Women’s History Month 2024: celebrating women with Liz Earle MBE

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Are you getting the care you need to thrive professionally and personally? On Tuesday, March 12th, Robert Half’s Global Women’s Employee Network (GWEN) group hosted a live discussion with British icon Liz Earle MBE to celebrate Women’s History Month 2024.

Liz is the CEO and founder of Liz Earle Wellbeing and is also a speaker, bestselling author, and broadcaster. She started her career on ITV’s This Morning in 1989 and launched her natural, cruelty-free beauty range in 1995. After selling her beauty business, Liz established the Liz Earle Wellbeing brand to share her decades of expertise in holistic health via her podcast, website, and bi-monthly magazine.

Here are four essential takeaways from our discussion with Liz, including small acts of self-care that can improve women’s wellness and why businesses can’t afford to lose older women.

Decades of being expected to relegate themselves to the bottom of their to-do lists have left many women struggling to prioritise self-care in their daily routines. However, releasing these unhelpful beliefs could unlock better business and personal outcomes.

“I think the first thing to understand is that you are your best business asset,” says Liz. “I think you really do have to prioritise yourself. Self-care is not selfish.”

Small everyday things, like getting a good night’s rest, drinking rock salt in water to boost electrolytes, a short blast of cold water in the shower, and gratitude journaling could help promote better wellness.

Studies show that menopausal symptoms and lack of health and wellbeing support are driving older women from the workforce. To retain this valuable legacy talent, employers can provide meaningful support via healthcare facilities with adequate menopause and women’s health qualifications.

"I would urge employers — if they really want to look after their female workforce in later life — to consider having a properly qualified doctor available for women to go and see because, unfortunately, the NHS provision is often not enough," says Liz.

A business without a diverse workforce is little more than an echo chamber — certainly not the best environment for growth or innovation. As the leader of an intergenerational team, Liz is quick to point out the myriad benefits.

“You really need to bring those different voices in because — especially if you're a company that's working with people — whether you're selling a product or providing a service, your audience is diverse and is huge. You're really selling yourself short if you don't include all those different voices.”

Half of adults in England over the age of 50 have experienced age discrimination in the last year, with 37% of those people explicitly experiencing it in the workplace. Liz believes the marginalisation of older women in the workplace comes down to unhelpful stereotypes that can be broken with better representation at a higher level.

“I think we need to get better role models and get rid of the grey-haired, incompetent, incontinent, decrepit stereotypes and celebrate the strong women who are extraordinary contributors who have achieved so much — not only in careers and family life but often just holding so much together,” says Liz.

You can find more insights on women’s health and wellbeing at Liz Earle Wellbeing. Liz’s book A Better Second Half is available to pre-order and is slated for release on 25th April. For more information on building and supporting a multi-generational workforce, visit the Robert Half advice blog today.

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