W ELCOME mondo*dr 24.3 March / April 2014
ON THE COVER Albert Hall, Manchester Photo by Helen Fletcher General Manager Justin Gawne / j.gawne@mondiale.co.uk Editor Rachael Rogerson / r.rogerson@mondiale.co.uk Deputy Editor Helen Fletcher / h.fletcher@mondiale.co.uk Advertising Manager Jamie Dixon / j.dixon@mondiale.co.uk Advertising Sales Laura Iles / l.iles@mondiale.co.uk Editorial Intern Verity Carson / intern@mondiale.co.uk Accounts Amanda Giles / a.giles@mondiale.co.uk Production David Bell, Mel Robinson, Dan Seaton Group Chairman Damian Walsh
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I recently joined the Women in AV group on LinkedIn. More so because I was asked to rather than researching the group and making an informed decision myself. The LinkedIn group currently has 685 members, the majority of which are women (obviously) but there some male members too. Group discussions are frequent but topics vary quite a lot. There are those with an underlying message that women working in the AV industry should be championed at every possible opportunity for doing the same job as a man, to those that clearly just want equality across the board. Personally, I have to agree with the latter. Yes, the AV industry is dominated by males and when I started out at just 22-years-old, I certainly felt that I was looked upon - by some - as a female who knew nothing about technology, and therefore was not worth talking to. In part they were right, I had no technological background, but over time that changed thanks to those who were willing to put the time in to educate me about their passion for audio, lighting and visual technology. Today, I feel that I am recognised as a keen journalist who has been in the industry for nearly six years and the fact that I’m female bares little significance. Therefore, I believe it’s a case of, if you work hard you’ll achieve the desired results. While I think the notion of sharing knowledge within the Women in AV group on LinkedIn is a good resource, I would like to see more encouragement towards younger woman considering a career in the industry. I also feel that the congratulating and promotion of job vacancies should be shared in a more neutral domain. Social media is a great tool and such announcements should be available to the whole of our industry rather than just a select few. The history of men and women’s roles within the work place is always going to affect the present and the future, but I feel we’ve come a long way since the early 20th Century. The Mondiale office - which mondo*dr shares with TPi - would certainly have looked very different all those years ago but these days, while there are more females than males in our office the most important aspect is a happy working environment and that’s exactly what we have. If you’ve not already seen the evidence of this, you’ll be able to witness it at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt when the whole team will be out in force. We’ll be occupying our usual stand space between Hall 8.0 and Hall 9.0, stand number C03. However, you’ll more than likely see us whizzing through the aisles from meeting to meeting, grabbing a sandwich here and there or a glass of prosecco if it’s on offer. See you there. Rachael Rogerson | Editor