“As a female CEO in a workforce where we're still a minority, I understand the importance of visibility. By being visible on this adventure, I aim to show other women that it is possible to bootstrap your own business. It is possible to set out on your own adventure, even amidst all the noise saying otherwise.”
- Dani Pearce, Founder & CEO
A Reflection From Dani
This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is ‘Inspire Inclusion’. In celebration of this theme, I want to share the ways in which we strive to create a workplace where women in our team and community are included, nurtured, supported, and empowered.
But, before I share how we do this at Merry People, I’m eager to first talk about what International Women’s Day, and inspiring inclusion, means to me.
If we turn back the clock ten years, you’ll find that the story of Merry People is an unconventional one! I started this business by myself, bootstrapping every step of the way. I grew Merry People from just me setting up stalls on my own at markets across Victoria. Fast forward to now, as CEO of a global gumboot brand with over fifteen full-time employees.
Looking back now, I can see that I drew a lot of strength and inspiration from my mother's journey. She emigrated from India to Australia in the early '80s, forging a new life in a predominantly Caucasian society. Her entrepreneurial spirit and resilience serve as my guiding light, showing me what it means to carve your own path despite cultural differences.
As I’ve grown this business, and grown as a leader, I've come to realise that to inspire inclusion, one must first see it in action. Just like taking inspiration from my mum’s story, I am motivated to share mine in the hopes that other women can see what is possible.
As a female CEO in a workforce where we're still a minority (less than 20% - WGEA, 2021), I understand the importance of visibility. By being visible on this adventure, I aim to show other women that it is possible to bootstrap your own business. It is possible to set out on your own adventure, even amidst all the noise saying otherwise. Rain or shine, we set out to find joy and adventure.
This is what Merry People is all about.
Finding what makes you happy, what makes you feel alive (regardless of what is the ‘norm’, or what the statistics say).
And I’m so proud that my choice to chase merriness has allowed me to build a business where women are included, nurtured, and are important, decision-making voices within the company.
So, without further ado, here are just a few ways in which we inspire inclusion for the women in our team, our community, and our world.
For Women In Our Team
While women make up half of the workforce in Australia (51% according to WGEA 2021), they are underrepresented in leadership roles across almost all industries. But at Merry People, our leadership team is 60% women.
I believe this is a result of my intention on building a business that supports women to grow into leadership roles. And in this way, our leadership team is reflective of our workplace, made up of both women and men who are skilled, driven and inspired by the vision of making the world a merrier place.
For Working Mums And Parents
Created to help our team be supported at whatever stage of the family planning journey they are in, our parental leave policy is close to my heart, particularly since I became a mum to Jack in 2021, and Georgia just last year. Our policy is unique in that it covers multiple stages of family planning; from having, or adopting, a child, to keeping in touch days, to coming back to work following your parental leave.
For Women In Our Merry Community
At the heart of our Merry Community are people who joyfully explore the world, gumboots on (that's you!). Recognising that a significant portion of our community is women, we work to celebrate and uplift women who are driving positive change in their fields, and share their stories.
This is why in 2023, we partnered with two remarkable Australian women, our Merry People Ambassadors; endurance athlete and motivational speaker Samantha Gash, and Olympic snowboarder Belle Brockhoff.
We partner with Sam and Belle to amplify their voices and showcase their achievements by sharing stories and behind-the-scenes glimpses of their journeys, and in turn, inspire you — our Merry Community.
For Women In Our World
Bridge It is a nonprofit organisation based in Melbourne dedicated to transforming lives, and to ending youth homelessness. We financially support their Cocoon Residential program, which provides young people exiting out-of-home care with a home, community, and support to thrive.
Their programs offer homes and support for individuals aged 17 to 21, helping them stabilise, learn independent living skills, and transition positively into adulthood over 12 months. Make sure to watch this space this year, we’ve got something very exciting planned (I encourage you to join our mailing list to find out when we share more)!
Thank You For Joining Us On This Journey
You choosing Merry People means that we can make a positive impact in our workplace, our community and our world. Your encouragement, love and support mean the world to me, and my team.
On a fun and final note, with purple being one of the main colours used to celebrate International Women’s Day around the world, in true merry spirit, if you have a pair of our Grape or Lavender Bobbi Boots, today is the day to pop them on!
As always, if you have any questions, feedback or anything you’d like to share with me from this blog post, you can drop me an email at support@merrypeople.com. I'd love to hear from you.
- Dani, Founder & CEO of Merry People
