This month’s edition is a little different. It is intentionally later than usual and deliberately looking back. It revisits conversations we raised through Espresso, our HR magazine, and invites you to pause on International Women’s Day to consider how your values shape the way you see the world, because it means different things to different people.
For some, it is a moment of celebration.
For others, it is a reminder of the work still unfolding.
For many, it is both.
Over the years, I’ve interviewed, listened to, and learned from so many people’s perspectives, each one adding depth to my understanding. How I view the world, is created through my own lens and understanding how intersectionality creates unique privileges, as well as discrimination really opens up how I can influence change.
The first edition of Espresso back in 2021, used IWD as a springboard to talk about domestic abuse and empowerment. This was me, stepping up and challenging why, as a society we step away from subjects that make people feel uncomfortable. Over the years I have shared my own lived experience, and why violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a global health issue that requires systematic change.
Five years on, I find myself returning to the values that shape P&M from the beginning. These values guided every topic we explored in Espresso, including men’s mental health, neurodiversity, inclusion, financial wellbeing, and role modelling, and they continue to guide how I think about equity today.
This edition isn’t here to tell you what IWD should mean to you.
It is simply here to offer a perspective shaped by these values and by the belief that equity can be created in the everyday.
Anchoring in our Values
On days like IWD, when empowerment is often packaged into slogans, I return to a quieter truth. Empowerment is a practice, not a performance. It is found in the conversations we have, the boundaries we honour, the allyship we show, and the fairness we strive for.
For me, empowerment has never been about adopting someone else’s language or mimicking a louder narrative. It is about using your own voice in a way that feels authentic, grounded, and aligned with your values. It is about creating space for others to speak and being open to learning from their experiences too.
Empowerment, for us, is relational. It is something that happens with people, not to them. It is the glow that comes from seeing someone recognise their own potential.
At P&M, progress is shaped by the unseen. The quiet resilience behind people’s journeys deserves recognition. Knowing when to begin, when to stop, and understanding that reflection often brings the golden nuggets of joy, this is rooted at what perseverance means to us.
Over the years, we have written about how this shows up. The courage to start new projects, such as Espresso, Playing with Hire and now Peony Community. The stigma men face when opening up about mental health, vulnerability as a strength rather than a weakness shows up again and again. The language around neurodiversity, shifting mindsets within the workplace and the financial pressures that shape everyday decisions, within professional and personal situations.
These stories remind us that progress is rarely linear. It is shaped by quiet resilience and the determination to keep going even when the path is unclear.
Compassion is the value that softens the edges of the world. It is the bridge between understanding and action. It allows us to see beyond our own standpoint and recognise the experiences of others.
Compassion is not passive. It is active, intentional, and often quietly courageous. It asks us to listen, to pause, to consider what someone else may need, and to respond with humanity. Compassion for ourselves means acknowledging that you are enough, right now, and perfection is not a healthy mindset (this one has taken me a long time to learn!)
Compassion invites us to hold space for multiple truths. To acknowledge that equity requires us to look beyond categories and into lived experience and perhaps, for all of us, to practice “quietening our egos”
Nobility is choosing integrity over convenience. That is as simple as I can put it, as this value shapes so much of what we do because it is created through consistent, values‑aligned action. How you are an ally for others comes from how you show up for them, this may be towards a stranger, this may be someone close, you will know when the time is right.
Being noble for us is:
- asking thoughtful questions
- standing up when it matters
- challenging assumptions gently but firmly
- creating spaces where people feel safe to be themselves
- acting with fairness, even when no one is watching
My views continue to evolve, and I have learned to see that as a strength. When I look back, I can see how much I have grown, through shaping Espresso, through building P&M, and through staying curious about the world and the people in it. My values remain rooted, they just bloom in new ways as each season unfolds.
When you look back on your own experiences, what becomes clearer for you through the lens of your values?
This edition, looks and feels different, no updates from the world of HR or P&M but I do want to share with you some interesting resources, which perhaps may help expand your knowledge.
Dr Jessica Taylor, Why Women are Blamed for Everything I read having listened to her speak on a EIDA webinar in 2020, her work challenges and her research is influential.
Dr Joy Buolamwni Unmasking AI – if your path hasn’t crossed with this inspirational women, I highly recommend you begin to explore her work.
Fictional book based on what might have been… this isn’t about politics, but a sliding doors novel, about power and control and one I recommend, Rodham, Curtis Sittenfeld
Girl, Woman, Other, Bernardine Evaristo remains one of my top 5 reads, especially after I learned about own linage, a lady called Eleanor, who forms part of my own family history.
Finally, one for the younger readers – The Girls, Lauren Ace and Jenny Lovlie and the book my daughter chose for her last World Book Day.
See you in April, where normal service will resume, but I hope for now, I have left you with some reflections and seeds of thoughts.
Alice