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About the book
A lawyer, a sociologist, a geographer and a veterinarian walk into a bar…’. Sounds like the start of a joke, but it was actually the start of a fruitful collaboration.
Together we wrote what we hope will be a transformative handbook to tackle the common challenges faced by women in the workplace. We aim our book both at the women themselves and, importantly, their allies. We explore themes such as health, bias, conflict, humour, language, guilt and leadership with wit and wisdom. We feature extensive research, insights, interviews, actionable advice and thought-provoking reflections.
SOS will have you laughing as it empowers you to be the architect and advocate for change in your professional environment
A lawyer, a sociologist, a geographer and a veterinarian walk into a bar…’. Sounds like the start of a joke, but it was actually the start of a fruitful collaboration.
Together we wrote what we hope will be a transformative handbook to tackle the common challenges faced by women in the workplace. We aim our book both at the women themselves and, importantly, their allies. We explore themes such as health, bias, conflict, humour, language, guilt and leadership with wit and wisdom. We feature extensive research, insights, interviews, actionable advice and thought-provoking reflections.
SOS will have you laughing as it empowers you to be the architect and advocate for change in your professional environment.
"THIS IS A MUST READ BOOK FOR WOMEN AND FOR MEN!"
An amazing book written with wit and humor and filled with inspiration, insights and solutions as to what it takes to be a woman at work.
Prof George A. Kohlrieser
Hostage negotiator, distinguished Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behaviour at IMD Business School in Switzerland and author of “Care to Dare” and "Hostage at the Table"
THE SOS FRAMEWORK
We identify the hurdles and barriers for women to advance their careers, but also ways to address them; many of us have no problem identifying our pitfalls but knowing how to change our ways is infinitely harder. We frame solutions using our SOS framework: (1) Self: what can you do yourself, (2) Others: how can others help you and how can you help others, and (3) System: how the system and the (unwritten) rules should change.
Image by Peruvian political cartoonist Carlín
Women at Work
our story
CEO, entrepreneur, board member, intern, ex-colleague, friend, complete stranger, sister; four women, aged 27 to 53 (with a total of 8 children, aged 0 to 25 years), each with our own stories, strengths, weaknesses and fears. We are as diverse as our professions; introvert, extrovert, sweet, edgy, empathic, driven, chaotic, precise, creative, all present in different quantities in each of us. Each with different experiences in our working lives, ranging from soaring success to ‘flat-on-your-face’ failure, and everything in between.
Although our list of professions does not include ‘organisational psychologist’, ‘writer’ or ‘editor’ we decided to overcome our own imposter syndrome 6 and write down what we learned from our (undoubtedly flawed and incomplete) experience, our research, our interviews with global role models, our focus groups, and our lively discussions, on common workplace challenges regarding diversity and inequality.
Our perspective is that of women, but many, if not all, of these topics touch to the rest of the population as well. If our book helps you address even one small part of one obstacle or help you improve, we will have achieved what we set out to do. Hopefully all the tiny incremental changes will eventually contribute to a shift in our work culture to reflect a more diverse, balanced, happier and more productive workforce.
Image by Tony Ruth.
Addressing Imbalance – 2019 Design in Tech Report
CEO, entrepreneur, board member, intern, ex-colleague, friend, complete stranger, sister; four women, aged 27 to 53 (with a total of 8 children, aged 0 to 25 years), each with our own stories, strengths, weaknesses and fears. We are as diverse as our professions; introvert, extrovert, sweet, edgy, empathic, driven, chaotic, precise, creative, all present in different quantities in each of us. Each with different experiences in our working lives, ranging from soaring success to ‘flat-on-your-face’ failure, and everything in between.
Although our list of professions does not include ‘organisational psychologist’, ‘writer’ or ‘editor’ we decided to overcome our own imposter syndrome 6 and write down what we learned from our (undoubtedly flawed and incomplete) experience, our research, our interviews with global role models, our focus groups, and our lively discussions, on common workplace challenges regarding diversity and inequality.
Our perspective is that of women, but many, if not all, of these topics touch to the rest of the population as well. If our book helps you address even one small part of one obstacle or help you improve, we will have achieved what we set out to do. Hopefully all the tiny incremental changes will eventually contribute to a shift in our work culture to reflect a more diverse, balanced, happier and more productive workforce.
Image by Tony Ruth.
Addressing Imbalance – 2019 Design in Tech Report
SNEAK PREVIEW
Welcome to a sneak preview of a few paragraphs from a random selection of our chapters. We hope you enjoy and get curious to read our entire book!
01
conflict
Chapter
Conflict
Trying to define the term conflict amongst the authors created some… friction. Some of us were initially very averse to the whole concept of conflict and its proposed use as a tool for improvement.
Chapter
Vulnerability
Let’s call the beast by its name, vulnerability can be synonymous with weakness; you are showing an
unprotected chink your shiny armour, potentially giving your enemy the chance to mortally wound you. Why on earth would you do that?!
02
Vulnerability
03
parenting
Chapter
parenting
The trouble starts even before little ankle biters are born. Although some women skip through pregnancy with that lovely glow that says “I’m creating the miracle of life as we speak, and I’m going to look damn fine while doing it”, others crawl through it.
“We expect women to work like they don’t have children and raise children as if they don’t work.”
Meet the
authors
Meet the
authors
Lidewij Wiersma
veterinarian
Lidewij is the penholders and voice of this book. She is a vetenarian with a penchant for collecting academic titles: she has a bachelor's degree in immunology and virology, a vetinary degree and a PhD in emerging respiratory zoonoses, and she's also a board-certified vetinary specialist in pathology. She is a serial-CEO, first of the European Board of Vetinary Specialization and now of Vetinary Continuous Education in Europe.
Chantal Korteweg
Lawyer
Chantal trained as a lawyer and therefore feels strongly about social justice. She currently works as the Director Inclusive Banking at Dutch bank ABN AMRO and initiated the Fempower Your Growth Partnership. Chantal got appointed as the Dutch Women's representative to speak at the UN General Assembly in New York in 2023 about financial inclusion for women.
Tessel van Willigen
Geographer
Tessel is an advisor on the energy transition for the municipality of Amsterdam. She has a master's degree in Human Geography and is a specialist in International Development Studies. As a connector, Tessel excels in bringing together different cultures, disciplines and points of view.
Marijn Wiersma
Sociologist
Marijn is the founder of Incredible Impact and currently works as Director of Partnership and Innovation at the 2x Collaborative. She is the co-author of "Banking for a Better World" and is an expert on diversity and financial inclusion. As a visionary, multi-linguist, and free thinker, she is creative, curious and innovative. She's lived on three continents, worked in over 35 countries and is a mother of four.
Interview quotes
to inspire you
"I have reached a level where I can pour coffee again without being afraid of confirming gender stereotypes."
Ingrid thijsen
"Women potentially make better leaders than men, as they are often more effective in producing a caring and bonding environment."
george a. kohlrieser
"Succes and failure are two sides of the same coin."
kshama fernandes
"The 'un' in unconscious bias gives people an out."
Tracy gray