INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2021 - HEAR FROM VOYA'S FEMALE STAFF MEMBERS & THEIR HOPES FOR 2021
Raise your hand high to show you are in and that you commit to choose to challenge and call out inequality
It is International Women’s Day and so VOYA are celebrating the strong female workforce that we have here behind the scenes, a team we are proud of and that supports each other every day.
- 67% of VOYA’s entire staff are female -
- 80% of VOYA’s management team are female -
- 68% of VOYA’s female staff are also working mothers -
We asked our female employees about this past year, about their roles and their hopes for 2021, any quotes that resonate with them and what VOYA means to them.
These are just some of the strong female voices that sit around our table, we listen and respect them, and so, we elevate them.
LET'S HEAR IT FROM THE GIRLS!
Katherine Russell - Business Development Manager
Time with VOYA - 17 months
‘’Your health is your wealth’’.
This past year has taught me that your greatest wealth is your health, getting behind Irish brands and working for a company that genuinely cares about your wellbeing is so particularly important.
Karen Gallagher - Senior Client Service Administrator
Time with VOYA - 4 years
’Tough times do not last, but tough teams do…’’
In 2021, I would love us all to enjoy the simplicity of life and to focus on what truly makes us happy. One of my favourite memories from working in VOYA is from the days when we could have started a choral group in the office, oh the harmonies, the passion, and the laughs! We work hard and play hard. My female colleagues are honestly the nicest, funniest and the most amazing women, I have ever had the pleasure to work with. Go VOYA!
Natasia Hayes - Head of Sales Ireland
Time with VOYA - 2 years
In 2020 and this year I have really learnt to fully value the friendships & support that the VOYA family give to me and to each other, in any situation and any given day. We are there for each other, 100%.
Karen Kelly - Financial Analyst
Time with VOYA - 10 months
For me, this past year was all about not taking things for granted because you just never know what tomorrow will bring. For International Women’s Day, I want to tell my fellow female colleagues that I think they are all incredibly talented strong women who are always willing to help. I am very grateful for the kindness and warmth that they all showed me when I first started in VOYA and for their continued support and friendliness ever since. In 2021 let’s be kinder to ourselves and to others. We are living through unprecedented times and so now more than ever we need kindness to fill up our worlds.
Gayle Kelly - Head of Training Academy
Time with VOYA - 9 years
’Tough times do not last, but tough teams do…’’
This year has taught me that creating and adapting to a new normal is easier than expected. I never imagined that it could be possible to open one of the world’s most luxurious hotels all virtually, and that I could do all the necessary spa and skincare training, connecting with multiple accounts around the world at the same time, and that I would feel comfortable talking in front of large, albeit virtual, audiences, every week.
Yet here we are! It is all about belief, and when you work for VOYA, ‘There is always a Better Way’. and together we find it.
Cristina Antoniu - Senior Accounts & Administration Manager
Time with VOYA - 10 years
Most days I put on my warrior shield and fight VOYA’s cause out in the world of accounts, customers and suppliers, other days I panic and worry instead, but I always give 100% because, I love my job and my colleagues, they are my family. This year I learnt how self-care, a healthy routine and communication can directly impact our interactions. In 2021, let us all try acknowledging and appreciating everyone’s efforts including, your own, much more.
Gretta Salter - Brand Manager
Time with VOYA - 6 years
“The simple fact is that nobody ever learned anything. by listening to themselves speak.” - Richard Branson
Since International Women’s Day 2020, this team have adapted, innovated,
and stayed true to themselves and their values. I feel incredibly lucky in my role, I get to frame and direct a colour filled vision and curate the tone and brand voice that communicates and shares the VOYA journey, both offline and online.
By storytelling, through different written and visual mediums, I have the responsibility of being the one who is, ‘in charge of interesting,’ as someone once described it. Over the last 6 years, this story simply reflects the hard work, transparency, ingenuity, accountability, and innovation that lies behind how this team of women and men pull together to deliver something special to our customers.
VOYA is authentic and beautiful, it has texture, trustworthiness and character because is made up of a team that radiate all those qualities.
In 2021, lets really start to listen to each other.
Remind yourself that it’s okay to own your faults, make mistakes and stand up for yourself. You do not have to pretend everything is ‘fine’ all the time, it is still ‘fine’ to have an off day. You will return to the battlefield with your pen, headset, camera, presentation, or weapon of choice the next day and still absolutely nail it.
Alison Heeney - Operations Manager
Time with VOYA - 2.5 years
‘’Life is tough my darling, but so are you’’- Stephanie Bennet
I have always been proud to work within strong female management teams in my career, this past year has been testing and we have adapted really well, International Women’s Day for me means highlighting that I am proud to work among strong women, to be married to one and to raise one.
Jessica Anhold - Head of Marketing
Time with VOYA - 3 years
This past year I’ve learnt that life laughs when you make plans. Despite being a born ‘Monica’, the pandemic taught me how to roll with the punches and that I am in fact very adaptable and agile. From rearranging our wedding 3 times across 2 countries, to discovering I was pregnant 10 days before said wedding, to adapting to remote working and home-schooling, not to mention seeing our business pivot to an online focus, 2020 really kept me on my toes!
Working for VOYA means that I am lucky to work as part of an industry that I love, where I have the opportunity to be creative and am not constrained by heavy corporate structures. I also get to enjoy a great work-life balance in a beautiful corner of the world.
My female colleagues are strong, opinionated, independent, and passionate women. We lift each other up as well as challenging one another to be better. They are also the best of fun, and if we are ever allowed out again, I can’t wait to get my glad rags on, let the hair down and dance the night away with them all.
In 2021 let’s all try to be patient with each other. You never know what burden someone is carrying behind the scenes. And let us take pleasure in life’s simple things. I’ll never take the privilege of being able to book a last-minute flight somewhere for granted ever again!
Caroline Cullen - Ecommerce Executive
Time with VOYA - 3.5 years
‘’Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get, you’ve got to make yourself.” – Alice Walker
This year I learnt to let go of the things I cannot control and the things I cannot change. The pandemic has created so many changes and a loss of freedom for us all. It would be easy to spend every day complaining and upset about the things that I cannot do, the people I cannot see and occasions I am missing. We can only control the here and now. The days will get better and sooner than we think life will return to normal.
Working for VOYA I feel lucky to work with a strong female lead workforce. Even though we are all working remotely for the past year the sense of teamwork and friendship is as strong as ever. The team is full of smart, funny, and hardworking people who make working for VOYA a pleasure. My female colleagues are dedicated, funny, hard-working, and kind.
Some of my favourite memories over the last 3 years include simple things like going for a lunchtime spin, empowering conversations, comradery, and belly laughs every day. What teamwork means to me is offering a helping hand when needed. Not judging and valuing the opinion of others and being patient when required.
In 2021 l want us to all be kinder to each other. Think before we speak.
Emma Roberts - UK Head of Sales
Time with VOYA - 5 years
This past year I learnt how to be a new Momma!
My female colleagues are the best in the whole wide world. An amazing team of super strong and smart women. We are a force of nature! I cannot even tell you my best memory working with women in VOYA because I have too many to mention from over the years.
So many amazing times, belly laughs and memories that will last a lifetime.
What teamwork means to me is having a team of people around you who have your back and will support each other.
VOYA’s team go above and beyond on a daily basis.
Katherine Durcan - HR Manager
Time with VOYA - 10 years
‘’It always seems impossible until it is done’’ - Nelson Mandela.
I have learned so much from the female workforce at VOYA over the years. Everyone has value and a voice that can be heard at VOYA, the collective group of our female workforce are some of the most driven and innovative I have worked with. I continually learn from them all with their different perspectives and how they adapt to change especially during the global pandemic. The best memory is how many of us pulled together and supported each other, taking on extra responsibly and tasks with no resistance, supporting the company to come through these surreal times. I am proud to be a member of the VOYA female workforce.
Kira Walton - Co-Founder & Owner
Time with VOYA - 16 years
In Spring 2021 I want to continue to work with powerful women and find a better way every day.
TOGETHER - APART
Happy International Women’s Day from us, a group of women with our words sounding out from isolation in different homes and in varying locations around the world, separated by a pandemic, but very much together.
So, let's be leaders, OK?
Jane Fonda, 2021.
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