AmCham holds #IamRemarkable Workshop in collaboration with Google

#IamRemarkable is a Google initiative empowering women and other underrepresented groups to celebrate their achievements in the workplace and beyond. Cultural and gender modesty norms, as well as impostor syndrome, can prevent anyone from acknowledging their remarkable attributes and expressing their achievements. The workshop was led by Selina Kiefer, Senior Key Account Manager at Google, and Momčilo Radovanović, Agency Development Manager at Google. The discussion was opened by Ivana Karanović, Vice Chair of the AmCham HR Forum. During the 90-minute workshop, participants were able to learn about the importance of self-promotion in their personal and professional life.

The #IamRemarkable initiative has two main goals. The first is to improve the motivation and skills of women and underrepresented groups for self-promotion, as well as to encourage them to show their self-confidence and abilities. The second goal is to build a perspective on self-promotion and to emphasize that it is important to talk about your achievements. Accomplishments do not speak for themselves, and this is why it is very important for us to point them out.

Participants, representatives of AmCham member companies, had the opportunity to speak openly about their achievements and barriers to success. Workshop moderators encouraged the discussion with interesting questions, so that everyone present could express their views.

Marginalized groups are limited in possibilities, which is why the workshop is available for everyone who has ever belonged to an underrepresented group, as well as to those who want to improve the status of those groups. Encouraging yourself and others is the key to success, the moderators pointed out.

Race, gender, sexual orientation, age, language, ability, and other identity-based stereotypes can impact our perception about a person’s competence and ability. This leads to implicit biases we may not even be aware of. That is why it is crucial to work on removing these stereotypes and discuss our achievements, as well as to praise the achievements of others, regardless of their characteristics.

Diversity has an impact on business, as demonstrated by percentages cited at today’s workshop. Companies that respect diversity perform about 53% better than companies without women on their boards, and firms with racially or ethnically diverse business teams achieve 35% greater financial returns.