Tag Archives: The future

On the centenary of International Women’s Day …

8 Mar

… this very short film, directed by Sam Taylor-Wood, voiced by Dame Judi Dench and starring Daniel Craig,  tells us so much about where women are in 2011.  We’ve come a long way, baby – but there’s still so far to go.

So are we tiptoeing towards quotas in the UK?

3 Jun

“Slowly, slowly, we approach the nervous foal with our hand out,  proffering a sugar lump,  or perhaps a chunk of carrot,  walking softly and gently on the balls of our feet so as not to startle him, speaking in a low, gentle, moderated voice so as not to cause him to veer up, startled and afraid”.

[As I'm sure David Attenborough never said].

But this approach is how these proposed new regulations from the Financial Reporting Council read,  when the nod towards the foal is so small as to be almost invisible – here’s the wording (my use of bold,  their use of underline):

“To encourage boards to be well balanced and avoid “group think” there are new principles on the composition and selection of the board, including the need to appoint members on merit, against objective criteria, and with due regard for the benefits of diversity, including gender diversity.”

And as Andrew Hill commented in the FT:

“it’s hard to understand why some companies feel threatened by the Financial Reporting Council’s decision to insist on annual re-election of boards and to nod, gently, towards gender diversity.”

Well, quite.

I await further media revelations as to which companies feel “threatened” and why … and what their share prices look like, too.

Women of the year, 2009

31 Dec

In no particular order,  here are my Women of the Year for 2009.

Sarah Brown: for supporting, actively, such great causes as the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood and Women’s Aid and for creating her own path in that most difficult of jobs,  wife of the Prime Minister.  And for embracing Twitter and using technology to both reflect her authentic self and to support her chosen causes with warmth and humour – all in 140 characters.

Lee Chalmers and Indra Adnan: for seizing the nettle of women in politics in general and the concepts of soft power and balanced leadership in particular,  and establishing The Downing Street Project.  May 2010 be a year in which all the three main British parties work with you to support the ideas of being the change we want to see – and we come to experience a more balanced group of representatives in the House of Commons and elsewhere in public life.

Dame Vera Lynn: for having a Number One album aged 92. Respect, sister.

Joanna Lumley: for refusing to take no for an answer, hijacking the system (and government minister Phil Woolas) and forcing a government U-turn on the issues of Gurkha soldiers having the right to remain in Britain. “Ayo Ghorkali!”

Jordana: for giving me straight hair via the miracle hair treatment that is the Brazilian Blow Out, for being the reason that I flew to LA twice in four months and for making it possible for me to refer to,  with something approaching a straight face “… my LA hairdresser …”.

Victoria Wood: for being the funniest thing on TV over Christmas,  particularly with her sublime “Lark Pies to Cranchesterford” spoof.

 

 

 

Anita Edgar: for allowing a kernel of an idea which came to her whilst on holiday in Goa in 1996 to flourish and grow into El Shaddai – a charity which, through homes, shelters and programmes now supports 3000 children in India. And Stella, manager of the children’s home Rainbow House,  who, with almost no resources other than huge quantities of patience and love, manages a team of 4 staff who in turn support and care for 50 girls aged between 8 and 13.

Jade Goody: for encouraging the tragic circumstances of her illness and subsequent death in March, aged 27, to be a springboard for women to become more aware as to the fact that cervical cancer can kill – leading to a 12% rise in the number of women aged 25-49 having cervical smear checks.

Michelle: who I met at the nail bar earlier this week whilst having a post-Christmas manicure – and who told me that Tuesday was her first day off of the “Christmas break” because she’d been working, as a residential social worker, to ensure that the ten teenaged kids who live in the local authority’s halfway house had a decent Christmas even though many of them have no friends or families. She hadn’t been scheduled to work,  but she decided to do so on Christmas Eve rather than leave the kids alone without “someone who cared for them”. Bravo to Michelle and everyone else like her who does these difficult jobs, often unseen and unthanked – and I’m glad that she managed to take some time for herself and get her nails done!

And finally – to my many girlfriends (Annette, Carolyn, Christine, Kristina, Lee, Leisa, Lisanne, Liz, Maureen, Pauline and Priya, to name but a few) and my amazing mum Sandra: who have all done so much to support me both personally and professionally during what has been the most challenging of years. You have made me laugh,  poured Sauvignon Blanc and skinny lattes into me, sent me books, magazines, articles and job listings, listened to me moan,  helped me raise money for Plan UK’s “Because I Am a Girl” campaign, invited me to events, read the blog and commented on it on-line and off and generally been the very embodiment of Fantastic Women. I love you and thank you and wish only Fabulous Things for us all in 2010.

Happy New Year!

Preparing for parental leave

8 Nov

This time last year, I was in Bangalore, India, participating in NASSCOM’s annual women in IT Leadership forum. I didn’t know it at the time, but it turned out to be the last ever business trip that I would take in my then job – so it’s particularly apt that it turned out to be both the most memorable trip of my career to date and also the most fun. I spoke on the opening panel about the business imperatives of gender diversity and also participated in Australian company emberin’s launch of their “my mentor: Challenging Indian Women to Step Up” toolkit. This is a box set of DVDs and CDs which enables women to both coach themselves and to learn from others as to the key steps and barriers which can help or hinder their career progression; here I am on the panel event where emberin founder Maureen Frank, pictured centre (and a woman so charismatic that she could found her own cult) led a roomful of 400 women in a debate around breaking the glass ceiling and crunching the pieces underfoot.

NASSCOM_panel_Nov_08

In my previous life/role, we used “my mentor” in Australia, South Africa and India and saw some amazing results amongst our women – huge increases in promotion rates, confidence levels and general happiness and life satisfaction. So I was thrilled to note that the innovative Ms Frank has taken the MM concept to another level and launched a new product, designed to support women through their parental leave. Aimed at ladies who are either pregnant or hoping to be pregnant soon, the kit, described as a “self paced one stop shop parental leave program” is a stand-alone CD, DVD and workbook kit designed for women planning to take parental leave at work.

 Key content includes:

• Before, during and after parental leave: strategies you will need to consider at work and at home in order to balance everything on your plate;
• Key advice on what to plan for, what to expect, how to negotiate, and how to communicate issues concerning parental leave;
• Practical tips, checklists, budgets and templates for busy working women about to embark on one of the biggest challenges of their careers – having a baby.

Emberin_Parental Leave kit

The program is a self-guiding, advanced short course and can be done in a day, a weekend or over a few weeks. It takes a pragmatic and practical step by step approach and helps you face challenges, keeps you motivated and makes your parental leave journey a rewarding and successful one.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of emberin’s my mentor Parental Leave program, enter their competition between now and 29th November by sending an email (of 100 words or less) detailing why you feel you need guidance on taking parental leave.

Send your entry along with your name, address and email to magic@emberin.com


The winner will be notified by email and announced on the emberin website on Wednesday, 2nd December 2009.

Good luck!

On learning to listen

19 Oct

What an interesting, if exhausting, weekend. I spent it at a venue in central London on an “Introduction to Personal Performance Coaching” course and felt, particularly at the end of the first day, as if I had, to quote me ould Irish granny, been “ridden hard and put away wet.”

(That’s a saying about horses. In case you were wondering).

Unlike, I think, about 98 of the 100 people there, I was pretty sure when I booked the course that I was unlikely to be paying for future coaching courses and so I went in with the mindset that learning more about what coaching is and how I could acquire those skills in order to be a better people manager in my next job would be a really good outcome for me. On Sunday afternoon, we were asked by the trainer if we saw ourselves having either a part-time coaching business (two thirds of the room), a full time business (most of the rest) or just using the skills: me and one other person.

So, what did I learn? Well, first of all, it was good to spend two days with a very nice and amazingly diverse group of people and to hear their stories. A lot of coaching is focussed on listening to the “client” and so, when we were having our “peer coaching” sessions, I, as the “coach” closed my mouth, opened my ears and really, truly, listened. At first, that felt, and here I’ll be brutally honest … extremely hard. But, like any other muscle, you can train it to do your bidding and so I felt that my listening skills were much improved by the end of the two days. We also had to act as “observers” to others when they were, respectively, the “coach” and the “client” and that was a great object lesson in listening, observing but also giving thoughtful and constructive feedback.

As my own life is still in something of a tsunami of thoughts, decisions, options and confusion following on from my redundancy, I found the sessions on goal setting to be really helpful, albeit they did open up quite a can of worms for me when I thought about what I’ve achieved so far and where I hope to be. The trainer-cum-coach, Ann Skidmore , was just fabulous at working with us as a group and helping us to understand so much more about the goal setting process and why people find it so hard.

We also spent time working with Pam Lidford on our beliefs and she explained to us that, when we align goals with our values, success will follow. Pam clarified all of this with a series of great exercises around the concept of moving from a comfort zone to a stretch zone to a panic zone (and back again) and helped us to recognise where we are and how we feel (familiar and cosy – or stressed and unhappy, depending!)

I was also fascinated to learn how those who wanted to set up their own coaching businesses planned to do so and I met several women who hope to, for example, coach and support other women who want to return to the workplace after a career break, or who would like some coaching help in coping with the curve ball that can be new motherhood. Others wanted to break into the corporate/executive coaching and leadership space and we had some interesting debates around the issues facing women in business. And some men and women wanted to do the youth coaching diploma and work with young people; it was wonderfully heartening to see their passion and commitment to making a difference to the lives of the next generation.

The final session was applicable to the 98% but not to the one other bloke and me who didn’t want to set up our own coaching business, as it was all about how to get going, how to get clients, what to charge and so on.

However, on the premise that nothing is ever wasted, I listened in and hence took away the suggestion that using Twitter can be a great way to connect with people and get your message out there. As I’m nothing if not a late adopter … The Gender Blog is now on Twitter and you can see a link to my “tweets” on the right of the screen. Come and find me and join in.

My tweets thus far have been about the “Girls’ Night In” charity event I’m organising for later this week; I’ll be blogging about that tomorrow and there’s also a link to my “Just Giving” page here and on the right under the “Blogroll” section.

Thank you in advance if you feel able to make a donation to support Plan International’s work for girls and women around the world.

On female spending – making a world of difference?

14 Oct

Can women be the key to moving the world forward and out of recession? Goldman Sachs’ economists seem to think so, judging by their recently published report entitled “The Power of the Purse: Gender Equality and Middle-Class Spending”.

The report reveals the enormous potential for companies in specific sectors due to the expected growth in female consumer spending in emerging markets – countries such as China, India, Russia, Vietnam, Mexico and Brazil.

Goldman Sachs, by identifying what they dub the “sweet spot”, is especially interested in the countries where the middle class is projected to rise the fastest, along with significant improvements in the status of women.

It detects significant improvements in women’s status due to changes in health care, fertility rates, education, legal protection, and political involvement, as well as a slight increase in the proportion of women working (with fewert women working in low-pay sectors in some countries).

And the report says female spending patterns in emerging markets will be similar to those in developed nations, where women are responsible for three-quarters of consumer spending on child care, food, and education.

You can download it from this link and it was referenced in the Observer a while ago, when Ruth Sunderland commented that:

“Goldman Sachs … reckons that improvements in female status and earnings potential are likely to support the development of human capital and bolster economic growth.

The interesting point in a business context is what it means for companies and investors. Improvements in gender equality in the developing world coincide with the emergence of an expanding global middle class, with annual incomes of $6,000 to $30,000, whose numbers will swell over the next two decades from 1.7 billion to 3.6 billion. Industry sectors likely to gain are food, healthcare, education, clothing and consumer durables. Financial services should also do well, since women are more likely to save than men, partly to offset their economic vulnerability.

This is a vast new market, and the companies that benefit most will be those recognising the value of these potential female customers and employees. Another argument, if one were needed, for more women on male-dominated company boards.”

Along similar lines, I’ve also just downloaded Harvard Business Review’s paper on “The Female Economy”, which, in urging companies to re-position themselves out of recession by changing their female attraction strategy, comments that:

“As a market, women represent a bigger opportunity than China and India combined. So why are companies doing such a poor job of serving them?”

Why, indeed – take note and heed, those who manufacture pink laptops and cars with special lipstick holders and the like.

Three things you can do to empower women

11 Sep

While I’ve been in California, I’ve picked up a copy of a few magazines which I don’t normally see at home, such as “More”, “Pink” and Oprah Winfrey’s “O” magazine.

I gather that Oprah in particular is lined up to be a huge supporter of Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn’s forthcoming book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide and that they’ll be appearing on her eponymous ABC show later this month to discuss their argument that the key to economic progress lies in unleashing women’s potential.

September’s “O” magazine carries these three suggestions from the book as to how we can all help to empower women:

Make girls smarter. Many pregnant women living in poverty don’t get enough iodine, so their fetuses’ brains do not develop properly. Their children routinely lose 10-15 IQ points – particularly the girls, for reasons not fully understood. The solotion: iodize salt, at the cost of a few pennies per year. Contribute via Helen Keller International.

Support a women’s business. With a microloan of US$50, a woman can start a business, producing income she can use to feed her children and send them to school. To make a loan, go to Mercy Corps or BRAC – two groups helping women around the world.

Keep a girl in school. A girl who gets an education will have fewer children, earn more money and be able to help her younger siblings. One excellent support program operates in Cambodia, where uneducated girls are at great risk of being traffiked into brothels. For US$10 a month, you can keep a girl in school through American Assistance for Cambodia, or for US$13,000, you can build an entire school that will revolutionise life in a village forever.

On the flight over, I read in a British magazine (“Woman & Home”, I think) about an awareness and fundraising initiative called “Girls’ Night In” and I think I’ll organise one for when I get back to London – watch this space.

California dreamin’

10 Sep

Hello again – and a particular emphasis on the “again” bit to anyone who has followed me here from my former corporate blog, which I wrote for two years up until just over a week ago. I had a really rather wonderful send off last Wednesday and have since received hundreds of emails from friends and colleagues around the world. Thank you all; I will reply and your warmth and good wishes are much appreciated.

So, I’m now no longer employed! But, rather than use the somewhat negative sounding “unemployed”, I prefer to think of it as having a “sabbatical”. And I am currently starting my sabbatical by spending two weeks in California, where my husband (TLS) and I are taking a road trip from south to north. We started by flying to LA, where we relaxed in Santa Monica for four days, getting used to an eight hour time difference and appreciating the sublime people watching and eavesdropping opportunities.

All the women here are tiny! Perhaps you’re not allowed over the state line or, more accurately the Santa Monica city limits line, if your dress size is in double digits. I also noticed that there are three basic female “uniforms” in terms of clothing:

1) denim shorts (of the “Daisy Duke” variety); 2) floaty maxi dresses (of the Nicole Richie variety – headband, optional); 3) little short slip dresses made of floral fabric, usually worn with either flip-flops or, occasionally, gladiator sandals.

On the eavesdropping front, we picked up on the following in our first few days:

• “Some directors are directors who write and some are writers who direct, but he’s just a writer.”
• From the barman in our hotel: “I’m out of here on Monday, as a major studio has promised me a call-back on my script and I just KNOW that this is going to be my big chance …”
• From a waiter in a sushi restaurant: “I just love your accent! Maybe I should move to England, because the whole acting thing here just isn’t working out for me.”

OK, then. We then drove up the coast via the Pacific Highway, admiring views like this: PCH view – stopping in Santa Barbara and now, Monterey (hurrah for hotels with free wireless). Unfortunately, I woke up yesterday with a cold, which is less than fun in 80 degree heat but is, perhaps, what happens when you run like a hamster in a wheel and then, suddenly, STOP. I’m not normally ill when I travel (see earlier blog entry on “travel tips”) so I’m taking lots of vitamin C and hoping that this will be a short lasted affair.

Over the weekend we’ll be continuing north to the Sonoma and Napa county areas and I’m so looking forward to seeing and spending time with my wonderful friend Diane, who lives in a little town in Sonoma and whom I haven’t seen in person for seven years.

On the career front, my options seem to be many and still very much wide open. I’m still waiting for a formal decision and a start date from the multiple-interview-requiring investment bank. Last week (actually, at my leaving drinks party, which seemed very serendipitous) the recruiter called me with a verbal offer but it all seems to have gone a little quiet since then. Thanks to my wonderful network of friends, I’ve been invited to attend a couple of gatherings including British Telecom’s forthcoming “Question Time” event which will feature, amongst others, MP Patricia Hewitt (perhaps I will ask her what the Labour Party plan to do at the next election to increase the number of female British MPs from the current calamitous 19%) and a Cass Business School event on 21st century leadership which will include a panel discussion from the authors of “Why Women Mean Business”.

And I’ve also received an invitation from the Confederation of Indian Industry to travel to Bangalore next month and speak at the inaugural “Women Business Leaders’ Forum” conclave, which I would love to do but which gives me a classic Catch 22 dilemma: if I’m not working, I have the time to go but not the money; if I have by then joined the investment bank, I guess I’d have the money but not the diary space.

Decisions!

However, for today at least, my decisions are limited to what to have in my egg white omelette – and that suits me very well for the time being.

On not having it all: from here to maternity

31 Aug

I’ve recently spotted some thought provoking messaging out there about being a mother and the impact it can have on your career. Were I planning or hoping to have a baby in the near future, I think I’d be pretty dismayed to have read the following over the last few weeks.

• Women are being urged to test their fertility at the age of 30 –
• … but those who do become pregnant and take maternity leave face bullying; a situation blamed, as is so much at the moment, on the recession;
• The Fawcett Society’s most recent report (available as a free download) carries the title “Not Having It All” – and the more chilling sub-title “How motherhood reduces women’s pay and employment prospects” and tells us that, in a nutshell, pregnancy and motherhood makes women vulnerable to discrimination, pay disparities and an enhanced risk of unemployment.

Fawcett Society_Not Having It All

So it’s hardly surprising that the always on the case Glass Hammer website has picked up on this and run an interesting and highly relevant story on professional women choosing to remain childless.

As the article points out: “Based on what we know, why would successful women continue choosing to have children if the detriments to their career are so unavoidable and widespread?”

With my global hat on, I can’t help thinking that if the situation is this bad in the UK and the USA, two countries which do at least have some level of protective legislation in place, then what must it be like elsewhere? The Fawcett Society is calling for new policy responses to reduce the impact of motherhood on a woman’s earnings. Four priority areas emerge from their report and, whilst the recommendations are primarily aimed at governments, I also think that smart, brave organisations could make substantive interventions around at least two of these four points.

1. Provide mothers with the support they need to return to jobs at their previous skills levels;
2. Enforce and extend the law to protect pregnant women and women on maternity leave;
3. Create substantially more part-time work in higher paid occupations;
4. Tackle the low pay that exists in sectors primarily employing women.

This reads to me as a classic case of women being damned if they do (have children) and damned if they don’t (have children, or try to, until later in life, on the basis that they will then be more established in their careers). What a suite of choices: either you have children when your body is most biologically geared up to do so, say in your mid-twenties but you press “pause” on your career. And that option, of course, is predicated on you a) knowing that you want children at that point in your life and b) having a relationship all lined up where that’s what he wants, too. For mid-twenties women (and men) at the moment, they may be so overburdened with student debt that the thought of “settling down” may be either a far flung concept or an impossible dream. I suspect that for many, it’s a look forward into their future which seems quite appealing at some point but doesn’t fall into the “right now” mindset.

Or, option two, you forge ahead with your career, clear down the college debt, hopefully hook up with Mr Right in your early thirties and then hope to hell that you’ve got functioning ovaries, won’t get bullied when you announce your pregnancy news and that you still have something approaching a career to which you can return post-partum.

Not much of a choice, is it?

A new month, a new path

31 Aug

A busy week beckons, specifically, a very busy Tuesday 1st September. Tomorrow will be my last day at work, after 8 1/2 years with my current employer and I’ll be working in the office all day, doing a handover with my successor, prior to being “relieved” of my laptop and security pass at 5.30pm.

I’ll then be heading across London over to the second of what the Downing Street Project team call “teach backs”. Everyone associated with this exciting, embryonic project to date has been formed into one of four teams (covering such issues as fund raising, training, communications etc) and tasked with coming up with approaches for the future.

dsp_topimage

I was amazed at how much had been achieved, in terms of ideas, creativity and infrastructure, between the launch at the House of Commons on June 30th and the first teach back session four short weeks later – and I’m sure tomorrow night’s event will show similar progress. We are scheduled to cover and be reminded of the following:

- Why do we need this initiative?
- What problem in society does it intend to address?
- How does the DSP think it will make a difference?
- What is balanced leadership and why is it relevant? What can it deliver?
- What is the time line for the DSP over the next three months, the first year and next three years?

I’m really looking forward to both hearing the updates and also keeping my mind occupied on things other than the end of my job and all the implications of that …

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