Inspiring Women in Business
Clio Dawkins
People Operations Director
Serco
1. Tell us a little bit about your senior leadership role within your current business
I look after HR teams providing transactional and specialist services internally to Serco in the UK and Middle East, which covers around 30,000 people. This includes HR Helpdesk, Vetting and Onboarding, Transitions (when we TUPE employees into or out of the business) and HR Change. I also chair the gender network at Serco and am an Ambassador for everywoman.
2. When did you start becoming significantly passionate about women in business?
I was fortunate enough to be raised by a feminist mother and had several strong, female role models in my life from an early age, so improving inclusion and equity has long been a passion of mine. It is not only the right thing to do, it also drives greater innovation, economic growth and improves outcomes – inclusion elevates everyone
3. How do you influence female colleagues in your current role?
When you are a leader or manager of people, you are on stage, your behaviour is visible to others so you are a role model, whether you like it or not. The trick is to try to be a positive one! I work to lead with empathy, to build belonging and to continuously improve on what I do. I also live loudly – I put school picks ups or open classrooms in my diary, so people can see that I’m offline because I’m on parent duty. We all have lives and people who rely on us outside of work, we shouldn’t be ashamed of that or try to manage our non-working responsibilities in the margins of our working day.
4. Have you ever faced barriers in your career due to being a woman? If so how have you overcome this?
Yes! Sadly, I am sure these will be familiar to lots of women, like being talked over in meetings, credit being taken for your idea or even being asked to ‘take notes’. My most challenging experiences have come as a result of being a working parent – I was once turned down for a role because the hiring manager felt that I wouldn’t be able to manage the commute alongside childcare and also had some difficult conversations with a senior manager on my return from maternity leave about what projects I could commit to with three children at home. Both were very dehumanising experiences, decisions were made about how I would manage, based on someone else’s perception or experience, not on my capability or performance.
5. What main change would you like to see for women in the workplace?
Close the gender pay gap! It is 2024, there is absolutely no reason we should see such a gap in what men and women are paid. And don’t even get me started on the ethnicity or disability gaps…
6. message would you like to get across today focussing around IWD?
Inclusion is like Health and Safety – it is everyone’s responsibility. It is not down to the marginalised groups or individuals to include themselves in the spaces they are excluded from, we all need to open the doors, create the opportunities, remove the barriers. Ask yourself this – if not me, then who? And if not now, then when?
7. Which women inspire you?
I am inspired by so many brilliant women, doing exceptional things, in the toughest of environments and circumstances. Maya Angelou, Michelle Obama, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Anna Whitehouse, Allyson Felix. And the women I have had the enormous privilege of working with; Donna Taylor, Helen Tomlinson, Liz Benison, Kaylea Adam-Owen, Annette Moody, Francesca Crane. Your words and actions lift me up and give me the energy to do more. I salute you all.
8. What are you hopes for the future of aspiring female leaders?
That your journey to the top will be easier than for those who went before you, and that you make it easier again for those following in your footsteps
9. Have you ever heard a piece of advice/quote that has always been with you and you often reflect on?
Maya Angelou, who’s words stick with me always – ‘Still I rise’
10. What advice would you give to younger female generations embarking on their career?
• Find work and people that inspire you
• Be proactive, whether that is solving problems or seeking new opportunities -don’t be a passenger
• Know your boundaries and stick to them
• Every day is a learning day
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