Our collective journey led us to a book that seeks to highlight women’s quest for authenticity in the workplace. Most times, many of us struggle to show who we truly are at work. This includes just being honest about our expectations and current circumstances that have an effect on how we show up and perform in our work. We also find it hard to live out our values, our faith and ideologies in the open – for when we do, we risk being ostracised.

It is against this background that we went out talking to women, seeking to hear from them about their own experiences of authenticity in the workplace. Whilst our interest was to learn about what authenticity meant to them and to show a human face to women’s experiences in the context of work, we got more than what we bargained for. Instead, what we heard of is the pain and a quest of women to be seen beyond their colour and gender; a quest for women to be recognized for who they are and the value they bring to work; and an invitation to us all to stop the pressure we place upon women to ‘fit in – to’ an agenda that is not theirs.

This story book was not intended as academic research. It is simply a platform – one we sincerely hope will inspire us, not only to speak but also find collective ways of ensuring that women are able to bring their true selves to work and be recognized for who they are and what they bring. It is based on our firm belief as an organization that we can only excel in what we do when we have the confidence of showing up as we truly are.