This years’ theme: Count Her In #InspireInclusion
Every day is international women’s day at CAKE! Because not only do we celebrate, but we also champion and support the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and primary caregivers, every. single. day – it’s what we do! (We also proudly have talented stay-at-home Dads who we regularly collaborate with, but that’s a blog post for another time).
In the status quo model of how we ‘do’ family and business, we know that primary caregivers, (which in many cases falls onto women) often have to make a choice between having a career, or having a family; sacrificing one for the other. But CAKE was founded on the belief that things can be different.
We’re so fortunate to have fostered a network of amazingly talented, capable, reliable women who we regularly collaborate with. And we are immensely proud of how we have created opportunities and pathways for these women to be able to have their CAKE and eat it too.
But in the lead-up to reflecting on IWD for this year, we realised we actually have quite a few female-founded and female-led clients who are doing amazing things too! And what better day than International Women’s Day to share some of the incredible achievements of these women, at work, and at home…through the power of inclusion.
IWD encourages organisations in many ways to ensure the needs, interests and aspirations of women and girls are valued and included. Some of the actions they encourage organisations to take include:
- forging women’s economic empowerment
- recruiting, retaining and developing female talent
- supporting women and girls in leadership, decision-making, business and STEM
- designing and building infrastructure meeting the needs of women and girls
- helping women and girls make informed decisions about their health
- involving women and girls in sustainable agriculture and food security
- providing women and girls with access to quality education and training
- elevating women and girl’s participation and achievement in sport
- promoting creative and artistic talent of women and girls
- addressing further areas supporting the advancement of women and girls
By creating opportunities for inclusion, sharing the load, leaning in, and collaborating, the women who are supporting, and supportive of, CAKE wear many, many hats. And they are achieving incredible things both personally and professionally….and having their CAKE and eating it too. Let’s meet some of them:
Developing female talent
IWD action: recruiting, retaining and developing female talent
Meet Lisa
CAKE Account Manager | Wife | Step-Mother | Sister
Lisa is one of CAKE’s account managers, often described by our Founder as an Octopus with 8 arms going in all different directions helping to keep everyone and everything afloat. Both at work and at home.
With a graceful determination, Lisa has been pivotal to the growth of CAKE and our teams, by nurturing relationships with our clients and collaborators alike. It is in her approach that she’s able to develop and promote the talent and skills of our female collaborators and create amazing outcomes for our teams, and our clients.
Meet Shay
CAKE Collaborator | Partner | Mother | Graphic Designer
Shay is an incredibly talented graphic designer who we’ve been fortunate enough to collaborate with on some key client projects. As well as being a creative talent and a lovely human being, Shay is also a partner and a mum to two beautiful girls.
We’re so thrilled to have Shay included as part of our community and love that in her own words, “Inclusion doesn’t just empower me; it strengthens the balance of my family, my career, and my true self. It allows me to be both a dedicated professional and a present parent, while also enjoying the things that make me, me. Neither should be sacrificed in order to excel at the other.”
Supporting women in leadership
IWD action: supporting women and girls in leadership, decision-making, business and STEM
Meet Sharon
CAKE Client | Mother | Wife | Chief Executive Officer at PQI Group
With a background in high performance, psychology and business Sharon is refreshingly innovative in how she is prioritising and reframing “people and culture” in her role as Chief Executive Officer at PQI Group.
Over the past 12 months, and leaving no stone unturned, the entire PQI business invested heavily in transformation across every aspect of the organisation to emerge with conscious attention to the wellbeing of their team, empowering them to consistently perform at their highest capacity. It’s honestly like nothing we’ve ever seen before, and we wish more leaders were like Sharon.
We are absolutely wrapped to have been able to help support Sharon as CEO breathe life into her vision with the recent re-branding of PQI’s creative and marketing assets, including their new website.
Meet Emma
CAKE Client | Mother | Wife | Business Owner
Emma Clarke is the co-owner of Clarke Services Group – a growing building and construction company with over 100 years’ of proud family history. Emma was instrumental to driving change through their family-owned business, recognising that while they hadn’t outgrown their 100 year+ history, they had certainly outgrown their brand. A straight shooter with a heart of gold (and hilarious sense of humour by the way) Emma alongside her husband Scott, invested in re-branding their business to take them to the next level.
This collaboration with Emma and Scott is one of our most meaningful to date, because as a company, we’re thrilled to be able to support female-and family-owned businesses to reach their potential and thrive.
Forging economic empowerment
IWD action: forging women’s economic empowerment
Meet Kelly
CAKE Founder | Mother | Partner | Business Owner
CAKE was founded on the belief that women shouldn’t have to give up their financial independence or their professional identities in order to raise a family, and that better businesses and stronger communities start at home.
Having worked with small medium businesses her entire career, and also frustrated at the lack of options for talented parents to work flexibly, Kelly saw the importance of supporting women and families through flexible work and the opportunities this can unlock for businesses as well.
Women and primary caregivers don’t need to be excluded from the conversation or the economy while they are raising their families. Kelly truly believes that you actually can have your CAKE and eat it too and is proving that to be true for our growing community through inclusion.
Meet Emilee
CAKE Collaborator | Mum | Daughter | Digital Marketer
Emilee is a regular (and favourite) collaborator of CAKE’s and in her own words shares how inclusivity has made a positive impact for her.
“Balancing motherhood as a single mum while running my own business has taught me the importance of inclusion firsthand. When businesses like CAKE champion women’s inclusion, including those of us balancing multiple roles, we are not only creating a more equitable world we are also empowering every woman to be able to embrace her unique journey with strength, support and resilience. My hope is that every mother can feel like she can be both a mum and a business woman without sacrificing one or the other.”
Fostering sustainability & conservation
IWD action: involving women and girls in sustainability, environment and conservation
Meet Mary-Jean
CAKE Client | Mother | Wife | Managing Director Virtus Heritage
Mary-Jean is the founder and Managing Director of Virtus Heritage, a leading Australian archaeology and cultural heritage consultancy providing expert advice and guidance to government agencies, private sector organisations and community groups.
As a very kind and considerate soul, Mary-Jean is a wonderful example of inclusivity in leadership, particularly for women.
Passionate about her industry, Mary-Jean proudly has a growing team working alongside her at Virtus on community projects including Tweed Byron Land Council and Tjungundji Aboriginal Corporation on cultural mapping.
Promoting creative talent
IWD action: promoting creative and artistic talent of women and girls
Meet Lisa
CAKE Collaborator | Partner | Fur-Mum | Copywriter
Lisa Reynolds (affectionately known as L-Rey to differentiate from Lisa Evans our Account Manager), is a talented copywriter, regular collaborator with CAKE and a delightful human being.
We’re thrilled to be able to promote Lisa’s talent through quite a few client projects, working collaboratively as part of different teams and are so happy to hear that in Lisa’s words she has found our inclusion enriching and sparked her own growth.
Meet Maddy
CAKE Team Member | Mother | Partner | Graphic Designer
Maddy started out as a collaborator with CAKE and was such a joy to work with, she quickly became a permanent team member!
A talented graphic designer with a growing interest in strategic marketing, Maddy’s ability to problem solve for our teams and clients alike make her a formidable force.
We’re thrilled to be able to support Maddy in her creative, professional and personal growth through the CAKE community and love knowing how she feels about our inclusive approach.
Providing quality education & training
IWD action: providing women and girls with access to quality education and training
Meet Lucy
CAKE Client | Mother | Wife | Director at Montessori Children’s House
Lucy McGinley is the Director at Montessori Children’s House and Montessori Infants’ House in Auchenflower. Arguably one of the most important jobs for our communities and society is educating little people and setting up the next generation for success.
As a true leader in a female dominated and caring profession (often called an industry 😖), Lucy leads by example to educate the children at MCH through inclusivity of her team, promoting how professional, knowledgeable, and dedicated they are. By constantly and consistently modelling how to be respectful of others, ourselves, and the environment, Lucy’s leadership allows children to learn respect, inspire their passion for excellence and to nurture their spirit.
