In a year of many wins for us here at Stretchline, it’s important for us to celebrate our people and their successes. This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating Ramona Jayamanne – head of our all-female Business Development Team. The department have been expanding business with existing customers, developing new contacts and managing external development and research partners. All under the pressures of a global pandemic.

After a career in the travel and tourism industry, at 23 Ramona joined the Stretchline team. Since then, she has handled some of our biggest accounts and new business wins. Here are her key takeaways from the journey so far.

1) Find your confidence

Handling accounts of such a high calibre and dealing directly with the brand at a young age has helped mould me into a driven and confident person in the workplace. It taught me to always be thorough and consistent and strive to improve the quality of my work as I grow. Believing in the best version of yourself and stepping out of your comfort zone from time-to-time will equip you with the skills to scale the corporate ladder at speed!

2) Representation in Senior Management is key

Very few women are able to get into their preferred careers/positions due to limited opportunities. For most, they don’t feel represented in higher level positions. This lack of representation and what can be seen as unequal opportunities whilst scaling up the ladder can be a real deterrent to women progressing in the workplace.

3) Learn to lift others up

Being the lead of a team of skilled communicators means that I have learned the value of advocating for one another. Openness and humility means that, together, we can support each other whilst breaking the glass ceiling. Being an all-female team within our industry is a rarity, it’s a strength that we are learning to harness.

4) Growth and acceptance

Consistency will always lend itself to improving how you work and the overall standard of your output. Don’t be deterred by small mistakes, learn to accept them as indicators of growth and push yourself to find successes outside of your comfort zone. Belief in growth and confidence to continuously look forward will aid in helping you to scale up.