“Shout loud and don’t apologise”
International Women’s Day at Enterprise’s European HQ
Enterprise seized the opportunity to celebrate International Women’s Day 2023 and focus on its hugely important message – ⌗EmbraceEquity – by hosting an event at its European HQ with special guest Simi Pam in conversation with Milena Jankovic, Assistant Vice President Franchise EMEA.
Simi Pam has many roles. She is a doctor working for the NHS, a semi-professional rugby player for the Bristol Bears and a campaigner who is raising awareness and initiating discussion around equity, sexism and racism.
As a Black woman of Nigerian descent, barriers to success stemming from other people’s biases are all too familiar for Simi. She often receives abuse on social media for daring to speak out and challenge racist and sexist comments.
“As a Black woman of Nigerian descent, barriers to success stemming from other people’s biases are all too familiar for Simi”
Sonya Kaur (European Vehicle Services Manager) with Simi Pam
A video that Simi posted on Instagram after enduring racial abuse on social media shows Simi in tears, angry and exhausted by the continual struggle.
“That phrase: sticks and stones will break my bones, but words can never hurt me? It’s not true,” she explains, speaking of the video.
“Words hurt. Especially words that are said with the intention of belittling or being cruel. They are not commenting on me, my personality or my skillset but attacking me for characteristics that I have no control over. That’s just unfair.
“Whether I like it or not I was born a Black, Nigerian woman. I’m an immigrant, I’ve got dark skin and I feel like I have all these barriers to overcome. Those comments made me wonder, what’s the point of struggling?
“But after posting this video, my younger sister said: ‘You are my personal advocate. If you don’t want to do it for you, then do it for me.’”
Her sister’s words made Simi realise that she had a role to play. As a trailblazer for Black women, she could make it easier for future generations.
Simi realised that to fight the bias she faces as a successful Black woman, she needs to shout and be unapologetic. She needs to pick people up on racist or sexist comments, and never back down.
We need to prioritise women
While the Bristol Bears Women enjoy the same privileges and facilities as the men's team, most women's teams – particularly at grassroots level – do not have the same level of access.The best pitches are often reserved for the men’s and boys’ teams, and some local rugby clubs don’t yet acknowledge the existence of their girls’ and women’s teams on their website.
Female rugby players are not yet paid a liveable wage from the sport, with international players being the exception, and still juggle full time jobs with training and matches, even though they perform at an elite level.
When speaking of rugby there is a tendency to default to the men’s achievements. When one podcast host referenced the ‘most capped rugby players’ and only reeled off a list of men, Simi corrected him on social media, pointing out that in fact Rocky Clark had more caps. She was then subjected to a barrage of abuse.
Simi told Enterprise that she has been recognised by the English Rugby Black List, which celebrates the achievements of Black people in rugby. The celebration at the House of Lords was a rare event where being Black and successful was the centre of attention. Change is happening.
“Simi realised that to fight the bias she faces as a successful Black woman, she needs to shout and be unapologetic”
Equality or equity: what’s the difference?
The concept of equality is familiar and enshrined in law to help protect people from discrimination.
Equity takes it to the next stage. While equality opens the door to opportunity, equity anticipates individual barriers to success and proactively helps everyone walk in.
The concept of equity is gathering momentum because equal opportunities are no longer enough.
This is especially true for women who must overcome additional ‘intersectional’ bias because of their race, ethnicity, sexuality or gender identification. It’s no longer enough to say, ‘we welcome applications from women’. Companies must examine the issues that might prevent women applying and offer genuine, intentional solutions.
If you are interested in a career with Enterprise, please visit our recruitment website at careers.enterprise.co.uk
