By Erica Coletta, Global VP of People & Organizations for Petcare

The benefits of a strong support circle, mentorship, and reverse mentorship, are something I’ve felt keenly across my own life – from my time working in private law firms to retail banking, sales and my career in HR. It’s the open and honest conversations, shared experiences – and frankly, phenomenally inspirational – women and male champions I’ve met along the way that I value the most from these activities.

That’s why I was really energised by the opportunity to host a special roundtable discussion focused on supporting women in leadership, with a group of female founders and co-founders from the Leap Ventures program, the first pet care specific accelerator programme. We know women are underrepresented in leadership – but particularly in technology, investment and innovation. But it is encouraging to see that this is changing: the 2022 Leap cohort is 80% female.

We focused on some of the biggest challenges facing female entrepreneurs today. For example, developing strong leadership teams or overcoming imposter syndrome – which a study shows will affect a staggering 84 percent of entrepreneurs, in particular if they become successful leaders and even more disproportionately if they are female or of a minority background.

The impact of this additional mental pressure really struck a chord with me, particularly as we are now in the middle of May – Mental Health Awareness Month. As we went around the room, looking at a cohort of incredibly bright, talented and charismatic women, every single one nodded their head when I asked if this type of self-doubt was something they struggled with.

I found the experience invigorating and there are several key learnings and practical takeaways which resonated with me that I wanted to share.

1. Hone your story: Focus on what you’re great at. Work out which capabilities are unique to your expertise and experience – and get really good at sharing them with people, succinctly. This will also help show where you might need to bolster your team or experience.
2. Give yourself a break: one founder said she’s been reframing things she hasn’t gotten to on her to-do list as “not a priority right now,” rather than beating herself because she hasn’t been able to do them. I think it’s especially important for women to give ourselves the same understanding we’d give to others – we’re all doing our best against the most unsettling time in recent history.
3. Progress not perfection: often we are so focused on getting something perfect, that we never do the thing at all. I would take a step back and weigh up the effort you’re putting in against the outcome you’ll get out. Often, you’ll realise this can be weighted differently and still have the desired impact.
4. Ask for help: the best advice is just do it. This goes against what many of us have taught ourselves over time. But surprisingly, when you ask for help, much of the time – help will appear.
5. Sharing really is caring. The underlying theme of all our conversations was the importance of surrounding yourself with a strong network of allies, colleagues and friends who can hold a mirror up to you and remind you of how good you are – even when you might be doubting yourself.

I came away from the session feeling inspired by the work these women do – but also with recognition of the many commonalities between us – in the hurdles faced and progress made in overcoming them. We need more of this storytelling and shared experience – and support for each other.

And while it was great to see progress being made by this fantastic group of women, to me this is also a strong signal that we cannot stop now. We need continued work to close the gender gaps that still exist. And to further support the mental and physical wellbeing of our teams.

At Mars Petcare, a company with over 100,000 Associates – of which ~70% identify as female – we have set ambitious goals related to gender-balanced leadership teams, inclusion and representation and are committed to reaching them. Efforts to support the women of Mars Petcare to reach their full potential are already moving the needle and are ongoing.

Interacting with this Leap cohort reminded me of when I’ve relied on my own network to support and uplift me, and keep me honest about my talent and capabilities. It’s only by creating more of this support – from both men and women – that we’re really going to make progress and reset the balance when it comes to gender equity in leadership.