The Butterfly Effect

#BeTheButterfly

International Women’s Day is exactly what it says it is. A day. But the issues it highlights exist every day. If every positive action we took on a single day was multiplied across the other 364, think how much more of an impact we could have. We don’t need to make huge life changes. Simply thinking about the language we use, offering support to a co-worker, or a simple act of solidarity towards a woman or girl in their daily lives are small acts that can have a big impact in ways we might not even realise. The Butterfly Effect shows the compounding impact of small changes.

We can all #BeTheButterfly

We have commissioned 12 diverse women to bring to life the Butterfly Effect actions through these animated illustrations

Select an action
Challenge gender roles at work
Support women-owned businesses
Be a mentor to a woman or girl — or both
Call trans women... women
If you see a woman trying to get her voice heard in a meeting, ask her opinion
Don’t talk about working mothers, talk about working parents
Call women’s sport... sport
Read books to children — and try swapping the genders
Go to watch films directed by women
Gender balance your bookshelves. How much of what you read, watch or play was made by women?
Don't call grown women 'girls'
Paternity leave. Encourage it. Normalize it

Working toward gender balance at Deloitte

At Deloitte, we are striving to achieve gender balance across the organisation. We have set aspirational goals for all Deloitte firms and have developed consistent initiatives spanning the entire career lifecycle—from recruitment, promotion and succession processes to mentoring, sponsorship and agile working. Deloitte firm CEOs have committed to deliver on these initiatives and report progress to the Deloitte Global CEO, Deloitte Global Executive and Deloitte Global Board of Directors on a regular basis.

The Butterfly Effect

In the 1960s, scientist Edward Lorenz began exploring the phenomenon we now know as the “butterfly effect” after discovering that an event as simple as the flutter of a butterfly wing has the potential to create a storm on the other side of the world.

Sometimes the biggest things start small. One seemingly small action can lead to significant and lasting change—this is the Butterfly Effect. And often when you trace back to the origins of a Butterfly Effect moment, you’ll find a pattern of personal connections empowering us to do the extraordinary.