Celebrating International Women's Day
Hi, I’m Liza, People & Culture Director at Montezuma’s! As International Women’s Day is approaching, I wanted to say a few words about our extraordinary workforce.
I am so proud to work for a business who is truly equal on all levels, we work hard to recruit the right people for the right job at Montezuma’s and have fairness and equality at the heart of everything we do.
Gender shouldn’t be a factor whether a person can be a great leader, leadership should depend on having the right leadership behaviours that you want for your business. I have been part of the Montezuma’s family for 12 years and one of the reasons I have stayed for so long is that I was able to have a senior role and be part-time, Montezuma’s enabled me to grow with my family and have a work/life balance. As my children grew older I could give more hours to the business without ever missing out on those special moments with my boys when they were little.
Our current workforce is 68% female and our executive leadership team is 66% female, I would say that is pretty darn close for woman being fairly represented at a senior level. I believe in order to achieve a high-performing and happy workplace you need to have balance!
Here's a few testimonials from some of the wonderful women in our Montezuma’s family (and here's a link to our Careers page if you want to join them).
Gibbsy - Head Of Sales
“I’m so proud to work for Montezuma’s! It’s a brilliant organisation, championing amazing chocolate, but also amazing ways of working, such as our Montezuma’s values, and changing of all our packaging to become recyclable, compostable or bio-degradable.
Being newly promoted into the Head of Sales role is a truly exciting time, and I’m so looking forward to new challenges this year and beyond. Montezuma’s is refreshing to work for in so many ways.
As a woman and a fiercely proud member of the LGBT community, I feel honoured to be part of an organisation that takes such a genuine approach to diversity. I can be my true self at Montezuma’s, and whilst in my career I’ve been extremely fortunate to work for some really leading companies, it’s now even bigger step forwards for me to be part of a balanced leadership group. Gender shouldn’t matter on any level across any organisation. However, I have worked in situations where the leadership structure has not felt balanced, or only included a small minority of female or transgender individuals. It’s a pleasure to work here. All voices, opinions and feedback count, regardless of gender, job title or any other element of diversity.
Montezuma’s doesn’t just embrace diversity, it embraces and embodies inclusion.”
Debbie - Marketing Director
Before joining Montezuma’s, I had assumed that it would be just like many of the other places I’ve worked, male dominated and somewhat patriarchal. However, with four out of the six Exec Team being women it is the first time I feel that issues can be fully discussed with an openness and honesty and the resulting positive impact on the team and culture of the business is immeasurable.
As a working mum, it’s always been a challenge trying to balance the demands of work and the desire to be a great parent. Helen, one of our co-founders, effectively had her children at Montezuma’s which has created a wonderful working environment where the blend of work and homelife can be blurred. Childcare issues are not considered an annoyance but simply part of the day to day routine, and we celebrate the ups and commiserate the downs of our children openly.
I feel so fortunate to work in a company where gender is not a consideration, it is all about the individual and what value they bring.