Tell us about yourself, Jas
I’m Jasveer Banning and I have been with Greene King since August 15th 2022, so almost 2.5 years.
Can you tell us about your career journey so far?
For around 8 years I worked for a luxury accessories retailer, selling to affluent customers. I nailed my first Marketing role in 2016 within fashion textiles, and I moved around in similar marketing roles, working in interiors, adult education, financial services and luxury jewellery which was all under male leadership. When I landed at Greene King as Social Media Executive it was a breath of fresh air! Seeing women in leadership roles was new to me and I was eager to learn from them! Now working in the Pub Partners Internal Comms team, our division is mixed with females in senior roles. I also chair our Unity ELIG where some will say Unity is a ‘’passion project’’, but for me, it represents culture, ethnicity, allyship and equality. It is a place to create change I have longed in other employment and as a female, leading the team, it is a true privilege!
What do you love most about working for Greene King?
The people and the projects! Moving from an unhealthy work environment, coming to Greene King was a ‘’pinch me moment’’ where I was warmly welcomed and embraced as I am and talking about my culture wasn’t ignored but received with intrigued. The size of our organisation means we get to work with so many different people – from our central support staff, to our pub teams, to our pub operators and more. There is just something unique about that and we are truly lucky to have the flexibility share our 9-5 with such talented individuals.
Alongside this, chairing Unity has meant being involved in some wonderful and meaningful projects where I have had the chance to grow and develop. Not only this, but some of our campaigns and partnerships mean we always have something new and exciting to work towards, keeping each day different to the last.
What would you say to other women looking to work in your industry?
Absolutely do it! We need more women, and from ethnic backgrounds in our business to influence different types of thinking, encourage empowerment for future generations and advocate for the women in our sector. What we do today, shapes our tomorrow and I think women are key to many of the successes that are yet to come.
Why is IWD important to you?
IWD is important to me as it is a day to highlight not only my peers, but the incredible women in my life that have shown pure resilience, achieved above and beyond what was perhaps mapped out for them and it’s a day of reflection which leads to appreciation and celebration. IWD is a time to stop and look back as well as be reminded how much more awareness and work needs to happen in the world to make a true difference for all women – whatever walk of life.
The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Accelerate Action’- what does that mean to you personally?
It means, let's stop sitting on things and just get things done and bulldoze the blockers (but gracefully and respectfully with the right level of curiosity)! It means, being more brazen and asking for equality in every part of life – professional and personal. It means challenging and asking the ‘’why’’ to things like gender pay gap and roles and responsibilities in the household. It means carving the way for younger generations of girls and women, to create a sustainable and fair future. And lastly, it’s about how we continue the conversations throughout the year, not just for one day of the year.
How do you empower the women who work from you?
I always foster inclusion and do my best to ensure that the women I work around feel respected, heard, and valued. I enjoy creating a safe space where not only my female colleagues feel safe, but other genders too. It is really important to create an environment where we all feel comfortable expressing ourselves, sharing ideas without judgment and equally feel confident to talk about topics that can educate our counterparts. A safe environment can really help women can thrive, so imagine what we could do collectively!
And when it comes to Unity, I encourage our female committee members to take complete ownership of their workstreams and ideas, reiterating I am there to support and help where needed. I recognise the talent in the team, and really enjoy teasing this out and it's just wonderful to see the progress!
What can we do to reduce negative stereotypes and gender inequality?
I think both can be presented in different ways such as in jest, passive aggressively and sometimes, just through pure conscious ignorance. Some cases people simply haven’t been challenged before therefore have never had to think otherwise.
With so many different scenarios, I think to reduce negative stereotyping and gender inequality, we should be given the tools to feel confident enough to call it out in the moment or even after. Reflection can be a wonderful thing, but sometimes it is the could haves, should haves and would haves that are frustrating to experience, so if we trained our team members on how negative stereotyping and gender inequality can be presented, whether obviously or not, we can certainly start to reduce experiences of it if we know how to address it from the get go.
How do you ensure sexual equality in your own place of work?
Through conversation. I say simple things like, we all bleed the same, so why should there be inequality? Having experienced and seen sexual inequality in my previous roles, I ensure I speak up for my counterparts where I can put their names forward where opportunities come up. There is still learning and work to be done on getting better at this though!
What do you think Greene King can do more to empower women and encourage an equal working environment?
I think it’s a journey of education where we need to focus on the least engaged departments and team members. We need to understand the blockers and work in a baseline during on-boarding where line managers advocate for females entering the business, ensuring opportunities are being presented and names are being mentioned in rooms.
We need more women part of programmes which can amplify careers and empower women from all generations and backgrounds.
How can women help each other in society?
Genuinely show support and look out for one another. Whether that be positively talking about women in your network or connecting them for opportunities, connection can be a beautiful thing and you just don’t know what it could mean for someone.
Whether it be yours or their personal/professional journey, we hold the power to turn up and support women in our society in a number of ways, its just about being your authentic self and showing up for one another within your capacity.
What are your proudest achievements in your career and personal life?
It is no secret, but I am most proud of the Unity ELIG. With support, I have built a wonderful team, driven strategy, connected with so many people and held meaningful conversations and so much more, all while doing the day job as well as navigating through my thyroid cancer journey. The time I had off unwell, meant a shift in perspective and so many questions around what difference I could genuinely make. With this newfound fire in my belly, and overcoming really difficult conversations with medics, I found a new drive. I am proud of myself for my resilience, my personal and professional growth, all while staying authentic to myself and feeling all these new feelings! Going through many physical and mental challenges, when I look back at the day I joined Greene King, to now, I may be a thyroid down, but I feel full of gratitude. I am here to keep going and take others on that journey with me and I hopefully show, that we each have our own stories and journey, but hold the key to how we want to shape that and sometimes it just needs unlocking.
What advice would you give to your 15-year-old self?
That things will work out. I would say, have more fun and not be so afraid of the implications of decisions that in the grand scheme won’t really matter. I would say to always have an open mind and heart, and a good work ethic and be more confident in yourself to go get what you want. I would also say, you don’t have to follow the things expected from you and it is okay to say no. It is also okay to not have a clear path figured out for all of your life, and as cliché as it is, things will always take their own course anyway so don’t sweat things that don’t need sweating.
