To raise awareness of women in the workplace and in honour of International Women’s Day on 8 March, HR Magazine will be running a series of features showcasing female leaders in the world of HR. We spoke to Natasha Doctor, Head of People, Deliveroo Singapore, to find out about her journey as a woman in the male-dominated tech and food delivery space and how Deliveroo is breaking down gender barriers through their DEI initiatives.
Since joining Deliveroo last year as Head of People for Singapore, Doctor’s goal has been to support the company’s HR agenda with purpose and passion. Doctor started her career in financial services before moving into an HRBP role in the FMCG industry, as Doctor notes, “I was often the only woman in the room. It was intimidating at first, but I was fortunate to have been in an inclusive environment with supportive colleagues who made me feel comfortable. What I have learnt from that experience is that it is critical for women to not be afraid to speak up, to ask questions and have confidence in their ability to add value.”
Enabling opportunities
Natasha Doctor, Head of People, Deliveroo Singapore
In order to promote greater inclusivity amongst female team members, Doctor leads meaningful change through the company’s DEI initiatives. One such initiative is the global Gender Equality Committee, which partnered with the UK rider engagement team and a charity called BelEve to launch a mentorship scheme aimed at young women including children and young relatives of the business’ UK fleet. “It is important to break stereotypes associated with riders being male. This can be addressed by conducting outreach programs to connect with women riders, understanding their challenges and breaking barriers to entry. The key to success is to create a supportive ecosystem that creates equal opportunities for women,” said Doctor.
Deliveroo certainly seems to be enabling opportunities for women as over 50% of the Singapore division’s leadership team is women-led and 57% of the company’s workforce is comprised of women. Doctor is at the forefront of enabling the company to improve its DEI positioning through technological adoption. “It is about striking the right balance between having the right technology and bringing a human-centric approach to DEI. As technology adoption increases, organisations will need to shift focus to using the available data in a meaningful way to guide the implementation of DEI strategies.
DEI is a key part of our culture, it is who we are and that is why we go to great lengths to ensure we maintain a fair and meritocratic system. One of the initiatives that we have in place to create a supportive and inclusive culture for women is by offering female employees up to 52 weeks of enhanced maternity leave, of which 16 weeks are paid in line with statutory requirements. Additionally, a flexible working policy also supports women to have a positive work-life balance. The company also has a global, mandatory unconscious bias and anti-bias training to help employees identify their own unconscious biases and provides them with the tools to challenge them.”
Leading meaningful change
Doctor’s resilient approach to HR is helping her organisation to build a long-term inclusive culture. Doctor took the time to encourage young women to discover their strengths and hone them. “They should focus on areas that set them apart and celebrate them, whilst simultaneously embracing their self-development with a growth mindset. Women need to be resilient and not let the fear of failure stop them from achieving their dreams. By putting themselves in situations outside their comfort zone it is an opportunity to fail, to stand back up and try again. As a female leader in the tech industry, I feel very privileged to be able to influence and lead meaningful change in driving forward DEI initiatives. I endeavour to lead by empathy and hopefully, inspire more women to pursue leadership roles.”
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
