International Career Advice

Cold emailing got my candidate a ₹9 LPA job offer. Yes, the same “cold emailing” that people love to call dead. The thing is, it only feels dead because most people do it the wrong way. Let me explain what actually works. 👇 One of my students didn’t come from a top college. No fancy referrals. No previous experience. But she had skills. And more importantly, she was willing to show up. So instead of applying to portals and praying for a callback, she did this: ✅ Identified 10 companies she genuinely wanted to work at ✅ Found the right people (hiring managers, founders, and team leads) ✅ Wrote personalized emails (no copy-paste templates, please). ✅ Attached a 2-slide pitch of what she could help with (not a long resume dump) ✅ Followed up 3-4 times One of those cold emails turned into a conversation. That conversation turned into a test task. And 7 days later… she got the job. So, if you're wondering what that email looked like, here's the structure: “Subject: Quick help with your IG growth strategy Hi [Name], I recently came across your [brand/project] and was impressed with the content, especially your campaign on [XYZ]. I’m a marketing student, and I’ve helped 2 other small brands improve their IG reach with reels and creator collabs. I noticed your current strategy misses a few high-engagement formats. Would love to share a few ideas. Here’s a 2-minute video I made with suggestions: [Link] If you find it useful, I'd love to intern with you and support your team. Best, xyz” Cold emailing still works. But not if you're sending the same “Hi, I’m looking for opportunities” to 100 people. Make it warm and specific. #Coldemail #jobsearch #interviewcoach

Would you believe me if I told you that around half of the women in your team are reluctant to raise problems, concerned that this will impact their leader's perception of them? Our Three Barriers research found that women are very cautious about raising issues, negativity or even raising concerns due to the belief that this can cause repercussions for their career progression. In my line of work and research, I am very aware of the gendered expectations and behaviours that women will adopt within a workplace and how there is a narrow acceptable operating range of behaviours available to women. Too assertive and you're aggressive. Too warm and you're not decisive enough. Too confident and you're arrogant. But nearly half of women actually withholding issues in their role due to these fears, that's startling. What can organisations do? 🔶 You can create a a culture of psychological safety to enable employees to speak up. Leaders role modelling vulnerability themselves, and responding positively when others display vulnerability, helps to show that it is safe. 🔶 You can encourage allyship so that issues raised are supported by others. Equip employees at all levels to demonstrate allyship. 🔶 You can counteract gender biases by changing processes and systems. Audit your talent procesess, frameworks and cycles for biases and stereotypes and counteract them. This will also helo to nudge behavioural change at scale. #EDI #GenderEquity #ThreeBarriers

Working as a National Consultant on Support to Private Sector Partners in Implementing Women's Economic Empowerment Initiatives, I often hear questions from businesses, where to start getting to know Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), where to see case studies, best practices for implementation, etc.? Therefore, I made such a selection of resources to explore #WEPs in more detail: 🌐 Official Resources 🔗 UN Women’s Empowerment Principles Website >> https://www.weps.org ↳ The official site for WEPs provides comprehensive resources, including guides for businesses, case studies, events, and tools for signing and implementing the principles. 🔗 WEPs Gender Gap Analysis Tool >> https://lnkd.in/eUAaeSE9 ↳ A self-assessment tool to help companies evaluate their performance on gender equality across the workplace, marketplace, and community. 🌐 Implementation Guides 🔗 Empowering Women in the Workplace: Business Case and Action Steps >> https://lnkd.in/etTc_hTe ↳ Offers examples of how companies can use WEPs to promote equality and improve business outcomes. 🔗 United Nations Global Compact: Gender Equality Guidance >> https://lnkd.in/eqBeARF9 ↳ Detailed guidance on integrating WEPs into existing sustainability and corporate social responsibility programs. 🔗 Guide to the training course on implementing the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) >> https://surl.li/gmcmzw ↳ The guide by Ukraine Investment & Trade Facilitation Center (ITFC) to achieve gender equality and support women's economic empowerment during full-scale war in Ukraine and post-war recovery for private sector representatives. 🌐 Reports 🔗 WEPs Tool 2024 Trends Report: Advancing Gender Equality Amidst Global Challenges >> https://lnkd.in/e2BwG4tF ↳ This report presents findings from the WEPs Gender Gap Analysis Tool, highlighting trends and opportunities for advancing gender equality in the workplace, marketplace, and community. 🔗 Women’s Empowerment Principles: A Snapshot of 350 Companies in the G7 >> https://surl.li/jutpcz ↳ This report provides an overview of how companies in the G7 are implementing the WEPs, offering insights into best practices and areas for improvement. 🌐 Academic and Advocacy Resources 🔗 International Labour Organization and UN Women Collaboration on Gender Equality >> https://www.ilo.org ↳ Resources exploring synergies between WEPs and other international frameworks for gender equality at work. 🔗 Catalyst Inc. Resources on Women in Leadership >> https://www.catalyst.org ↳ Practical tools and research that complement the principles of WEPs. 🌐 Workshops and Webinars 🔗 WEPs Learning Sessions >> https://lnkd.in/eYzmGpSf ↳ Many WEPs events and training sessions are hosted by UN Women and partners. #GenderEquality #WomensEmpowerment #WomenInBusiness

🚨 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 & 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬! 🌍👩🌾📚 I recently came across this Gender Analysis, Assessment, and Audit Manual & Toolkit developed by ACDI/VOCA — and it’s a goldmine for anyone working on gender integration across development programming. 🔍 Whether you’re leading a gender analysis, assessing program impact, or conducting an organizational gender audit, this toolkit offers clear frameworks, practical steps, and participatory tools that make your work more structured, impactful, and inclusive. 💡 Key takeaways:  ✅ It breaks down the differences between gender analysis, assessments, and audits (finally, some clarity!). ✅ It emphasizes participation, reflexivity, and action — gender studies are not a tick-box, but a path toward better programming. ✅ It’s packed with ready-to-use tools like activity clocks, value chain questionnaires, and scorecards. ✅ It recognizes the importance of internal change — including organizational culture, not just technical programming. As someone who navigates the practical and political layers of gender mainstreaming, I really appreciate the structured approach, emphasis on context, and actionable outputs. This is especially useful for project teams, consultants, and M&E staff trying to move from intentions to systems change. Curious if others have used this toolkit or similar ones — what’s your go-to resource when you start a gender analysis or audit? #GenderEquality #Development #ToolkitsThatWork #GenderAnalysis #MonitoringAndEvaluation #InclusiveDevelopment #WomensEmpowerment #GenderAudit #ACDIVOCA

The pursuit of gender equality and the empowerment of women lies at the heart of global development agendas. Within this context, the role of gender-responsive evaluations has become increasingly pivotal, serving as a critical tool for advancing these goals. The UN Women Gender-Responsive Evaluation Handbook emerges as an essential resource designed to guide practitioners through the intricacies of conducting evaluations that are not only thorough and methodologically sound but also attuned to the nuanced realities of gender dynamics. This handbook is meticulously crafted to support UN Women staff, international development professionals, and evaluators in their efforts to ensure that evaluations are aligned with the principles of gender equality and human rights. It provides comprehensive guidance on managing evaluations that address the distinct needs and challenges faced by women and men, ensuring that the voices of all stakeholders, particularly those of marginalized groups, are heard and considered. Building on the foundational frameworks such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Platform for Action, this handbook integrates these principles into every stage of the evaluation process. From planning and preparation to data collection, reporting, and utilization, the handbook offers practical tools and methodologies to ensure that evaluations are conducted with the highest standards of quality, independence, and impartiality. For professionals dedicated to promoting gender equality, this handbook is not just a guide, it is an invaluable tool that bridges the gap between policy and practice, enabling the translation of gender equality commitments into actionable and measurable outcomes. As the global community continues to strive toward sustainable development, gender-responsive evaluations will play a crucial role in shaping policies and programs that truly reflect the diverse needs of women and men worldwide.

“You’re aggressive, it’s unattractive in a woman”, “You smile too much, it makes you look stupid”, and my personal favourite, “to be successful in Australia, you’ll need to tone it down by about 50%, no one thinks you’re real”. All real and well meaning (I presume) feedback that I’ve received from Leaders over the past decade that focused on my behaviour in the workplace. A McKinsey study in ‘22 showed that women are more likely to receive coaching on interpersonal skills and workplace dynamics rather than technical or business-related skills like financial acumen or strategic planning. According to the report, this reflects a systemic bias that prioritizes “fixing” women’s behavior over building our technical expertise. So, here’s my advice on International Women’s Day; if you are a leader, ensure you are coaching your female employees on the drivers of your P+L, how to calculate ROI and strategic plan frameworks, not their “executive presence”. And if you are a female looking to grow in your career, find some people you admire and ask them lots of questions about business drivers, the current challenges the company is facing and where opportunities lie for future growth. And, ignore any behavioural feedback that suggests you should be anything less than who you are.

#𝗜𝗪𝗗𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱: 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼—𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿. To mark International Women's Day, I was proud to celebrate the incredible work of our teams in driving real change for women and girls worldwide.  From keeping girls in school to boosting women’s workforce participation, the impact is real. Kudos to the teams for their incredible work in unlocking economic opportunities, strengthening policies, and ensuring women and girls thrive. Here are some groundbreaking research and analysis that have shaped policies and created new pathways for women and girls’ economic empowerment: 🔹 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗢𝗳𝗳:    The Pathways to Prosperity for Adolescent Girls in Africa Report (http://wrld.bg/SCc950VcOkZ) highlights that every $1 invested in girls’ education, health, and economic opportunities could generate more than a tenfold return in economic impact, with potential gains of $2.4 trillion. [🎞️Watch the video: https://lnkd.in/eq6ZD5Gr ] 🔹 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲:  The Azerbaijan Women’s Human Capital (http://wrld.bg/hopj50VcOt8) Initiative led to 674 job restrictions being removed, the lifting of the night work ban, and historic female hires—including Azerbaijan’s first female train operators and a commitment from the Port of Baku to boost female employment from 8% to 20%. 🔹 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿: The Equal Aqua Platform (http://wrld.bg/nO8B50VcOuk) is transforming gender representation in water jobs, increasing female engineers by 26% and women managers by 21%. In Cambodia and Peru, the number of female engineers has doubled, proving that inclusion drives innovation. 🔹 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻: The Care Economy Engagement in Indonesia (http://wrld.bg/Oc1y50VcOv3) is designing childcare and parental leave reforms to promote women’s workforce participation. With a new government partnership, this initiative is shaping long-term policies to support millions of women and families.  This knowledge work and engagements are providing countries with scalable solutions to unlock women and girls’ economic opportunities and are already making a difference. Let’s continue building a better future for all!  #InternationalWomensDay Mamta Murthi, Hana Brixi, Nathalie Akon, The World Bank

Just after International Women's Day, the March Research Insights from The World Bank's World Bank Development Economics focus on more and better jobs for women. They highlight four recent research papers: 👩🏫 Megan Lang and Julia Seither find that a skills-based program in rural Uganda, which focused on business planning, record-keeping, and soft skills, increased women's likelihood of generating income from their own businesses by 17% after 18 months, helping them reinvest in their enterprises and maintain stable revenues during the COVID-19 lockdown. 💡 These findings highlight skills-based programs as an effective strategy for enhancing women’s economic participation and ability to withstand financial shocks. https://lnkd.in/g3Gyixmd 👷♀️ Florencia Devoto, Emanuela Galasso, Kathleen Beegle, and Dr. Stefanie Brodmann show that a public works program in urban Djibouti, designed to facilitate women's access to employment through job proximity, high wages, and flexible work arrangements, achieved a 77% take-up rate among eligible women but did not lead to sustained employment after the program ended. 📌 This underscores the need for policies that extend beyond short-term employment by expanding access to sustained job opportunities, addressing structural labor market constraints, and creating an enabling environment for women’s workforce participation. https://lnkd.in/gCXRNizF 🏠 Ivette Contreras, Lelys Dinarte, Amparo Palacios Lopez, Valentina Costa, and Steffanny Romero Esteban find that a survey experiment in El Salvador found that including a module with a list of activities in household surveys increased reported employment for women by 8.1 percentage points, as it helped them identify informal activities like preparing food or helping in a family-owned business as work, which are often underestimated in standard surveys. 📍 In low- and middle-income countries, where informal work is prevalent and employment gaps between women and men are significant, refining labor data collection is essential to designing and targeting interventions that help women and youth access better job opportunities.  https://lnkd.in/gtxJEDET 🕌 Federico Fiuratti, Steven Pennings, and Jesica Torres estimate that gender employment gaps in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) could significantly boost GDP per capita, with long-term gains averaging 50% across the region, though these gains vary widely by country and are expected to be smaller in the medium term due to slow physical capital adjustment. 🧷 This underscores the importance of reforms to facilitate female employment to accelerate economic growth in MENA, particularly in countries with the largest gender gaps. https://lnkd.in/gA5wYYER The Research Insights are available here: https://lnkd.in/geXYnXEZ

🌍 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 📊 The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Methods Note on 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬’ 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 — a powerful guide that brings clarity and rigor to one of the most complex and vital areas in development. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬: ✅ A practical framework for integrating empowerment into program design ✅ Sector-specific indicators across health, agriculture, WASH, and financial inclusion ✅ Guidance on mixed-methods, participatory approaches, and ethical considerations ✅ Tools to capture agency, institutional structures, and access to resources Whether you're designing programs, evaluating impact, or shaping policy, this note provides the tools to ensure that empowerment is not just a buzzword — but a measurable, meaningful outcome. 📘 𝐀 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞. 🔗 [https://lnkd.in/d2Vvtg2M] #GenderEquality #Empowerment #MonitoringAndEvaluation #WomensRights #DevelopmentImpact #BMGF #DataForDevelopment