Constructive conversations, personal authenticity and the importance of inclusion in the workplace

Inclusive conversations are a powerful way to bring together diverse perspectives, create shared understanding, and inspire meaningful change. They can also bring teams together and enhance productivity.

Marianne Curphey

4 April 2025

As part of our celebration of International Women’s Day, attendees enjoyed a keynote speech from Mark Freed, founder of Men for Inclusion, and Sarah Rozenthuler, author of Now we’re talking and founder of Bridgework Consulting. It was an amazing day of exchanging ideas, networking and discussing strategies to drive forward women’s careers and support women and girls in the workplace. The final session was an interactive roundtable discussion and an opportunity for delegates to feedback on how to implement the ideas from the day into their own personal and professional lives, and how to influence and help others effectively. The roundtable feedback highlighted various approaches and insights on fostering inclusivity across different settings—from the workplace to community initiatives and in our own homes and relationships.Relocate Global and Think Global People Managing editor and publisher Fiona Murchie closed the day by calling on attendees to put into practice all the insights they had gleaned from the celebration of International Women’s Day, and feedback their ideas and keep the conversation going.

Taking action for equality and supporting work in challenging environments

The roundtable discussions centred on four key themes - Working in perceived difficult geographical locations, Navigating challenging workplaces, Education - Early years to life-long learning, and Wellbeing, family and work-life balance. These are all key areas for professionals who lead globally mobile teams, are involved in international education and who are leaders in HR, relocation and family support for assignees. They are also areas where there is huge change in terms of technology, AI and geo-political tensions and conflict, but where women’s leadership is also making a big difference.The discussions emphasised the importance of role modelling within families, workplaces, and communities. Positive examples of behaviour provide a foundation for the younger generation to navigate conversations and situations with confidence. Intergenerational learning initiatives were particularly celebrated, with examples like retired teachers mentoring younger generations, enriching the community and fostering a lifelong learning culture.Two tables focussed on the topic of working in perceived difficult locations and the importance of careful preparation and support. Participants shared experiences of navigating cultural differences and political uncertainties while emphasising the need to understand the culture of the place where you will be working. Additional support, such as arranging mentorship and trial visits, can help to prepare assignees in advance.

Working in perceived difficult locations

The table which discussed Working in perceived difficult locations was led by three of our 80 Outstanding Global Women. These were Pam Mundy, of Pam Mundy Associates, an expert in early years education, and a consultant to many of the world’s leading school and education groups; Irina Yakimenko, managing partner and co-owner of Intermark, an award-winning relocation consultancy, and Gill Gordon, and former HR Director UK of Schlumberger (SLB) and chair of the Permits Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation established to persuade Governments to remove work permit barriers for the partners of highly skilled mobile employees in order to facilitate global dual careers. They were joined by experts Haveer Singh Chadha, Senior Vice President at Ikan Relocation Services, and Kelly Blackaby, HR Director - Europe & Middle East at Mavenir, a US-headquartered, global telecommunications software organisation, with 4,500 employees in over 30 offices worldwide.

Education from early years to young adulthood and the importance of lifelong learning

Mary Biddlecombe, executive director – development and external relations, at TASIS, The American School in England, and Paul Williamson, author and Head of talent development at ATG Entertainment, discussed how childhood experiences help to shape the careers and personal fulfillment of young people as they begin to join the workforce. Paul Williamson described how his table spent a few minutes quietly sitting with their thoughts before they shared their ideas in order to make sure all voices were heard – an example of inclusion.“We asked everyone to write individual post- it notes to start with, then pulled them together,” he said. “That was really interesting, because it allowed everyone that quiet time beforehand to have a think, rather than launching straight into group ideation meetings.”Angela Fubler, founder and owner of Bermuda’s Chatmore British International School, described how her charity in Bermuda centres on intergenerational learning for retired teachers so that they get to continue to bring value to the community and to the younger generation.

Wellbeing, family and work-life balance

Claudine Hakim, head of advancement, transitions and student support at the International School of London (ISL) is a pioneering educator, pedagogical leader and current chair of Safe Passage Across Networks (SPAN). Claudine is actively enhancing the wellbeing of students, internationally mobile families and school communities around the world. She and Heather De Cruz-Cornaire, business and coaching psychologist at Café Coach Ltd, and the winner of the Best Research category in the most recent Relocate Global Awards, facilitated the roundtable discussion on balancing working with other commitments. Heather’s work highlights the important role of research in helping to improve the experience of moving for assignees and their families, particularly those in dual-career households.“One of the recurring themes at the table was around raising visibility with our work life balance and setting boundaries, and also being mindful that perhaps we are our worst enemies in many instances where we set certain expectations of ourselves and being clear around what the boundaries are and how we want to manage those,” Claudine said.“We were inspired to think about difficult conversations and how that can help us also with having better work life balance. If you are working online or remotely, how can you raise the visibility about the level of work you are doing when it is not visible to everybody else?”In addition, if we want to be confident in these conversations we are having with others, if we have our own inner strength and truly understand who we are, that will enable us to feel confident around setting whatever boundaries we wish to at work.Heather discussed how we all often feel the need to “live up to and fulfil perceived” and societal expectations, but we need to make sure that those expectations are realistic, and that we manage them effectively.

Making the workplace more equitable

The table discussing navigating challenging workplaces was facilitated by Dr Sue Shortland, Professor Emerita at Guildhall Business & Law at London Metropolitan University and a Senior Lecturer in HRM at the University of Westminster, and entrepreneur Ann Ellis, co-founder and CEO of global workforce solutions company Mauve. Developing the ability to have tough, yet constructive, conversations is critical. This skill helps in both personal and professional settings, ensuring that issues like inclusion and diversity are addressed effectively.Encouraging environments where individuals feel safe to speak up—whether in a classroom, a workplace, or a community meeting—is fundamental to fostering genuine dialogue.Dr Sue Shortland described how important it was to build the skill sets to have those difficult conversations, and why it was important to lead by example and give people ways to speak up in the workplace.“We talked about change, and we thought that it's not possible to do change in one big fell swoop,” she said. “We discussed the idea it is important to recognise change through one person and one organisation at a time, and how it is important to involve leaders and managers at all levels.“We felt it was important to acknowledge that if you are going to have inclusion networks, they should be open to anybody who wants to be part of them. We looked at the wider community and emphasised that it is very important how children are brought up in the school system, and that education is important in terms of the roles that girls and boys think they might have in the workplace. We discussed how it was important that all children could act feely and not be forced into gender stereotypes by society.”

Read related articles

Working in difficult locations

When operating in challenging geographic or cultural locations, thorough research and personal risk assessments are essential. This includes trial visits and having robust support systems in place. Establishing a network that goes beyond global mobility or management, where colleagues and local teams support one another, helps mitigate the risk associated with working in unfamiliar or potentially unsafe settings.Kelly Blackaby, HR Director Europe & Middle East at Mavenir, described how delegates on her table shared their experiences of supporting women going into locations that were potentially difficult.“I shared my personal experience, as I moved to Saudi Arabia in 2008 and was the first woman in my organisation of 4,000 men,” Kelly said. “It was absolutely terrifying, but I was still there a decade later, and brought in the first female workforce.“When we are supporting people, particularly women and girls, going into these difficult locations, we talked about the importance of doing due diligence, and really investigating, researching and understanding where we are sending people and who we are sending.“We discussed what the challenges might be for these individuals to try and prepare them, and to help them integrate into that environment as easily as possible. We also talked about the need to widen that support network for these individuals and that in some cases, why a trial visit might help to alleviate some fears. Another really good point is to make sure that clients and companies are investing the right amount of resources in to supporting people going into these countries.”Gill Gordon, chair of the Permits Foundation, spoke about what the definition might be of a perceived difficult country and how people had different experiences and expectations.“Clearly, there are countries that are politically unstable where obviously there are risks, and there are countries that are more unsafe, where government advice might be not to travel to certain countries,” she said.“Many of the people here have actually worked in countries that like these. There are other countries where it is perceived as difficult, perhaps because you don't speak the language, or you feel intimidated because you are on your own, or it is in a locations that is remote, or in a very big city that is particularly unsafe.”She talked about the experiences of teachers in the British International School in Ukraine, where courageous members of staff from different nationalities were going out to not just teach, but to support students and make a difference.“We very much encourage people to travel, but the message would be, do it your homework beforehand,” she said. “Make sure that you assess the risk. We want everyone, including our young people, to experience being able to travel.”She shared her personal experience of being sent out to Algeria, just after the end of the Civil Wa,r as the first non-local posted there, and how she had to make an assessment of risk as to whether it was safe enough to bring expatriates back.“I felt comfortable doing that. It was not easy, but having been brought up in Belfast during the Troubles was quite good training,” she said. “It is important to check, if you have a company sending the assignee out, have they done the right risk assessments and made sure that the right safety precautions are taken?”

Managing work-life balance and expectations

Participants discussed the importance of setting clear boundaries to prevent burnout, particularly in flexible work arrangements where traditional work-life boundaries may blur.Recognising that often the pressures we feel are based on perceived rather than actual expectations can help in managing stress and the “lived experience gap.” Regular self-check-ins and discussions about realistic workload expectations are vital, especially for employees who work remotely, and for people who are freelance or self-employed and may not have the same support network.Ensuring that contributions are visible in a team setting, especially in remote or non-traditional work environments, can help maintain accountability and support a balanced work dynamic.

Building amazing workplaces and communities

Summarising the insights gleaned during the day, Relocate Global journalist and panel facilitator Marianne Curphey thanked Fiona Murchie, founder, publisher, and managing editor of Relocate Global, for all her hard work and dedication in putting together such an inspirational day.“Fiona has organised such an amazing event in such a beautiful venue, and we have had the opportunity to all meet in London from different corners of the world to bring together so much experience and so much possibility,” she said.“We've got a skill set now for difficult conversations, which Sarah Rozenthuler has so brilliantly outlined for us,” Marianne said. “We have talked about how we can show up as great role models in families, in our community and professionally as well. We have acknowledged that change is tough, and it takes time, and it's not going to happen immediately. We have discussed that there are often incremental changes we can make on a personal level that might be quite small, perhaps just looking out for people in our organisations, that we can include in a more positive way.“We have talked about how important it is to build networks, to be visible, set boundaries, both at work and at home, and to understand the expectations that society might have of us, but that we also have ourselves, and to recognise whether those expectations and obligations are healthy for us. We have also talked about the importance of having international experience, and how doing due diligence and thinking about who is going where, and why that assignment might be important, is good preparation. We have talked about how to be safe and how to take risk. What is encouraging is that there are seeds of change, and there is an opportunity to have a really positive future where we can all be authentic, both at home at work, where we can really try to understand each other's lived experience and bring our own creativity and our own passion to work.“That will make a difference to our own personal satisfaction and to the teams around us. If we prioritise good communication and we value every individual on our team, then we can build amazing workplaces and communities in which to live.”

Becoming a catalyst for action

Fiona Murchie, drawing the event to a close, called on the audience to take action.“Let’s be a catalyst for future action,” she said. “Take what you have learned, take your insights, and continue championing equity in workplaces and communities. I would like to thank our speakers and panellists and for the experts on our tables who shared interesting and informative insights. Thanks to our attendees, we wouldn’t have been able to do this without you so keep supporting us and getting involve with the Think Global Women activities. I would also like to mention the Outstanding Global Women who are in our celebration of worldwide talent.“It is worthwhile making meaningful actions so please do take this away and share back with us what you would like the next steps to be.”

Taking action for equity in our workplaces

Here are the five key findings from our inspirational Think Women day in London.

* Embrace inclusive conversations: encourage quieter voices and create a balanced dialogue, which will help teams striving to foster inclusive participation.

* Role modelling and intergenerational learning: Adults can model positive behaviours for children—not only at home but also within professional and community settings. This will help to challenge stereotypes and demonstrate effective communication.* Creating safe spaces: Addressing challenging topics requires a specific skill set. The discussion highlighted the importance of providing training on having difficult conversations, ensuring psychological safety, and establishing norms that encourage open dialogue. Leaders play a crucial role in modelling respectful communication and supporting their teams in navigating sensitive subjects.* Promoting Gender Equity: Societal norms and perceived expectations can influence career choices and work-life balance, especially for young people who are beginning their journey in the world of work. Encouraging children to engage in diverse play experiences, challenging gender stereotypes, and fostering equitable domestic roles emerged as actionable steps. Promoting a culture of shared responsibilities both at home and in the workplace contributes to more balanced and inclusive environments.* Supporting employees in different roles: Whether it is understanding the stresses of remote working, making a risk assessment for an assignee travelling to a difficult location, creating a more inclusive workplace, or trying to understand the “lived experience” of colleagues, providing support is a vital part of the role of a leader, particularly when leading an international team.

View Think Global Women’s

80 Outstanding Global Women page

Find out more about the Think Global People and Think Women community and events.

Subscribe to Relocate Extra, our monthly newsletter, to get all the latest international assignments and global mobility news.Relocate’s new Global Mobility Toolkit provides free information, practical advice and support for HR, global mobility managers and global teams operating overseas.

©2025 Re:locate magazine, published by Profile Locations, Spray Hill, Hastings Road, Lamberhurst, Kent TN3 8JB. All rights reserved. This publication (or any part thereof) may not be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of Profile Locations. Profile Locations accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein.