailing candidates, addressing clients over the phone, and writing job descriptions to advertise online.
During a recent meeting, the entire BSS WOW group became LinkedIn certified in helping Women Succeed in the Workplace by taking this course as a team. The course was aimed toward helping women (and their male or non-binary allies) advocate for success within their careers. By learning about better practices surrounding self-confidence, executive presence, and pay equity, Blue Signal is continuing our education on how best to support our candidates on their career paths, and our clients in fostering success throughout their teams.
Summary
Blue Signal Women of the Workplace seeks to create an assembly that unites our workplace to further the goals of each other as individuals, and propel Blue Signal to be the best recruiting firm on the planet. We believe that connected, empowered women, and those who support them, are unstoppable. BSS WOW has served as a platform to give Blue Signal colleagues the tools and resources needed to support their growth and to build long-term relationships while reaching new heights within professional development. BSS WOW has helped us improve the way in which we support our clients, candidates, colleagues, and community. We are excited to continue in our mission to be a resource for supporting and advocating for women in any workplace.
