Dynamic Magazine #3 - The Business Magazine for Women

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR WOMEN

Mar | Apr 2020 #3

SCANDINAVIA LEADING THE WAY FOR WOMEN

MOTORING

IS THE FUTURE ELECTRIC?

TR AVEL FA SH ION MOTOR I NG HE ALTH

FEMALE ADVANTAGE How to use your secret business weapons

THE WORLD’ S YOUNGEST PRIME MINISTER

Sanna Marin

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DYNAMIC PROFILE Sanna Marin

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cont ent s DYNAMIC FEATURES 12 A LL EYES ON FINLAND

Sanna Marin, Finland’s youngest PM

20 DESTINATION SCANDINAVIA The best countries for women

44 T WO CHICKS & ONE CARTON

How Two Chicks successfully hatched

56 T HOUGHTS ON LEADERSHIP CEO of Ridgeview Wine Estate, Tamara Roberts

60 THE INFLUENCERS FORUM The big issues in business

DYNAMIC TECH 42 YOUR PRECIOUS DATA 84 GET LINKED

DYNAMIC FINANCE 28 ARE YOU TAX-SAVVY? 34 PROPERTY INVESTMENT CONSIDERATIONS 36 FINANCIAL PROTECTION 40 CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE 88 ENABLING SOCIAL ENTERPRISES TO THRIVE DYNAMIC BUSINESS 30 CHAMPIONS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH 58 A DECADE FOR WOMEN 78 THE DYNAMIC CAMPAIGN 97 CLOSING THE GENDER GAP

DYNAMIC OPINION 86 SEXUAL HARASSEMENT

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X X X X X X X

NEVER MI SS A N I S S U E O F THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR WOMEN

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR WOMEN

NEXT ISSUE OUT May 2020

Mar | Apr 2020 #3

SCANDINAVIA LEADING THE WAY FOR WOMEN

MOTORING

IS THE FUTURE ELECTRIC?

TR AVEL FASH ION MOTOR I NG HE ALTH

FEMALE ADVANTAGE How to use your secret business weapons

WHY YOU SHOULD STILL CONSIDER

PROPERT Y IN VESTM EN T Since the 2008 global financial crisis many investors are still questioning the benefits of investing in property.

But there are a growing number of property insiders who see property investment as an attractive medium to long-term opportunit y worthy of serious consideration. Indeed, Andrew Milligan OBE, head of global strategy at Standard Life believes that, in future, property will yield bigger returns than shares.

THE WORLD’ S YOUNGEST PRIME MINISTER

Sanna Marin

Sophie Macarthy, Commercial Property Partner at Healys LLP, gives an insight into WHAT’S RETURN? why you should consider With all THE types of property, property investment whether residential or commercial return on your in 2020 investment , the comes from the and capital

rental income growth from the increase in value of the property over time.

The rental “yield” is an

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OTHER WAYS TO INVEST

Even if you don’t want to directly invest in commercial property, you can still enjoy returns from it without getting your hands dirty: ◗ Investment funds, trusts or REITS (Real Estate Investment Trusts) – you buy shares in a REIT, not the asset itself, which delivers rental incomes from a portfolio of properties within a tax-efficient structure.

You can access your capital more easily but are open to the equity markets. ◗ Indirect property funds – allow you to buy shares in property companies listed on the stock market so returns are provided through share price appreciation and dividend income rather than rental income or property prices.

indication of the return you’ll get from the property each year which is broadly the rental income, less the costs, divided by the value of the property.

Average residential yields are currently about 3.5% whilst commercial yields are around 8-10%. Both are far greater than the current savings interest rates offered by the banks.

If you are a direct investor, and unless you are a cash buyer, you will need a specialist commercial mortgage, with higher interest rates and charges and a higher deposit than if you were buying a house to live in.

These costs will all affect the return on your investment.

EXPERT KNOWLEDGE

Relying on expert knowledge and support systems is key to breaking through commercial property, into saying it property investment. Healys provides an income that other Corporate and Commercial asset classes struggle to achieve; Property teams are equipped especially if it is acquired in a with a full range of legal tax-efficient wrapper such as advisers and trusted referrers a SIPP. who can assist you every step of Other than residential buy- the way in building to-let, you may be a successful looking at property portfolio. other types of investment such as stocks and shares (global shares rose last year but with the current geopolitical uncertainties who knows if they will continue to do so), gold (highly volatile and doesn’t pay an income) even Bitcoin (Warren Buffett has called PROPERTY V. cryptocurrencies an “unproduct OTHER INVESTMENTS ive asset”). But remember, Even if bought directly, property ◗ For more information many values are more on independent of investors still speak property investment, please of the other assets and are not affected reliability of “bricks contact Sophie Macarthy, and by the volatility of the stock ION mortar” investments A Sas Hmarkets.

Commercial Property Fsuch Partner Y NA M IC at: sophie.macarthy@healys .com Commercial leases in the UK are, on average, granted for between 8-15 years meaning investors can expect an extended regular monthly income.

Tenants can be made responsible for building repairs and maintenance depending on the type of lease granted. But direct ownership of commercial property remains a tangible asset that can be reviewed, modified and redeveloped as demands change, giving investors control over how to respond to shifting trends and occupier needs.

RESIDENTIAL V. COMMERCIAL

Although recent changes in the Buy-to-Let regulations have reduced the return on investment for many landlords, some may still prefer the easy and familiar process of buying and renting residential property especially while interest rates are still low or you have no mortgage on the property.

In general, residential tenancies are granted for only six months to a year and the landlord remains responsible for all building maintenanc e and repairs.

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Alla Ouvarova and Anna Richey, Two Chicks

DYNAMIC HEALTH 70 STOPPING THE BIOLOGICAL CLOCK 72 WELLNESS TRENDS FOR 2020 76 BEATING STRESS AT WORK

DYNAMIC FASHION 90 DAY TO NIGHT DRESSING

EDUCATION 82 CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

DYNAMIC MOTORING 93 GIRL TORQUE

DYNAMIC TRAVEL 26 FLYING SMART 48 HAND-PICKED VILLAS 54 HIDDEN GEMS OF SOUTH AFRICA

INSPIRING WOMEN 68 WORDS OF WISDOM 98 EMMA LANE

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Who inspires me

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THE INFLUENCERS FORUM

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THE DYNAMIC MANIFESTO

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welcome Welcome to the third issue of Europe’s only business magazine for women

We have listened earnestly to your comments and are continually fine-tuning our editorial tone to suit what most professional women are wishing to read.

Our cover story features Sanna Marin, the Prime Minster of Finland and at 34, the youngest PM in the world who, along with four other female PM’s across Scandinavia, are blazing a trail for female leaders – but how are they doing? All four have quite a responsibility on their hands not just to their citizens but to women around the world. They have the unique opportunity to prove that women really can

be better, more balanced and more reasoned leaders than men. Time will tell...

Thought leadership, inspiring stories, health and wellbeing, fashion and motoring – Dynamic has it all.

We have another packed issue for you and hope you enjoy the read.

The Dynamic Team

Contacts PUBLISHER: maarten@platinumpublishing.co.uk PUBLICATIONS DIRECTOR: ian@platinumpublishing.co.uk COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR: lesley@platinumpublishing.co.uk EVENTS DIRECTOR: fiona@platinumpublishing.co.uk EVENTS EXECUTIVE: lydia@platinumpublishing.co.uk FEATURES EDITOR: kate@platinumpublishing.co.uk HEAD OF DESIGN: michelle@platinumpublishing.co.uk

WWW.PLATINUMPUBLISHING.CO.UK DISCLAIMER All rights reserved. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher.

The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions relating to advertising or editorial. The publisher reserves the right to change or amend any competitions or prizes offered. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written consent from the publisher.

No responsibility is taken for unsolicited materials or the return of these materials whilst in transit.

Dynamic Magazine is owned and published by The Platinum Media Group.

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MEET THE STEERING COMMITTEE

Our illustrious steering committee guide the editorial tone of the magazine

JULIE KAPSALIS CEO Chichester / Crawley College Group

EMMA LANE Director Allied Irish Bank

FAIZA SHAFEEK CEO Carrot Events

ALISON ADDY Community Officer Gatwick Airport

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MAARTEN HOFFMANN CEO/Publisher The Platinum Group

VICTORIA KERTON ROSEMARY FRENCH OBE Regional Director Executive Director NatWest Gatwick Diamond Initiative

ABIGAIL OWEN Corporate Partner DMH Stallard

LOUISE PUNTER CEO Surrey Chamber of Commerce

LESLEY ALCOCK Commerical Director The Platinum Group

FIONA SHAFER CEO MD HUB

MAXINE REID Partner Quantuma

FIONA GRAVES Events Director The Platinum Group

ANA CHRISTIE CEO Sussex Chamber of Commerce

ALISON JONES Partner Kreston Reeves

ZOE RUDLING Partner RSM

IAN TREVETT Publications Director The Platinum Group

LYDIA BUNYARD Events Executive The Platinum Group

welcome FROM ROSEMARY FRENCH OBE Chair of the Dynamic Steering Committee ROSEMARY’S OBE WAS AWARDED FOR SERVICES TO WOMEN IN BUSINESS In our first issue we launched our Dynamic Campaign for Flexible Working. However, I am getting concerned about an unintended consequence which we need to nip in the bud. Increasingly, I am speaking to women whose employers have agreed to flexible working, say anything from two to four days a week.

After that critical period when the children are finished at nursery, those women want to return to full time working. Yet they are finding that the employer is less than keen and has no legal obligation to return those women to full time work or increase their hours. The reason being that the employer has discovered that women will carry out an equivalent full time job in a three day working week so

why now pay them for four or five days?

After all, when the women reduced to three days a week the employer usually did not replace or reallocate her tasks on the other two days. The women then complete those two days in their own time to ensure that the jobs get done. Of course they do, because they want to prove to their employer that flexible working works, without realising fully that they have committed to sacrificing their free unpaid time to the job.

Is the answer a contractual agreement with the employer to commit to return her to full time work? I feel that employers would decline unless enshrined in employment regulation in the maternity law.

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WORK-LIFE BALANCE BLURRED

Evening emails and the “always on” culture is overwhelming working parents and threatening to sabotage work-life balance improvements, according to a survey. The 2020 Modern Families Index reveals that working parents’ ability to “switch off” from their work is being undermined by the rise of modern communications.

The results showed that badly designed jobs have left many parents struggling to cope with the competing demands of home and work, with 58% working extra, unpaid hours. 48% of working parents said that working from home has increased their workload and being in “work mode” at home has had negative impacts on their children and relationships.

{up f r o n t } All the latest bulletins from the world of business

Strike Gold Goldman Sachs’ CEO David Solomon has said the investment bank won’t take companies public that don’t have at least one board member from an underrepresented group. The main focus will be on female board members, he told CNBC, because companies that have gone public in the last four years with at least one woman on their board of directors performed “significantly better” than those without. The new rule is set to go into effect in the US and Europe on July 1st 2020.

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THE RISE OF WOMEN New statistics released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that not only is UK employment at an all time high (76.3%) but there are more women employed now than ever before (72.3%).

Both pensions and the role of men have played a big part in this increase.

Firstly, the pension age for women has gone up meaning there are more women aged 60+ in employment.

Secondly, there are now 10 times as many stay-at-home dads in the UK than a decade ago with one in seven fathers now the main childcare provider.

N E WS

Power Up With little sign of change for the number of women in top roles, new book Power Up: The smart woman’s guide to unleashing her potential helps women to break out of their safe zone and unlock their inner power.

The book, written by TEDx speaker and women’s leadership expert Antoinette Dale Henderson, is a practical guide containing actionable tools to help maximise strength, help empower, and be confident in your abilities. ◗ Available to buy at amazon.co.uk. Price: £14.99

SEX SCANDAL TROUBLES IN LEGAL WORLD The number of reports of sexual misconduct in the legal profession in England have reached a record high, according to newly released figures. Reports of sexual misconduct to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) have more than doubled over the last five years, with the number of reports in the last year alone increasing by 16%, according to the response to a Freedom of Information request. In May 2019, a global survey revealed that bullying and sexual harassment was rife in the legal profession. In the UK, 62% of female respondents and 41% of male respondents said they had been bullied, while 38% of female and 6% of male respondents reported sexual harassment.

FEMALES MISSING FROM TOP JOBS The Fawcett Society’s 2020 Sex and Power Index charts the extent of male domination of positions of power – and women are missing in “significant numbers” from top jobs.

MEDIA: Women make up just 21% of national newspaper editors – with just four women in the top jobs.

SPORT: Women make up 21% of national Sport Governing Body CEOs, and just 4% of Premier League Clubs are led by women.

LAW: The Supreme Court has two women justices out of 12.

US Senator vows female strong cabinet US Democratic hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren has promised that if elected, she will give half her cabinet positions to women. Currently just four of Trump’s 23 Cabinet members are women and Obama’s Cabinet only contained up to eight female members at one time.

Via a post, Sen. Warren vowed that she “will build a Cabinet and senior leadership team that reflects the full diversity of America, including at least 50% of Cabinet positions filled by women and non-binary people.”

About time… Period The government has rolled out a scheme to introduce free period products into all state schools and colleges in England. The Department of Education launched its fully funded scheme at the end of January 2020 to make period products readily available for all young people when they need them.

Organisations will be able to order products directly from a purpose built portal via phs Direct.

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DY NA M IC

PROFIL E

ALL EYES ON

FINLAND The new Prime Minister of Finland is a 34-year-old woman called Sanna Marin. She leads a coalition which includes three party leaders who are also women under the age of 35. Will Finland be the shining example for the rest of the world to follow?

BY IAN TREVETT

In 2020, it’s hard to find many progressive, liberal national leaders. The populists, nationalists and dictatorial leaders dominate the world stage. We are living in a world of Trump, Putin, Xi, Modi, Erdogan, Assad, and multiple far right bullies from Brazil to Hungary. To find a beacon of hope, you needed to go to the other side of the world to New Zealand and Jacinda Ardern.

And then out of nowhere, Finland announced the appointment of a young female Prime Minister, who has promised to make equality the focus of her new government. In a chilly outpost of Europe, the young are fighting back - but do they stand a chance?

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DY NA M IC

PROFIL E

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We all have to fight each and every day for equality, for a better life The policy announcement could have been cribbed straight from the Dynamic Manifesto.

After just a month in office, Sanna Marin declared that the new maternity/paternity policy was to guarantee seven months of paid leave to each parent, as well as one month of pregnancy allowance. Designed to be a gender-neutral policy, parents will be able to transfer 69 days from their own quota to the other

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parent, whilst a single parent will have access to the combined 14 months of paid leave.

Marin explained the policy by pointing out that “too few fathers were spending time with their children while they were young.” She put her words in practice when her daughter was born, splitting her parental leave in half with her husband, each spending six months out of work with their daughter.

It was one of her first major policy declarations and there will undoubtedly be many more, focussing on diversity and the environment. Unsurprisingly, The Guardian, in welcoming Finland’s new PM with open arms, gushed, “Sanna Marin reminds us that another politics is possible.”

Marin did not have an easy route to the top job. “Marin’s rise to power exemplifies Finland’s meritocratic and socially liberal society,” wrote Marja Makarow from The Independent. Marin was born into a family troubled by alcoholism and poverty. After her parents separated, she found stability with her mother and her mother’s same-sex partner, in what she has subsequently termed a “rainbow household”.

This upbringing instilled a strong

DY NA M IC

At the European Union leaders year-end summit in Brussels, December 2019  Finnish parliament building

sense of social justice in Finland’s new PM, and a determination to create “a society where every child can become anything, and where every person can live and grow old in dignity.”

Marin has often emphasised her commitment to social justice.

She said, ”For me, human rights and equality of people have never been questions of opinion but the basis of my moral conception.

I joined politics because I want to influence how society sees its citizens and their rights.”

She added, “We all have to fight each and every day for equality, for a better life, as there are things happening in the world going backwards.”

Marin has spoken out in favour of a four-day week and is committed to implement Finland’s environmental targets,

PROFIL E

which are some of the most ambitious in the world.

From across the English channel, the thought of a young progressive government certainly appeals to this writer. But there is always a nagging resignation.

Yes, Marin is offering a bright new way, but this is Finland not England. Scandinavian countries always seem so far ahead in the way they run their societies and look after their people. We can’t even build a new railway without decades of arguments and huge cost hikes. It must be far easier for someone like Marin to succeed in a country like Finland.

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DY NA M IC

PROFIL E FINLAND NO FUNLAND

In reality, this rose-tinted view of Scandinavia is misleading and Finland is not necessarily a haven of progessive thinking. Al Jazeera’s Maija Liuhto describes Finland in a harsher light: “Finland did not actually elect Marin as prime minister. She was selected for the post by her party following the resignation of Antti Rinne [Rinne was dropped by the Social Democrats after mis-handling a national postal strike]. Had there been an actual election in Finland, there would most probably now be an antifeminist, nationalist government in power.

 Finnish Finance Minister Katri Kulmuni  Minister of Education Li Andersson

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“Much like everywhere else in the West, anti-immigration sentiment has been on the rise in Finland in recent years. The Islamophobia exhibited by such political forces usually goes hand-in-hand with opposition to feminism or even outright hatred of women. In the last parliamentary elections, the highest number of votes went to Jussi Halla-aho, leader of the Finns Party, which is known for its anti-immigration stance.

“The party’s youth wing has declared itself to be anti-feminist because it believes feminism is harmful to society, and Hallaaho himself has openly hoped that supporters of the green left would be targeted by rapists. His party is now the most popular one in Finland, according to recent polls.

“While Finland continues to be celebrated as some kind of paradise for women, the alarmingly high rates of rape and domestic violence in the country are often ignored. Nearly 50% of women and girls above the age of 15 have experienced physical

 Sanna Marin speaking at a press conference, December 2019

 Finnish Prime ministers official house in Meilahti, Helsinki

or sexual violence, according to a recent report. In fact, a 2014 study found Finland to be the secondmost violent country in the EU for women.”

And just in case you imagined Finland to be a leader in workplace equality, Polityka in Poland reports that in Finland: “There is a glass ceiling when it comes to the real power: the economy. The proportion of women in senior management positions at companies is lower than in the US.” In this context, it is no wonder that Marin told a Finnish magazine: “When I was in high school, I felt that the people in politics were quite different and came from different backgrounds than me.”

The challenges in Finland are the same as the rest of the western world, but the difference is the government is determined to lead the way in creating a

Marin is the standard-bearer for those who cherish progressive values fairer society. Marin told The Washington Post that the Finnish social policies could be a model for the U.S. “I feel that the American Dream can be achieved best in the Nordic countries, where every child no matter their background or the background of their families can become anything, because we have a very good education system.

“We have a good healthcare and social welfare system that allows anybody to become anything. This is probably one of the reasons why Finland gets

ranked the happiest country in the world.”

And she has another strategy to grow Finland’s population: welcoming immigrants.

“We have an ageing population, and we need people to come to Finland, to work there and to raise their children and take part in making our society better.” [source: Michelle Cheng, qz.com]

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DY NA M IC

PROFIL E

Talking with European Council Presidents Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel at the European Union summit, December 2019

THE AGE DIVIDE

While much attention has been placed on gender politics, flexible working and maternity/paternity pay, Marin also stands up for another demographic - the young.

She is one of only two Millennial leaders in Europe (the Ukrainian PM also qualifies) and she shares many of the values usually associated with this generation.

The young aren’t exactly well represented by their leaders.

In the UK, only 15% of female voters under 24 voted for Boris Johnson and it is estimated that approximately 73% of under-25s voted to Remain. At the last US election only 29% of under-30s voted for Trump. The young lead the worldwide campaign for action on global warming, raging at the inaction of senior leaders.

But it isn’t always as simple as young versus old. It can be regions versus the capital, towns versus cities. In The Spectator, Fredrik Erixon recognises the contradictions: “As in so many European countries, the Finnish establishment response to nationalistic populism has been still more urban centrism. It’s purist rather than pragmatic – and, as a political movement, it’s elitist: for

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Sanna Marin reminds us that another politics is possible the few rather than for the many.

“More than anything else, the new centrism is defined by youth. The old guard are on their way out.

“Finland kicked out old Rinne, and is sloughing off the tired politics he represents. Now they are getting the clarity and purpose of young Sanna. She represents a green and techfriendly social liberalism, backed

up by more taxes and spending.

That shift ultimately may reconfigure Finland’s political landscape. It’s an experiment — and one that could easily backfire in a country whose rapidly ageing population is jaded about politics. But the Finns have a proverb for the experiment.

Naiset ensin, vaikka heikoille jäille. ‘Ladies first, even on to thin ice.’”

It takes bravery and selfconfidence to skate out on to the thin ice, and Marin has both. She has more than the hopes of Finns riding on her. Along with New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern, she is the standard-bearer for those who cherish progressive values.

It is a heavy burden and the weight of opposition is daunting, but these inspiring women are beacons of light in the dreary wasteland of world politics.

Erittäin onnea, Sanna!

DY NA M IC

STATS

The Swedish system

In Sweden, pre-school starting at age three is free for everyone for up to three hours a day, including stay-at-home parents. For working/studying families the hours are extended. At age six all children can attend “pre-school class” which is a pre-primary year designed to get children ready for the start of compulsory education at seven.

{at a g l a n c e} Scandinavia I Facts and stats

Childcare charges in Denmark are capped at 30% of the actual cost for nurseries, kindergartens and after-school centres.

In Sweden, parents are entitled to 16 months parental leave, the first year paid at 80% of their salary.

The UK has one of the most expensive childcare models in the developed world, costing on average £218 a week for full-time care.

People with prams or pushchairs travel free on buses in major cities One of the best-known features of Nordic parenting is Finland’s Maternity Package, or “baby box”, which have been given to all new mothers since the 1930s. They contain clothes, care products and a first reading book. In today’s package, which is reviewed annually, there are 64 items.

In Sweden 85% of children aged under five years attend pre-school, and 74% of children aged six to nine attend leisure-time centres that provide after-school care.

NO NONSENSE NORDICS Childcare in Sweden couldn’t be easier for working mums.

For their first child parents pay 3% of their income but no more than £115 per month in total for childcare. For three children or more, the total fee is 5%, capped at £230.

Access to childcare for children in Scandinavia is considered a formal right – with restrictions on the maximum fee level parents have to pay set by the government.

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S C A N D I N AV I A S N A P S H O T

DESTINATION

Scandinavia Why Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland are viewed as the best countries for women

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S C A N D I N AV I A S N A P S H O T

According to the U.S. News & World Report (www.usnews. com), Scandinavia is THE place to live.

In their current ratings for Best Countries for Women, Scandinavia takes four of the top six places, with Denmark coming out on top. The other places in the top six are taken by Canada and Netherlands.

The UK is rated the 13th best place for women.

The Best Countries for Women is a perception-based ranking based on the responses of nearly 9,800 women who filled out surveys for the 2020 Best Countries rankings.

The ranking is derived from a compilation of five equally weighted country attributes: care about human rights, gender equality, income equality, progress and safety.

Over the next four pages we profile the four Scandinavian countries in the top six: 1st Place – Denmark 2nd Place – Sweden 4th Place – Norway 6th Place – Finland.

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S C A N D I N AV I A S N A P S H O T

Denmark Population: 5.8 million Life expectancy: Men 79 years Women 83 years Working hours: Typically 37 hours/week GDP: $352.1 billion GDP PER CAPITA: $52,279

Sweden Population: 10.2 million Life expectancy: Men 81 years Women 84 years Working hours: Standard is 40 hours/week GDP: $551.0 billion GDP PER CAPITA: $53,652

THE LEADER

Mette Frederiksen, born November 19th 1977, has been Prime Minister of Denmark since June 2019 and Leader of the Social Democrats since June 2015. The second woman to hold either office, she is also the youngest Prime Minister in Danish history.

She leads a centre-left coal-

THE LEADER

The current Prime Minister of Sweden is Stefan Löfven, who was chosen for a second term on January 18th 2019. He has been the Leader of the Social Democratic Party since 2012.

After a long period of neg-

SWEDEN 22

ition comprising of the Social Democrats, Social Liberals, Socialist People’s Party, Red– Green Alliance, the Faroese Social Democratic Party and Greenland’s Siumut and Inuit Ataqatigiit.

EQUALITY

Denmark is among the countries with the world’s lowest income inequality, according to the

otiations Löfven was able to form a coalition government with the backing of the Center Party, Liberals and Greens. It is an uneasy alliance formed in response to a surge in support for far right parties in the last election.

country to legalise same-sex unions in 1989.

PAY GAP

The difference in pay between men and women is 5.3%. This is 8.2% points lower than average.

WORK AND FAMILY

Women receive paid leave for four weeks before a baby’s birth and 14 weeks after. Men

receive paid leave for two weeks after the birth, and then the parents split up to 32 weeks paid leave.

About 2% of the Danish population work very long days.

The average is 11%.

Denmark itself spends a higher proportion of its wealth on public welfare than most European countries, at 28% of GDP, behind only France, Belgium and Finland.

DENMARK

BOARD ROOM

The business sector is still a heavily male-dominated field. On the average board of a Swedish stock market company, almost one in three were women in 2015 – which is gradually getting better. Nine out of ten people who appoint board members are men.

PAY GAPS

Women’s average monthly salaries in Sweden are less than

88% of men’s – 95.5% when differences in choice of profession and sector are taken into account (2016). Pay differences are most obvious in the county councils, and the smallest difference is found among blue-collar workers.

WORK AND FAMILY

Parents in Sweden are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave.

Of those, 90 days are reserved for each parent.

In 1995, the first pappamånad – ‘daddy month’ – was introduced, with 30 days of leave reserved for the father on a use-it-or-lose-it basis. From 2016, there have been three ‘daddy months’ with 90 days of paid leave reserved for fathers.

SOURCE HTTPS://SWEDEN.SE/SOCIETY/KEY-FACTS-ABOUT-SWEDEN/ (10TH OCTOBER 2018)

SOURCE: BUSINESSCULTURE.ORG

OECD. It also has the lowest poverty rate among the OECD countries, where poverty is measured as the percentage of people who receive less than half the median national income.

Equality is important to the Danes. The Danish governing coalition almost always includes a Minister for Equality.

Denmark became the first

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Norway Population: 5.4 million Life expectancy: Men 80 years Women 84 years Working hours: Typically 37.5 hours/week GDP: $434.8 billion.

GDP PER CAPITA: $74,357

Finland Population: 5.5 million Life expectancy: Men 79 years Women 84 years Working hours: Typically 40 hours/week GDP: $274.0 billion GDP PER CAPITA: $46,596

THE LEADER

Erna Solberg has been the Prime Minister of Norway since 2013 and leader of the Conservative Party since May 2004. Inspired

by Margaret Thatcher’s “Iron Lady” nickname, Solberg has been given the nickname “Iron Erna”. In 2018, Solberg became the longest serving Prime Minister of Norway to represent the Conservative party. She leads

THE LEADER

Sanni Marin became the Prime Minister of Finland on December 10th – at just 34 she became the world’s youngest prime minister, and her country’s youngest.

She didn’t win the election. The Social Democratic party leader, Antti Rinne, formed a coalition after the election, but soon lost support of a key partner. He

FINL AND 24

an alliance which includes the Liberal party and the Christian Democrats.

BOARD ROOM

With women representing 41% of board members, Norway was the first country to enact a gender quota legislation (40%) in 2005.

However, of 213 public limited companies in 2017, just 15 were run by a woman.

resigned a few months later and Marin stepped in to replace him forming a coalition with the Centre Party, the Green League, the Left Alliance, and the Swedish People’s Party.

BOARD ROOM

Finland requires 40% of state owned enterprises to have female directors and women must

S C A N D I N AV I A S N A P S H O T PAY GAP

The gender pay gap among full-time employees in Norway remains at 20%. After adjusting for age, education, sector and several other factors, there is still a 13% gender difference.

WORK AND FAMILY

Mothers can take 35 weeks maternity leave at full pay or 45 weeks at 80% pay, and fathers

comprise at least 40% of their board seats.

PAY GAP

The gender pay gap in Finland between men and women is on average 16,1% in all labour sectors (source: Statistics Finland, Index of Wage and Salary Earnings 2017). The gender pay gap is narrower in the public sector than in the private sector.

can take between zero and 10 weeks depending on their wives’ income. Together, parents can receive an additional 46 weeks at full pay or 56 weeks at 80% of their income.

As of December 2018, childcare in Norway has a maxi-

mum price set by the government of NOK 2910 (roughly 330 USD) per month.

This applies to both public and private daycare. This fee usually doesn’t include warm lunch and many kindergartens charge extra to include a meal.

N O RWAY

WORK AND FAMILY

The Working Hours Act, passed in 1996, gave most staff the right to adjust the typical daily hours of their workplace by starting or finishing up to three hours earlier or later.

By 2011, Finland was offering the most flexible working schedules on the planet, according to a study for global accounting firm Grant Thornton,

with 92% of companies allowing workers to adapt their hours, compared to 76% in the UK and the US, 50% in Russia and just 18% in Japan.

A new Working Hours Act due to come into force this year will give the majority of fulltime employees the right to decide when and where they work for at least half of their working hours.

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FLYING SMART A sustainable future is at the heart of Norwegian’s ethos. Here’s how the airline adopts an eco-conscious business model Norwegian was voted the world’s most fuel-efficient airline on transatlantic routes in 2015 and 2018 by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) and since 2008, the airline has reduced its emissions by 33% per passenger kilometre thanks to new, fuel-efficient aircraft.

Contributing to a sustainable future for the aviation industry is at the heart of the Norwegian ethos and it is something that the airline is taking action on today – Norwegian calls it ‘flying smart’.

As part of ‘flying smart’ the company only operates the newest and most fuel-efficient aircraft across their global network. The airline’s Head of Sustainability, Anders Fagernaes, clearly sees a direct correlation between the low-cost business model and reducing emissions.

“Flying brings people together and is of great value to society.

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But flying also comes at a cost to our environment. At Norwegian we fly smart, with one of the newest fleets in the industry. Our low-cost business model reduces fuel and resource consumption – cutting both ticket prices and carbon emissions at the same time.”

Anders Fagernaes, Head of Sustainability

Sustainability does not have to come at a premium for either the industry or passengers.

Norwegian customers only pay for what they consume and direct flights use less fuel and reduce net emissions. The low -cost business model is based on low fares which in turn means a higher load factor on every flight and therefore lower emissions per passenger. Norwegian does not have flat beds on long-haul nor does it have drop down flat screens on short-haul, further cutting weight, fuel consumption and reducing both net carbon emissions and emissions per seat. Norwegian firmly believes the low-cost business model is the sustainability model of the future.

In addition to being technically highly trained, Norwegian pilots are great energy managers, always trying to find ways to fly even smarter. Advances in technology such as using aircraft sensors, advanced weather data, and big data analysis to inform pilots on how to reduce fuel consumption before and during the flight have had a significant positive impact on fuel consumption

DY NA M IC and emission levels. After each flight pilots receive feedback on their performance which is sent straight to a specially-tailored phone application, advising them on how to fly even smarter. By flying smarter Norwegian pilots can save up to 2% of Norwegian’s entire fleets fuel consumption, equivalent to 140,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year and the use of advanced weather data can cut 30,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

Norwegian has partnered with climate company CHOOOSE to make it easy for passengers to offset their carbon footprint when buying a ticket. Additionally, the initiative has been welcomed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Anders Fagernaes is clear that there is consumer appetite to offset carbon emissions. “Carbon offsetting is an important tool in managing today’s emissions, and we know

Flying brings people together and is of great value to society. But flying also comes at a cost to our environment that many of our customers would like to compensate for emissions associated with their journey.”

Norwegian developed the feature to be as informative, simple, and trustworthy as possible. When first selecting a flight, Norwegian informs customers how its flights’ emissions compares to industry average. The CO2 emissions

T R AV E L

calculation is based on the official methodology of the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the International Council of Clean Transportation (ICCT) and Norwegian’s own flight emissions data.

Even if commercial aviation technology continues to develop and Norwegian keeps reducing its environmental impact, emissionfree flying is not possible today, but ‘flying smarter’ is a reality that has a tangible and immediate positive impact on sustainability.

◗ To find out more visit: www.norwegian.com/ uk/about/experience-us/ responsible-travel

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Simple ways to stay tax smart

by Samantha Kaye, Chartered Financial Planner and Adviser at Wellesley Wealth Advisory

ARE YOU TAX-SAVVY? With the end of the tax year on the horizon, now is the perfect time to refresh your company’s finance plans and maximise the available taxsaving opportunities. This will not only allow you to extract profit while keeping one eye on tax efficiency, but will also improve your retirement prospects – and that of your employees!

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MAXIMISING YOUR COMPANY’S TAX EFFICIENCY

There are several ways to take profit or income from your business while reducing your company’s liability to Corporation Tax, Income Tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) – for example, diverting your company’s pre-tax profits into a personal pension. You could also consider taking dividend income instead of salary to avoid NICs (plus, the first £2,000 is Income-Tax-free!).

Many directors take an income

from a combination of salary and dividends, supplemented by pension contributions – a financial adviser can help you find the right balance.

On a personal level, you could also take advantage of unused tax allowances from previous years.

Even if you’ve used up your annual allowance, you may have an opportunity to invest more by April 5th, by making the most of unused annual allowances from the previous three tax years.

This could, for example, allow you to make a significantly larger pension contribution in a single tax year.

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

Do you want to meet likeminded women in business?

I am looking at running an event in May that will be hosted by women in business for women in business. It will be an opportunity to network with like-minded businesswomen, and also gain an insight on financial planning, pension planning, legal information and more from specially selected key speakers.

If this would be of interest, please register at: www.wellesleywa.co.uk/ do-you-want-to-meet-like-minded-women-in-business

CONTACT ME TODAY

Wherever you are on your business journey, it is important that you’re getting the right advice on planning for a financially secure future. If you have a question about tax efficiency or income protection, or would like more information about my services, please contact me today!

INCREASING YOUR Sources: FINANCIAL RESILIENCE We often hear that women are at a 1 www.canadalife.co.uk, March 2018 disadvantage financially, with the gender pay gap and pensions gap DISCLAIMER working against us. But another The value of an investment with key issue is the fact that many St. James’s Place will be directly women are still failing to view – linked to the performance of the and, therefore, protect – funds you select and the value can themselves as key earners. therefore go down as well as up.

According to a survey from You may get back less than you Canada Life, women are far less invested. likely to prioritise protection The levels and bases of insurance (for example, life taxation, and reliefs from taxation, insurance or critical illness cover), can change at any time. The value with more than half of all women of any tax relief depends on aged between 25-45 not having individual circumstances. insurance that could help to St. James’s Place guarantees the protect them against loss of suitability of advice offered by earnings.1 Wellesley Wealth Advisory when Neglecting protection insurance recommending any of the services might be down to affordability or and products available from a belief that ‘it won’t happen to companies in the Group. More me’, but doing so is vital in details of the Guarantee are protecting you, your business and set out on the Group’s website your loved ones. International www.sjp.co.uk/products Wellesley Wealth Advisory is a Women’s Day is just around the corner and I want to see more trading name of Wellesley women protecting their financial Investment Management Ltd. The Partner Practice is an Appointed interests!

Representative of and represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the Group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the Group’s website www.sjp.co.uk/about-st-jamesplace/our-business/our-productsandservices.

The ‘St. James’s Place partnership’ and the titles ‘Partner’ and ‘Partner Practice’ are marketing terms used to describe St. James’s Place representatives. Wellesley Investment Management Ltd: Registered Office: 44 The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England TN2 5TN. Registered in England & Wales, Company No. 06530147.

◗ Wellesley House, 50 Victoria Road, Burgess Hill, West Sussex RH15 9LH samantha.kaye@sjpp.co.uk www.wellesleywa.co.uk

29

CHAMPIONS OF

ECONOMIC GROWTH Are you looking for a new experience where you can make a difference and contribute towards the future of your local community?

Southern Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) have a number of Board job opportunities available and are looking for inspirational and ambitious people. Interested?

Read on to hear more.

LEPs set a direction of travel for the economy and work

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with others to achieve results. They feed into the policy and decision-makers in government in a non-political way by linking local authorities and businesses, helping to explain the realities of what’s required to generate growth and prosperity.

WORKING TOGETHER

The Southern LEPs are working hard together to encourage greater diversity on their Boards to ensure that they look at issues from all angles and reflect the businesses and communities they represent, both today and in the future.

DY NA M IC

The Southern LEPs comprise of ◗ Coast to Capital ◗ Enterprise M3 ◗ Hertfordshire ◗ Solent ◗ South East LEP ◗ Thames Valley Berkshire

Kathy Slack, OBE, Chief Executive Enterprise M3 LEP, said: I am delighted that the LEPs are working collaboratively to achieve this important step-change in improving the diversity of our boards. By getting a real mix on our teams and encouraging a broader range of people to get involved, we can get a real richness of debate, an energy in the room and importantly achieve greater representation of our regions

What attracted you to getting involved with SEMLEP? “The initial attraction was the partnership between businesses and local authority leaders. We didn’t have organisations like LEPs before and it meant that local communities were able to have more of a say in the growth and investment needs of their area. It’s about genuine partnership that allows businesses to get engaged in local economy activities which had never been done before.

INTERVIEW

Ann Limb In 2019, Ann Limb retired as founding Chair of South East Midlands LEP (SEMLEP) and is now the independent business Chair of the London Stansted Cambridge Consortium – the organisation behind the UK’s Innovation Corridor. We sat down with Ann to find out more about her experiences on a LEP Board, and how improving diversity across Southern LEPs can help to reflect the make-up of local communities and enrich decision-making.

BUSI N E SS

Why is diversity important on a Board?

“We have to reflect the society outside of the LEP boardroom, which is now very diverse and so it should be. You can only make a good decision if you’ve got people who have different points of view around the table, this leads to growth and development.”

What is your vision for the future of Boards?

“Now that LEPs have been around for a decade, my advice would be for LEPs to come together with the LEP Network, (the organisation that promotes best practice across LEPs) to forge a strong vision and strategy for the next 10 years. They need to recognise that this needs

to be done in a post-Brexit Britain and should work together to convince government that this is an essential economic partnership that’s worth maintaining and investing in.”

What is your secret to success?

“The best advice I can give to anybody is be yourself, know your strengths and weaknesses and learn how to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Don’t be afraid to challenge people, but do this constructively and from a place of respect. Above all else, be authentic.”

What advice would you offer to someone that wants to get involved?

“To anybody thinking of joining a LEP Board, think about the chance you’ll have to make decisions that affect your local community and the personal learning that you can get from that. Don’t hesitate to do it if you really want to have a good experience of seeing how communities and places can be built and shaped.”

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COAST TO CAPITAL IS RECRUITING A NEW CHAIR Coast to Capital is seeking an outstanding Chair to help lead the region and meet the ambitious vision set out in their economic strategy. The Board is well established and representative of a wide range of senior stakeholders from the public and private sectors. It contains a diverse group of highly talented people who have excelled in their own professional areas. The role

of the Chair is key in leading the Board and delivering objectives.

Coast to Capital is keen to hear from outstanding individuals who are capable of representing businesses across the area and is passionate about driving forward economic growth.

The recruitment campaign has opened and a new Chair will be appointed by July 2020. The position will be remunerated, and will involve a commitment of one day a week on average. â—— coast2capital.org.uk Katie.Nurcombe@ coast2capital.org.uk

Coast to Capital LEP Strategic relationship with London LEP Strategic relationship with South East LEP

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DY NA M IC Rosaleen shares her tips on applying for the Chair role.

PROFILE

Rosaleen Liard Coast to Capital Board Member

“Initially, I was uncertain as to whether or not I would be qualified and experienced enough to apply as a Board member. I think that’s quite typical of females in business.

We go online and look at the existing board members and as you would expect for a board you see a wealth of experience and some very impressive CVs and you think I couldn’t possibly compete. And then you walk away and you realise that it’s not a competition, and you can actually add value.

“The LEP is doing so much to celebrate women leaders. Last year’s women leaders’ event brought together leaders from across the LEP Network to kick-

BUSI N E SS

start and champion the voice for the wider diversity agenda. The landscape has changed, there is now more acceptance that women do have qualities that they can bring at the very highest level. We can be far more effective in our decision-making, far more creative and far more productive.

“At Coast to Capital, the Chair is a key role. You want somebody who inspires our values and is as ambitious for the region as they are for themselves. The Chair needs a passion that runs through them. We need someone who is trusted, and understands our ambition for the region in the future. My advice if you’re thinking of applying, is to believe in yourself and believe in that community that you want to improve. Reach out, take that step and apply.”

UPCOMING BOAR D OPPORTUNITIES In addition to the Chair post at Coast to Capital, a range of exciting Board opportunities will be launching soon across the Southern LEPs.

Enterprise M3 started recruiting for a Chair and two private sector board members from February to take a strategic view and advise on the collective views and interests of the sector in a balanced and fair manner. ◗ enterprisem3.org.uk recruitment@enterprisem3.org.uk

Thames Valley Berkshire LEP will be recruiting for a new Chair in the spring to provide leadership and strategic direction helping to create an environment in which the local economy will grow to benefit all.

There will also be two Private Sector Board Director opportunities. ◗ thamesvalleyberkshire.co.uk joanna@thamesvalleyberkshire.co.uk

Hertfordshire LEP is seeking two experienced business leaders to join its Board and support its mission to grow the local economy, create new jobs and secure future investment. ◗ hertfordshirelep.com info@hertfordshirelep.co.uk

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WHY YOU SHOULD STILL CONSIDER

PROPERTY INVESTMENT Since the 2008 global financial crisis many investors are still questioning the benefits of investing in property. But there are a growing number of property insiders who see property investment as an attractive medium to long-term opportunity worthy of serious consideration. Indeed, Andrew Milligan OBE, head of global strategy at Standard Life believes that, in future, property will yield bigger returns than shares.

indication of the return you’ll get from the property each year which is broadly the rental income, less the costs, divided by the value of the property.

Average residential yields are currently about 3.5% whilst commercial yields are around 8-10%. Both are far greater than the current savings interest rates offered by the banks.

If you are a direct investor, and unless you are a cash buyer, you will need a specialist commercial mortgage, with higher interest rates and charges and a higher deposit than if you were buying a house to live in.

These costs will all affect the return on your investment.

rental income and capital growth from the increase in value of the property over time.

The rental “yield” is an

RESIDENTIAL V. COMMERCIAL

Sophie Macarthy, Commercial Property Partner at Healys LLP, gives an insight into WHAT’S THE RETURN? why you should consider With all types of property, whether residential or property investment commercial, the return on your in 2020 investment comes from the

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Although recent changes in the Buy-to-Let regulations have reduced the return on investment for many landlords, some may still prefer the easy and familiar process of buying and renting residential property especially while interest rates are still low or you have no mortgage on the property. In general, residential tenancies are granted for only six months to a year and the landlord remains responsible for all building maintenance and repairs.

OTHER WAYS TO INVEST

Even if you don’t want to directly invest in commercial property, you can still enjoy returns from it without getting your hands dirty: ◗ Investment funds, trusts or REITS (Real Estate Investment Trusts) – you buy shares in a REIT, not the asset itself, which delivers rental incomes from a portfolio of properties within a tax-efficient structure. You can access your capital more easily but are open to the equity markets. ◗ Indirect property funds – allow you to buy shares in property companies listed on the stock market so returns are provided through share price appreciation and dividend income rather than rental income or property prices.

EXPERT KNOWLEDGE

Commercial leases in the UK are, on average, granted for between 8-15 years meaning investors can expect an extended regular monthly income. Tenants can be made responsible for building repairs and maintenance depending on the type of lease granted. But direct ownership of commercial property remains a tangible asset that can be reviewed, modified and redeveloped as demands change, giving investors control over how to respond to shifting trends and occupier needs.

PROPERTY V. OTHER INVESTMENTS

Even if bought directly, many investors still speak of the reliability of “bricks and mortar” investments such as

commercial property, saying it provides an income that other asset classes struggle to achieve; especially if it is acquired in a tax-efficient wrapper such as a SIPP. Other than residential buyto-let, you may be looking at other types of investment such as stocks and shares (global shares rose last year but with the current geopolitical uncertainties who knows if they will continue to do so), gold (highly volatile and doesn’t pay an income) even Bitcoin (Warren Buffett has called cryptocurrencies an “unproductive asset”). But remember, property values are more independent of other assets and are not affected by the volatility of the stock markets.

Relying on expert knowledge and support systems is key to breaking through into property investment. Healys Corporate and Commercial Property teams are equipped with a full range of legal advisers and trusted referrers who can assist you every step of the way in building a successful property portfolio.

◗ For more information on property investment, please contact Sophie Macarthy, Commercial Property Partner at: sophie.macarthy@healys.com

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X X X X X X X

FINANCIAL PROTEC TION:

LOVE YOUR FUTURE SELF It’s key to plan ahead for life’s unexpected events says Tracey Evans, Associate Director at Progeny Wealth When it comes to looking after our families, women are largely the primary carers for children and elderly parents, yet we all too easily forget about ourselves. Life feels busy and our focus is on meeting the needs of those around us.

Women often overlook their own fi nancial wellbeing and don’t have the right protection and planning in place for unexpected events.

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INSURANCE

Looking at insurance first, there are three main types to be aware of: life insurance, critical illness cover, and income protection.

Life insurance protects you and your loved ones in the event of your death. This means that if you have dependents like children or a spouse who rely on your income to live their lives, or a debt to service like a mortgage, these will be paid

DY NA M IC

FI NA NACE

Remember to take care of yourself. You can’t pour from an empty cup

years you would be paid that amount as a lump sum if you suffered one of those illnesses in that timeframe.

Income protection does what it says on the tin. It is for occasions where you become incapacitated or seriously ill to the extent that you can’t do your job and therefore earn a salary.

A key earner not being able to work for a number of years could plunge many families into financial difficulties.

Income protection allows you to insulate your family against this by ensuring a regular annual income, potentially until retirement, in the event of your incapacity. Even those on company schemes, should review their policies to ensure they have sufficient protection. and protected by the insurance policy if you die within the specified term. Depending on what suits your circumstances best you can choose to take out a policy that pays out one defined lump sum on your death or one that pays out a regular income over a defined period. The latter is often referred to as a family income benefit policy as it can provide an income for your dependents after you’ve gone.

Critical illness cover insures you against serious illnesses like heart attack, stroke and cancer and can be tailored to suit the amount and time frame of your choice. For example, if you take out a policy for £150,000 over 30

PENSION PLANNING

When it comes to your retirement, the sooner you start saving for it, the better it is likely to be and the sooner it is likely to arrive. There always seem to be more urgent demands on our

time and money than thinking about taking care of ourselves in 20, 30 or even 40 years’ time. Working with a financial planner and using tools like cashflow modelling are the most effective ways to take control of your retirement planning and start taking care of your future self.

MITIGATING INHERITANCE TAX

Without proper preparation, Inheritance Tax (IHT) can cost your loved ones a significant proportion of the estate you leave when you die. But with expert advice and careful financial planning, it’s possible to mitigate the impact of IHT on your financial legacy. A financial adviser can help you devise a financial strategy and structure your estate to allow you to mitigate the impact of Inheritance Tax on what you pass on to the next generation.

◗ theprogenygroup.com ◗ Tracey Evans is an Associate Director at Progeny Wealth.

She is one of the most qualified individuals in the financial planning profession, as a Chartered Financial Planner, Certified Financial Planner™, Chartered MCSI, Registered Life Planner® and Chartered Wealth Manager.

Connect with Tracey on LinkedIn, call +44 7825 070 660 for an initial chat, or email tracey.evans@theprogenygroup.com.

Progeny Wealth Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

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CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE & LEADERSHIP

Alison Jones from Kreston Reeves on inspiring women in business

For the last four years I have been involved with judging The Business Women Excellence Awards here in Sussex and Kreston Reeves is delighted to sponsor them. Last year there were over 250 entries with some of the finalists being nominated more than once, which is a fantastic achievement for them.

The detail and quality of the award submissions was very high and they also made very interesting reading about a really inspirational group of women, about their businesses and about their careers in a variety of sectors.

Women inspiring and being inspired by other women is really important in the business community. How women see themselves as business women and see the women around them

Editor in Chief of American Vogue, Anna Wintour once said People respond well to those that are sure of what they do 40

and supporting them is also very important to everyone achieving success; not just individual success, but success for the wider business community and our society as a whole. We need more role models and good news stories.

The business women who entered the awards were not just doing a bit of part time work around their children if they had them, they were running their own profitable businesses or leading organisations, employing thousands of people here in the south and trading all over the UK as well as overseas. Whatever their role in the organisation, they were achieving excellence and for them the sky really is the limit.

This has led me to think about how things are better for the next generation of young women coming into the workplace now, after the hard work of those of us who have gone before and who have helped to break down barriers and smash through glass ceilings, and hopefully having inspired them.

I have a daughter who has just finished university and she has embarked on her first job in London. When I consider the

DY NA M IC

wealth of opportunities that are now available to her and her peer group as they start their working life, compared to when I first left school or when our parents left school, it is just incredible. So much has changed in the last 100 or so years, not just the vote but just think even married women are allowed to work now!

My daughter originally thought about starting her own business straight from university but decided that getting some business experience first might be beneficial. I didn’t imagine thinking about setting up a business when I was her age and I can’t think of any of my peers who did, but it is just the norm now, and I find it amazing, extraordinary, that she didn’t even think twice about this.

What confidence!

So thinking back to all of those award entries, it is fantastic

that most of those ladies all thought the same when they set up their own businesses and had the confidence, motivation, drive and support if they needed it, to succeed.

Female business leader and Editor in Chief of American Vogue, Anna Wintour once said: “People respond well to those that are sure of what they do.”

For the business community here in the south to have such a fantastic array of entrepreneurs and business leaders is incredibly exciting and the wider business community is taking note.

Being a business leader with confidence, enthusiasm, passion and drive and with clear objectives and a strong and credible business plan will help your business to grow and to succeed in the future. You will appeal to investors or lenders and you will be inspirational to

FI NA NCE

the team around you. You will be the sort of future business leader whom people will want to join with.

Understanding and using your strengths makes you not just a leader who people will listen to, but a leader who will inspire others.

Encouraging women in business is a passion of mine and I would be delighted to help you achieve great things for your business. ◗ Alison Jones is a Partner at Kreston Reeves and can be contacted at alison.jones@krestonreeves.com www.krestonreeves.com

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X X X X X X X

YOUR PRECIOUS DATA:

USE IT, DON’T STORE IT How CRM software can hold the golden nuggets of sales data says Carlene Jackson, CEO of Cloud9 Insight When it comes to working with data, the pressure to treat it properly can be daunting.

With the abundance of customer information now at our fi ngertips, it’s time for businesses to get serious with their systems and be mindful of what they measure.

SLIDE AWAY FROM STATIC SPREADSHEETS

Many businesses start their sales efforts with a simple list. Often, this is a spreadsheet containing names, contact details and maybe space for a date when the customer was last spoken to. It’s a straightforward method, but it’s

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not a sustainable approach in the long-term.

In every old sales spreadsheet, there are bound to be a few hidden nuggets of gold that could transform a business, if only its owners knew about them. A lead that’s been unforgivably ignored, a conversation that wasn’t fulfilled, a call back that wasn’t made. The data on spreadsheets is incomplete and only really meaningful to those who added it. But, as the days pass by, memories fade, staff move on and opportunities are lost.

Many businesses also have active accounts that could be worked far more profitably if only they explored the available options. When a customer has bought from you once, they are many times more likely than a new prospect to buy from you again. People buy from people but only from people who get in touch and ask for the business.

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T ECH NOLOGY

of the business and focuses on your customers. It should give managers all the information they need to steer their business towards growth. A system like Microsoft Dynamics365 gives you real visibility of your company’s interactions with customers and sales leads.

Information is no longer siloed in departments or with individuals – it won’t walk out of the door when they leave.

Those hidden golden nuggets of sales data are also far easier to fi nd with Dynamics.

A smart CRM such as this plugs directly into accounts, operations, marketing and customer service.

It should be the first port of call for directors when they are looking to create strategies for growth, as it will offer them all the information they need.

But implementing a CRM is not something a business should

Implementing a CRM is not something a business should try to do alone.

You’ll want a partner on this journey MAKE YOUR DATA WORK FOR YOU

The spreadsheet needs to be ditched in favour of a system that’s more sophisticated and more likely to lead to sales.

Businesses that want to grow should invest in customer relationship management (CRM) software. Understandably, many businesses are somewhat wary about such an investment. It’s a significant cost and represents a major step change in the way a business is run.

The CRM sits at the heart

try to do alone. You’ll want a partner on this journey. That partner should be there from the beginning and continue with you on that journey once the system is up and running.

When the CRM is fully integrated into a business then the magic can begin to happen. Managers can get the information they need and use it to drive performance. Targets can be more easily set and these can be stretched over time. But a word of warning on this point: be careful what you measure.

KNOW WHAT YOU’RE MEASURING AND WHY

Businesses are defined by what they measure. People respond to targets and metrics and this can be very impactful. A metric might make perfect sense in the boardroom, but it can take on another form for those who have to actually achieve it.

Data is very powerful and can transform a business. Managers need to know both what’s happening in their businesses and what could be happening. It’s time for businesses that want to grow to ditch the spreadsheet and find those golden nuggets that can propel them forward.

◗ Carlene Jackson is the CEO of Brighton-based tech company Cloud9 Insight, a Microsoft Gold Partner and Top 20 SME for Culture (Real Business), which has provided more than 600 UK businesses with cloud-based CRM software systems. Founded in 2010, the company has 25 staff and is also an award-winning apprenticeship provider, Vantage Academy.

Frequently quoted in national and local media, Carlene was listed by About Time magazine in the Top 10 Female Tech Entrepreneurs, and named as an Inspirational Woman in Tech by Capterra. ◗ If you’d like a free consultation to discuss how companies in your industry are adapting to the digital revolution, email hello@cloud9insight.com or call 01273 921510

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Two Chicks & ONE CARTON DYNAMIC meets Two Chicks founders Alla Ouvarova and Anna Richey, and finds out how their liquid egg white business successfully hatched

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DY NA M IC

JOU R N E Y

Tell us a bit about yourself...

Alla: I am the co-founder of Two Chicks and a mother to two beautiful children. When I’m not busy with work or running around after the kids, I really enjoy working out, and the occasional glass of chardonnay!

Anna: I am the co-founder of Two Chicks. Prior to founding Two Chicks I worked in television news, journalism and PR. In my spare time, I enjoy writing poetry, horse riding and fine red wine!

I never ever thought I would begin a business, or had any previous desire to start one; I simply saw a gap in the market and doggedly followed an idea.

Alla Ouvarova (L) and Anna Richey (R)

How did you both meet?

Both: We first met at a party then we bumped into each other again in London where we exchanged numbers and the rest is history!

Where did you get the idea for Two Chicks?

Anna: While I was living in Los Angeles for a short time back in 2005, I was struck by the popularity of liquid egg whites to make fat and cholesterol-free, lower calorie omelettes as an alternative to cooking with whole eggs.

On my return to the UK I wanted egg whites for break-fast, but didn’t want the hassle and wastage of separating eggs. It seemed ludicrous that we didn’t have such a product on the

market. Numerous magazine articles, along with celebrities and sports stars, were recommending egg white omelettes to stay in shape, yet there was no way to simply make them.

Alla and I were good friends and one day when we were chatting on the phone she told me that she wanted to use her economics degree and when I told her my idea, she also immediately recognised the gap in the market. We arranged to meet the next day; we bought the FT business plan writing guide and took it from there. Alla with her degree in economics and me with my degree in English Literature meant that we had complimentary skill sets. Plus, everything I loved to do she hated and vice-versa.

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What are the benefits of using just egg white in cooking?

Both: Egg white is fat and cholesterol-free, so you can use it in place of whole egg for a lower calorie alternative, whilst still getting all the protein benefits; in omelettes, scrambled eggs and frittatas, for example. It is ideal for desserts such as meringues and pavlova, where you only require the white. It is also very popular in protein shakes, and is increasingly being used in ‘proats’, which are oats with egg white mixed in for added protein. For this reason, egg white is very popular with many different groups of people.

What happens to the yolks?

Both: They get used by other producers, cake or quiche manufacturers for example, so are never wasted.

What does your brand say about you?

Both: Two Chicks looked at the humble egg and saw amazing possibilities. With heart, an intuitive understanding of modern lifestyles and a natural flair for tasty innovations, we help people find their inner strength and fulfil their potential. With heart and hard work we are breaking new ground. From effortless egg whites to featherlight snacks, we’re pioneering tasty innovations for modern living.

Have you come up against any challenges?

Both: Yes, plenty! Finding the initial investment was a real challenge: neither of us had a background in business or food, and with just an idea, breaking into the multiples seemed like a long shot to potential investors.

Finally, a family friend agreed to give us £25,000 in return for some equity.

We had a big job on our hands, not only did we have to convince the buyers to list the product, but we had to actually explain to

It was a question of always thinking outside the box and pushing boundaries – ducking under the red tape at food shows to hand samples to celebrities on stage 46

them what it was and why anyone would want to buy it, as they were all totally unfamiliar with the concept of egg whites packaged alone. We were introducing an entirely new product and we had a whole educational job on our hands.

Then there was the question of instore positioning and which buyer to approach - in America the eggs are kept in the fridge but in the UK they are not, so there was no obvious place for our product to sit.

Starting our business on such a low budget meant that we had to be extremely persistent and innovative in order to get into and remain in the marketplace. It was a question of always thinking outside the box and pushing boundaries - ducking under the red tape at food shows to hand samples to celebrities on stage.

When we first got listings in the multiples, we would drive around the country leafleting outside the stores. We couldn’t

afford the in-store marketing options so we would go into supermarkets and place our own point-of-sale on the shelves. But this activity came to an end once we were removed by security from a major supermarket chain and got a call from the buyer!

It was a real challenge to find a producer who could meet all of our criteria. We eventually managed to find one, but even then it wasn’t plain sailing. For example, our producer could only supply the egg white in cases of 18s, but the supermarkets

Two Chicks looked at the humble egg and saw amazing possibilities required cases of six, so every week we would sit in a huge fridge at 6am dressed in our winter coats and boots and re-box a thousand units.

At the beginning, and for quite a long time, we did absolutely

everything as we couldn’t afford to pay ourselves, let alone anyone else. But thankfully, we had complimentary skill sets so it worked out really well.

In 2016 we won the Entrepreneurial Spirit Award at the Variety Catherine Awards, set up to celebrate inspirational women in business. And one year after we launched we made the national finals of the HSBC Start-Up Stars Awards, the UK’s premier competition for young businesses. So the challenges paid off!

This IWD celebrates #Eachfor Equal – as businesswomen how do you highlight the importance of gender equality?

Both: We have recently begun working with a charity, which helps women survivors of war rebuild their lives and choose their own futures.

We would like to become increasingly involved with supporting young women’s business aspirations and are in the process of setting something up ourselves.

What’s next for Two Chicks?

Both: To make our US launch a success. In the future we hope to grow our product line substantially in the UK and across new territories. ◗ www.twochicks.co.uk

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HAND-PICKED VILLAS Go Bespoke highlights six of the most luxurious villa retreats to escape to this year Imagine a luxury villa with its own swimming pool and beach access, combined with a team of staff on hand to cater for your every whim.

A luxury villa holiday offers an escape from the restrictions of a hotel or a resort’s daily routine, giving you the complete freedom to do what you want, when you want.

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Alternatively, if you are seeking privacy with the option of enjoying first class resort facilities, such as restaurants and children’s clubs, a luxury villa resort may just be the solution, allowing you and your party the best of both worlds. Go Bespoke highlights six of the most luxurious villa getaways to escape to this year.

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T R AV E L

THAIL AND

Iniala Nestled between palm trees and set directly on the golden sands of Natai Beach in the Phang Nga Province north of Phuket Island, Iniala Beach House is a masterpiece of design with unrivalled views. Fusing traditional Thai architecture with organic forms, there are four exquisite five bedroom villas and a spectacular penthouse, all facing the Andaman Sea and each with its own infinity-edged swimming pool and sumptuous spa room. This transcendent beachfront escape regularly hosts many of the world’s top 50 chefs for pop-up dinners and events, bringing a truly gastronomic experience directly to one’s doorstep. There are plenty of adventures and experiences to be

had beyond the villa, too. With a fleet of yachts on the island, take a luxurious cruise out to see the majestic Phang Nga Bay, and enjoy the services of on-board chefs, butlers and masseuses.

Divers will find they are just an hour’s drive from Khao Lak, a launch pad to Similan and Surin islands, where some of Thailand’s best diving spots can be found, while you may also wish to take a spot of yoga or Pilates on the beach or take on a kayaking or paddle-boarding venture.

Children, meanwhile, will love the ‘Land of Iniala’ Kid’s Club and Hotel - with tree houses and caves to explore in this indoor playroom, little ones will have their own camp to enjoy, and even sleep over in!

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T R AV E L

MALLORCA

Belmond La Residencia Sheltered by the Tramuntana mountains on Mallorca’s peaceful north-west coast, Belmond La Residencia is one of the most coveted hotels on the island set in lush gardens and olive groves, overlooking the sleepy artists’ village of Deià where English poet Robert Graves fled post war Europe.

A short walk from the hotel, with three double bedrooms, the eponymous Villa offers deluxe spacious, self-catering accommodation with its own swimming pool – perfect for families or friends travelling together. Enjoy daily breakfast in the hotel and full access to the amazing facilities including tennis courts, pools, restaurants and the Spa. Take an art class, explore the region’s cultural treasures

by Vespa, hike in the hills, or let the hotel pack you a picnic feast to enjoy on one of the ancient terraces, transported by one of the resident donkeys.

FR ANSCHHOEK

La Clé Des Montagnes La Clé des Montagnes is a French-accented retreat in the former Huguenot enclave of Franschhoek, a picturesque town noted for its stellar cuisine, highend boutiques, affluent arts scene and beautiful nature reserves.

Comprising just four exclusive luxury villas and an exclusive array of hidden luxuries, the property is ideally located within South Africa’s famed Winelands region and just a short distance from central Franschhoek itself.

Enjoy the private paradise of your luxury villa, each with butlerservice, private swimming pool and beautifully styled interiors.

Styles vary from Victorian farmhouse at La Grange and

traditional French décor at Le Manoir to La Galerie’s bold and vibrant blend of antique and contemporary, and a modern fusion of east-meets-north

Africa at Le Colonial. Guests can experience life on a working wine estate whilst enjoying the many first-class facilities of this exceptional property.

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JAMAICA

Goldeneye Fleming Villa ranks among the Caribbean’s most enchanting retreats and captivates those in search of natural beauty and privacy. Sited on GoldenEye property yet on its own, separate parcel of land — with private beach, private pool and tropical gardens — Fleming Villa offers guests the best of both worlds: the seclusion of a villa vacation and the switched-on scene of a small, sophisticated resort that’s just a short walk away. The villa comes with a

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dedicated staff that includes a butler, housekeeper and cook. Guests need never leave – but are always welcome at the FieldSpa at GoldenEye, as well as the resort’s restaurants, bars and activities. Located 20 minutes east of Ocho Rios and less than a 10-minute drive from Ian Fleming International Airport, Fleming Villa sleeps up to 10 people with three bedrooms in the main villa and two standalone guest cottages: Sweet Spot and Pool House.

DY NA M IC TREMEZZO

Villa Sola Cabiati, Grand Hotel

T R AV E L

Just moments away from the 18th century residence Grand Hotel Tremezzo along the shores of Lake Como, you’ll find the majestic Villa Sola Cabiati. Originally built in the 16th century, the residence can now sleep up to 12 people in six luxurious suites, each decorated in their own unique style. Outside of the main building, which houses beautifully decorative halls as well as sumptuous accommodation, you can enjoy strolling through traditional Italian gardens or relaxing by the heated pool. Every detail of your stay will be taken care of by a team of attentive staff - including a villa manager, butler and housekeeper - whilst your personal chef will also prepare whatever your taste buds desire for breakfast, lunch and dinner as part of your stay. Guests can also enjoy access to facilities at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo including the awardwinning T Spa and breath-taking T Beach.

BARBADOS

The Westerings at Royal Westmoreland This elegantly-decorated Colonial style villa in St James enjoys a prime location at the 13th hole of the Royal Westmoreland’s Championship golf course, overlooking the course towards the turquoise blue Caribbean Sea. The main villa sleeps twelve and features an open plan lounge, fullyfitted kitchen and five bedrooms, of which the master suite has its

own private lounge and covered terraces for greater privacy. A guest cottage sits adjacent to the villa and comprises the sixth bedroom, which along with a bathroom, kitchenette, lounge, a fully equipped games room and dedicated media area, provides the ideal independent solution for families travelling with other relatives or teenagers. Outdoor

living areas include a dining and bar area with barbecue and an expansive terrace that surrounds the luxurious infinity edge pool and jacuzzi. Guests enjoy access to Royal Westmoreland’s superb facilities which include the par 72, 18-hole, Championship golf course, designed by Robert Trent Jones Junior and a complimentary shuttle service to Mullins Beach.

For more information about these villas, or to learn more about booking a holiday with Go Bespoke, please call the team on 020 8935 5779 or email info@gobespoketravel.com quoting ‘Dynamic’.

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HIDDEN GEMS OF SOUTH AFRICA Hazel Adeyemo of Signature Safaris on holidaying like a local South Africa is a hugely popular holiday destination with a diverse range of experiences, stunning landscapes, breathtaking wildlife and a fascinating history. Add to the mix a temperate climate with hot summers right in the heart of the UK winter, who wouldn’t want to head here for an African escape.

The highlights are well

publicised, Table Mountain, Robben Island and Kruger National Park are just a few of the popular tourist hotspots.

But where do you go to get a feel for the real South Africa?

We have been thinking about some of our favourite places and activities we enjoyed when we lived here that you may not find in your typical holiday brochure.

De Hoop Nature Reserve

KIRSTENBOSCH SUMMER CONCERTS

This is a well visited attraction in Cape Town but not many international visitors realise it is a popular live music venue. Every Sunday throughout summer, for about £10, a ticket you can sit in the sunshine on the lawns and enjoy popular local musicians as the sun sets. There is a great atmosphere with a beautiful backdrop. Take a picnic and a bottle of wine and join in the fun.

THE FOOD BARN

Kirstenbosch concert

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If you are prepared to head out of the city for dinner then you won’t be disappointed.

Situated in the laid back suburb of Noordhoek, this relaxed fine dining restaurant is owned by local legend Franck Dangereux.

Wonderful flavour combinations and stunning presentation make this a popular local dining option for a special occasion that doesn’t break the bank.

If you prefer something even more chilled then the Food Barn Deli turns into a buzzing tapas venue from 6pm. I enjoyed

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T R AV E L

PHOTO COURTESY OF LEKKEWATER BEACH LODGE, NATURAL SELECTION

HEMEL EN AARDE VALLEY

a memorable last meal here before moving back to the UK five years ago.

for land-based whale watching in South Africa. Accommodation ranges from simple self-catering cottages to a 5-star beach front lodge.

I first discovered this part of South Africa as part of a longer trip enjoying the game reserves of the Eastern Cape. Set on the East coast of South Africa, on a pre-breakfast beach walk, we literally saw two other people the entire time. With white sand that stretches for miles, it is a place that lets you disconnect from everyday life and just enjoy nature at its most raw.

DE HOOP NATURE RESERVE

About three and a half hours from Cape Town this is a little gem. If you like the outdoors, then take a few days to enjoy this marine reserve. Running, hiking and mountain biking are all possible. But if you’d rather enjoy a more leisurely stroll or some rock pooling that is also fine. During whale season, De Hoop is arguably the best spot

INVERROCHE, STILLBAAI

Inverroche is located in a quiet garden route town and can easily be missed. But if you enjoy gin, it is well worth taking time to visit.

Whether it is for a tasting or a fully hands on class where you distill and bottle your own gin, this is a fascinating experience.

Six years ago Inverroche was born and now exports its craft gin to 15 different countries.

PHOTO COURTESY OF INVERROCHE

CHINTSA, WILD COAST

In South Africa you are truly spoilt when it comes to wine.

We sometimes like to venture away from Stellenbosch or Franschhoek to one of the smaller wine producing regions that feels more relaxed and less commercial. Welcome to Hemel en Aarde, just 30 minutes outside Hermanus. A 20km stretch of the R320 is home to boutique wineries and wonderful rolling valleys.

Inverroche, Stillbaai

◗ Signature Safaris use their passion for Africa and its wildlife to design bespoke once in a lifetime holiday itineraries for their clients.

They can be contacted at info@signatureafricansafaris.com or 01342 811787

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THOUGHTS ON LEADERSHIP

I felt empowered by the trust and belief he had in me as we worked together on the business strategy over the years 56

A year before Dad passed away, he demonstrated the ultimate act of delegation by stepping aside and allowing me to become the CEO of Ridgeview. We both had hoped there would be a slightly longer handover period, but by then I had effectively been running the business day to day knowing he was there in the background if needed.

Any business coach or mentor will tell you that delegation is a key part of leadership and is critical if you want you and your

PICTURE CREDIT: SIMON DACK

Tamara Roberts, CEO of Ridgeview Wine Estate, on what it takes to be a leader of an ambitious and growing SME

DELEGATION

Just over five years ago my father passed away leaving a huge hole not only for us personally but also professionally. Ridgeview was built on a vision he and Mum had shared back in the early 1990s after selling their previous venture (unrelated to wine) and he had been our business leader from then until his untimely death. It was an extremely difficult time for us all. Not only did we have to deal with the grief of losing a loved one, we also had to step up and run the business ourselves – very much sink or swim.

When I look back, amongst all the other emotions, I remember an overwhelming feeling of determination to deliver Dad’s vision for the business. I felt empowered by the trust and belief he had in me as we worked together on the business strategy over the years. I learnt so much from him about what it takes to be a leader of an ambitious and growing SME, I thought I would share my thoughts on this subject.

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SUPPORT YOUR MANAGEMENT TEAM

Once you have a team in place to delegate responsibilities to, it is crucial not to undermine them. Often in growing SMEs where the management structure is being formalised and new managers brought in or promoted, staff, customers and suppliers who may have

TRUST

In order to lead, you must trust your team and demonstrate this trust. Do you allow your Senior Managers to make decisions and commitments on behalf of the business without your prior approval, within pre-defined and well communicated limits? If not, why not? Good leadership is not a dictatorship and delegation of decision making is an important element to demonstrating the trust you have in your team.

PICTURE CREDIT: JULIA CLAXTON

business to thrive. It is one of the biggest challenges in growing SMEs as often the leaders have been used to doing ‘everything’ which becomes impossible as the business grows. Specialists must be brought in and roles and responsibilities properly defined and supported within the business. Leaders must fully embrace this transition and guide rather than control – there is no point bringing in a specialist who probably has more experience than you in their field, to then micro-manage them, it is counterproductive.

L E A DE R SH I P

MOTIVATION

had an informal direct line to you in the past, may continue to use this channel. Do not allow this to happen. It will take time and effort but in the long-term it will be better for all involved and allow the business and your team to flourish.

It is undeniable that understanding what motivates people in your team unlocks high performance.

The skill is once you know what motivates someone, how do you harness this for the benefit of the business.

We use a personal development programme which has been very successful to align personal and professional motivations, in a set of annual goals that align with our business objectives and values.

There is nothing groundbreaking in the above which I think is important as leadership is not supposed to be overly complicated. Much of the time it comes down to listening and being observant in order to know when change is needed and being brave enough to make and manage those changes through the business.

◗ Tamara Roberts is CEO of Ridgeview Wine Estate, producers of the award-winning English sparkling wine. www.ridgeview.co.uk

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A DECADE FOR WOMEN There’s a lot of noise around the various barriers women have in business, the disadvantages they face in climbing the leadership ladder and the glass ceilings they hit, so the beginning of a new decade is a great time to focus our sights through a different lens.

It’s time to look at the advantages we have over men. After two decades running my business, here are my thoughts on four of the secret weapons I’ve leant on in scaling up my business.

#1 GOOD BUSINESS MAKES GOOD BUSINESS

Sally Pritchett, CEO at the creative communications agency Something Big, on our secret weapons in business

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It’s now a well-documented case that many female entrepreneurs set up their own businesses on a mission to make an impact on an issue close to their heart, with countless successful businesses set up on the back of this premise, from Holly at NOTHS to Fiona at Totsbots.

Whilst in the past, the key driver for our male counterparts has often been focused entirely on making money and provide for the family. This sense of a purpose beyond purely profit

is very natural to women and a secret weapon particularly in the upcoming decade when consumers are demanding more from brands than ever before, no longer the empty ‘promise’ purpose, but evidence of real action and impact. Last year’s call for people to fly ‘more responsibly’ from KLM is a great example of how brands can capitalise on delivering more beyond profit.

TIP: If you’re passionately on a mission, shout about it. Customers will admire you and buy from you as a result.

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BUSI N E SS

Instead of focusing on how few females there are in boardrooms, it’s time to optimise this massive opportunity by better tuning into why and how women buy and disrupt traditionally male industries #3 TUNED IN TO CUSTOMERS

#2 BALANCED REALISTIC RISK MANAGEMENT

Another well-documented fact is that female business leaders appear to take a more cautious approach to risk.

This is born out by the significantly fewer female calls for funding and fewer female led businesses in the ‘scale up’ camp, however this is usually viewed as a weakness. Looking at it through a different lens we see that in our current VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) economic and political environment, a more balanced view of risk could serve very well.

TIP: Caution and risk management is a key part of good leadership not necessarily your imposter syndrome getting the better of you.

It’s becoming obvious that there’s a significant miss fit between the diversity of consumers (those with the buying power) and those leading the organisations selling products. For example, research shows that women drive 70-80% of all consumer purchasing decisions, whilst we certainly aren’t matching that in the C-suite. Instead of focusing on how few females there are in boardrooms, it’s time to optimise this massive opportunity by better tuning into why and how women buy and disrupt traditionally male industries, like automotive and electronics.

TIP: You know consumers better than men because you are one.

Stop following the rules and make up some new rules for the decade to come.

#4 AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP

And finally, another, often overlooked, secret weapon in the female armoury is their natural leadership style. Modern day leadership requires leaders to be authentic, accessible and even vulnerable, traits that traditionally male leaders have struggled with while female leaders are often more empathetic, approachable and open to diversity.

TIP: Don’t try to copycat male leaders that you aspire to. Take the good bits, for sure, but be comfortable to find your own leadership style and be yourself.

In summary, the decade to come brings a huge opportunity for women, we need to stop looking at the reasons not to grab opportunities and, instead, seize the day. ◗ somethingbig.co.uk

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THE

INFLUENCERS FORUM Dynamic gathered together a group of business leaders at the Hilton Gatwick Airport to discuss the challenges facing women in their careers and in their workplaces.

LESLEY ALCOCK

REBECCA BURFORD

Lesley Alcock, Commercial Director of The Platinum Group, publishers of the UK’s widestread business magazine and producers of the South’s largest business awards including, The Sussex Business Awards, The Surrey Business Awards and more. Lesley has had a varied career working at The London Evening Standard, The Observer Newspaper and as part of the creative partnerships team at Capital Radio.

Recently promoted to Partner, Rebecca Burford is one of the youngest partners in Charles Russell Speechlys. Ranked as ‘Next Generation Partner’ in the Legal 500 2019, she is able to quickly grasp, understand and effectively communicate complex issues. Impressing clients with her comprehensive legal knowledge and experience, Rebecca was recently placed in The Lawyer’s Hot 100 list of legal market trailblazers.

Platinum Publishing Group

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Charles Russell Speechlys

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SAMANTHA K AYE

EMMA LANE

Samantha Kaye joined Wellesley Wealth Advisory as a Financial Advisor after having spent 20 years working in a pensions, legal and technical environment. During this time she provided detailed assistance to a variety of St James’s Place Practices, helping to formulate plans for their clients. Samantha now wishes to help her own clients by focusing on pensions, investments and inheritance tax planning.

Emma Lane is the South East Area Director for Allied Irish Bank. Her role is to lead a team of banking and finance professionals. Emma has been in banking for 20 years, having worked for Barclays and Lloyds.

She was one of the first girls to attend the previously all boys school Marlborough College, where her love for all things challenging stems from.

Wellesley Wealth Advisory

Allied Irish Bank

ANA CHRISTIE

Sussex Chamber of Commerce Ana Christie is the CEO of the Sussex Chamber of Commerce, which aims to help businesses grow, develop, discover and influence.

Ana’s career began in aviation, before later entering senior management in the hotel and tourism industries.

Ana joined the Chamber over five years ago and has since re-established it as the largest membership organisation in the county.

VICKY STEVENS MELANIE RICHARDSON

Swindells Chartered Accountants Melanie Richardson is Managing Partner at Swindells Accountants.

Melanie qualified as a Chartered Accountant in a top 20 firm over 20 years ago and has worked both in practice and in business.

She has extensive experience in running businesses and has been managing partner at Swindells LLP for the last seven years.

NatWest/ RBS Group

Vicky has worked with the NatWest/ RBS group for 12 years and has specialised in business banking as Business Growth Enabler for the past eight years. Passionate about supporting female entrepreneurs, she was delighted to take the lead in a project to work alongside Coast to Capital, becoming the UK’s first Expert in Residence off the back of the Rose Review.

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DOES THE

Emma. I’m sure still there is, especially as women often work for a long time in one organisation. If you’ve been able to move about in your career, then that tends to negate a lot of the pay gap challenge. But many women will think: “I’ve got a job, it works me, so I’m staying where I am”.

GENDER PAY GAP STILL EXIST? Rebecca. You simply have to ask for more money. When I first qualified, I told the agent who got me my first job to ask for another £3,000. He was reluctant to ask but the firm agreed. I was doing his job for him.

I later discovered that other people who joined at the same time were on £3,000 less than me.

This is unusual. I know so many women who have been working for 10 or 15 years, and have never asked for a rise. They feel they don’t deserve it and they shouldn’t ask. The guys ask for more without batting an eyelid. Maybe I think more like a man, but it has definitely got me further.

Women rarely ask for a pay rise, I think it often comes down to the imposter syndrome Vicky Stevens

Lesley. It is a fact that women are also less likely to challenge their bosses and demand a pay rise.

Melanie. You don’t have to behave like a man. You are a woman but your thinking is more assertive than many women. There isn’t necessarily a sexist salary bias, more of an issue about whether women ask for more.

In one job, I was on a lot less than a colleague just because he’d asked for more. When I found out, I demanded the same as him and I got it.

The company just assumed that my negotiation skills weren’t as good as his! I just didn’t ask soon enough.

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Emma. I have been fortunate in the last 15 or so years in that I’ve worked for big high street names and their maternity leave policies are very robust. The only time I was put in a position of feeling very uncomfortable on my return to work was down to one individual, not the firm.

Ana. I was in a senior position, managing a business, and I was made to feel so guilty when I told my boss that I was pregnant. There was no support at all. I literally stopped work a week before my son was born and there was so much pressure for me to return to work. I felt so guilty.

Rebecca. I’ve got a lot of friends who have returned to work successfully, but they have spouses or partners who are able to work flexibly. One of my friend’s husband works for HMRC, and he does all the childcare and steps in if their daughter is ill. If you are the one who is the default carer, then returning to work can be very challenging.

HOW DIFFICULT IS

RETURNING TO WORK AFTER CHILDREN? Samantha. I took six months off with both my children, but fortunately worked for a big corporate back then. They were super flexible but you still feel the guilt as a returning-to-work mother, especially when your child is poorly or they have a doctor’s appointment. The guilt is often the biggest problem.

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DY NA M IC

HOW CAN WE INTRODUCE

GENUINE FLEXIBLE WORKING?

Melanie. One of my partners has a two-year-old and probably once a week the nursery rings and says she’s got a temperature or she’s not well. No matter how flexible your employer is, it does become a problem.

As a partner he’s got quite a bit of flexibility, but a junior member of staff would really struggle.

Lesley. Flexible working is growing because it is a fantastic solution to childcare issues. It’s now a lot easier to work from home, and you can also keep in touch through Skype.

Flexible working isn’t just for mothers it’s there for men and women. The other side of the coin is ageing parents.

People are often looking after their parents as well as their children.

Vicky. It’s not just for parents.

It’s there if you have an unwell family member. This happened to me and it worked as if I had stayed in the office, my head wouldn’t have been in the right place, and I was still able to get on with things.

Melanie. It has got to come down to the employer realising that you’ll get more out of people by allowing that flexibility and trusting them.

Everyone wants to do the best that they can, but sometimes they have to look after their family.

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Emma. Some jobs cannot be as agile as others, so for certain jobs you can’t just say I have to leave now. But it can be flexible if planned a few days in advance.

It’s taken me over two years to encourage my team to embrace agile working. They’ve come from a traditional branch banking background which says they must be in the branch at 8.45am mustn’t leave until 5pm.

Men have struggled more with embracing agile working. One of my team needed to care for his adult daughter who had broken her leg and he needed flexibility, which I was able to give him.

Prior to that he had dismissed the idea of working from home.

It took a long time for him to accept it was possible.

Lesley. Men fear missing out on what’s going on because they’re so competitive. They also think that if they’re not in the office, they will be judged negatively.

It’s the subconscious bias again. I actually do think a lot of men believe it’s not their job to look after the baby, it’s their wife’s job. In their mind, their job is more important and they are the major breadwinner.

Melanie. I still feel guilty if I’m working at home and yet I get so much more done. I feel like I’ve got to answer every email really, really quickly so everyone knows I’m still sitting in front of the screen.

Rebecca. At my previous firm I worked from home on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. When I moved jobs, I said I wanted to work flexibly. I was told it would be fine if I needed to go to a dental appointment, but I insisted flexible working was in my contract. I was the first person in the firm to have formal flexible, agile working - and we now have a policy that’s rolled out for all staff.

One frustration is that people will not contact me on a Monday as they think it’s my day off. I have to correct them and point out that I am working, but just not in the office.

DY NA M IC Melanie. Women tend to work in a different way. Research shows that women are much more collaborative. When they are looking for a business relationship, they’re actually looking for someone to do things with them in partnership, to link arms and move forward together.

The stereotype is that a man knows what he wants, and he goes and gets it. Women want to be much more collaborative in their approach. A woman who is thinking about setting up a business is less likely to do it on her own.

I’ve actually got quite a few women clients in traditionally

male dominated industries.

The servicing of the relationship with a man or woman in manufacturing is different.

The guy may want more of a transactional service and to know you’re there if they need to pick the phone up and request a service. A woman will ring you up and say, ‘I’m a bit worried about this’ and ask if we can sit down and have a chat about how we’re going to move this forward.

There is generally a real difference in the relationship depending on the gender of the person you are dealing with.

Emma. I can think of many female clients who are exactly as you describe: “Let’s meet for coffee so I can talk this through with you.”

Women will often want to talk everything through including things that might not happen. The point is she wants to know that we are listening to her.

SHOULD THERE BE DIFFERENT

BUSINESS SOLUTIONS FOR MEN AND WOMEN? Ana. We focus on providing the services that businesses need, regardless whether the business is run by a male or female. It would be very challenging to start focusing on targeting the services. We do hold events which target specific groups, which is very different. In terms of services, whether it’s marketing support, finance, lead generation or finance, the same issues come up for male-run and female-run businesses.

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DY NA M IC

Rebecca. All the studies show that girls tend to thrive better at a younger age in a single-sex school.

Boys hold them back because they want to be breaking things and putting them back together rather than sitting attentively and learning.

But my daughter’s experience was that by moving from a girls school to a mixed school from 11 onwards, it diluted the bitchiness.

Educationally, she probably did better being a single-sex school, but the bitchiness at the all-girls school was awful.

DO GIRLS GET A

BETTER PREPAR ATION FOR LIFE AT AN ALL-GIRLS SCHOOL?

Emma. My daughter was in a co-ed school until last year when she was 13, and now she is at an all-girls grammar school.

I thinks she misses the balance of having boys around. She plays rugby and is doing and is in the Combined Cadet Force (CCF). She wants to be a doctor in the army. There is a danger that girls can be distracted by having boys around, affecting their studies, but she has never been phased by boys. Having a brother probably helps in that respect.

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ARE FEMALE NETWORKING GROUPS SEXIST? Samantha. I attend a very successful all-female professional networking group. It’s lovely. I’m a natural talker and networker, but not everyone is like me. It’s a really big deal for many women to come along and talk about themselves.

You can always spot the new person in the room who is sat very quietly at the back, not really sure how to engage.

Once they realise it’s a safe environment, they start to talk about themselves and what they’re trying to achieve. After that, they can’t stop talking!

Samantha. The women’s professional network works as many women are very uncomfortable about promoting themselves.

Women don’t like to talk about themselves. I’ve seen women from that networking group go onto mixed networking groups because they’ve gained the confidence.

It’s given them a bit of comfort that actually they have got a good business and that they now need to get the word out there.

Vicky. The danger is that when we talk about making positive changes we are just talking to the same sex, and everyone needs to be involved to improve things.

But I understand the value of all-female groups from a confidence point of view. I am in favour of having options, and if a man wants to come along he shouldn’t be shut out.

Melanie. Don’t forget, there are some very traditional maledominated networking methods such as golf. A lot of business is done on the golf course. Even now, there are very few women who play a lot of golf. I can’t think of anything worse than spending a morning hitting a ball and losing it.

The women’s networking groups started to spring up as there was no place for them to go. However, it does run the risk of going too far the other way.

Lesley. I play golf for pleasure, but there is the opportunity to network, and there are some very good corporate golf days. Sailing is another sport which mixes both pleasure and business, which again is dominated by men. There are more and more women like myself taking part and it is changing, but probably too slowly.

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In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders

Diversity in business is essential. You want diversity of thought. You want the best people regardless of their background, their gender – so that you can get the best out of people.

DAME ANITA RODDICK Founder of The Body Shop

SHERYL SANDBERG COO Facebook

The struggle for the right to become politicians in itself made women into politicians.

ELEANOR RATHBONE Feminist campaigner

WOR DS OF world’s most talented Empowering quotes from some of the to Virginia Woolf female figures, from Sheryl Sandberg

Employers will assume that you are happy what you are doing if you don’t say anything, especially if you are a woman If business leadership is about anything, it’s about ensuring a balance. As the founder or CEO, you’re meant to be the mastermind of the company’s wider strategy.

INDRA NOOYI Former CEO of Pepsi Co and ranked among the world’s 100 most powerful women

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MARTHA LANE FOX CBE British businesswoman who co-founded Last Minute.com

DY NA M IC Nobody talks about entrepreneurship as survival, but that’s exactly what it is and what nurtures creative thinking. Running that first shop taught me business is not financial science; it’s all about trading, buying and selling.

LADY BARBARA JUDGE CBE An American-British lawyer and businesswoman

WOM E N

If one man can destroy everything, why can’t one girl change it?

MALANA YOUSAFZAI Pakistani activist for female education

INSPIR ATION There are lots of opportunities out there for women to work in these fields, girls just need support, encouragement and mentoring to follow through with the sciences.

For most of history, anonymous was a woman VIRGINIA WOOLF 20th century English writer

SALLY RIDE The first American female to go into space in 1983

Never settle for second best and strive for perfection. You also shouldn’t be afraid of not knowing something, naivety can be an advantage.

JO MALONE CBE British perfumer and founder of Jo Malone London

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S TO P P I N G T H E

BIOLOGICAL CLOCK Egg freezing is the new buzz word in female business circles says Dr Carole Gilling-Smith, MA (Cantab), FRCOG, PhD, Consultant Gynaecologist and Medical Director of the Agora Gynaecology and Fertility Centre

One of the most painful things a woman can hear is that she has little or no hope of conceiving her own biological child. Sadly in my Fertility Clinic in Hove I see far too many women who find themselves in this situation. Many have achieved everything they could have wished for in their career, but only met Mr Right at a later age when unfortunately their egg reserve is too low to allow them to conceive naturally.

This is why I have become such an advocate for educating women about their reproductive choices from adolescence onwards. I want to ensure we empower a whole new generation of young women, to not only learn about contraception but get a real understanding about their biological clocks so they can choose when and how to have a family in the future.

A woman is born with all the eggs she will ever have, some two

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million or so, but loses them in an exponential way throughout her life, whether she is menstruating, pregnant or on the pill. Her eggs also age with the passage of time and in doing so acquire genetic abnormalities. So as you get older you have fewer eggs and they become biologically defunct. It’s not great to celebrate your 40th birthday knowing that you have lost most of your eggs and half of what’s left have little hope of making a healthy baby.

Egg freezing has changed all that and is the new buzz word in fertility forums and female business circles. In its most simplistic terms, egg freezing involves a woman taking a two-week course of hormone injections during the first half of her menstrual cycle to create more eggs than she would normally produce. These eggs are then harvested during a minor ultrasound guided out-patient procedure before being frozen

Many companies both in the USA and UK have started to offer egg freezing as a health benefit to their female employees to attract and retain the best talent

DY NA M IC

H E A LT H

DY N A M I C R E A D ER O F F ER To find out more about egg freezing either come to one of our FREE ‘Egg Freezing Evening Seminars’ or sign up to our next ‘Egg Freezing Webinar’ quote DYNAMIC Valid to end of April 2020

rapidly in liquid nitrogen during a process called vitrification.

Her eggs are frozen in time thus preserving their quality and can be thawed out and used to create a baby some years later. They remain as ‘young’ as the day they were frozen. Under current UK law, frozen eggs can be stored for up to 10 years although that law is likely to change in the future to allow a longer period of storage.

Egg freezing only became a viable option for women eight years ago following a breakthrough in freezing and thawing techniques which significantly reduced the risk of eggs being damaged as they were frozen. Survival rates when

the eggs are thawed are now in excess of 98%. As a result the last five years has seen an exponential rise in the number of women attending fertility clinics to freeze their eggs, the majority of whom are single, The optimum age to freeze your eggs is from your late 20s onwards but ideally before you reach 35. It is also advisable to freeze at least 15 to 20 eggs to have a realistic (>85%) chance of conceiving a child, meaning in some cases doing more than one egg freeze cycle. As this is a relatively new technique, and the numbers of babies born from frozen-thawed eggs remains low, there is still some controversy

around the true effectiveness of egg freezing programs and concern about giving false hope.

However many companies both in the USA and UK have started to offer egg freezing as a health benefit to their female employees to attract and retain the best talent. So egg freezing is here and the best advice I can give a woman is to at least explore the option to find out if it is for her.

A single egg freezing cycle at the Agora costs £3,500. This fee includes all your monitoring scans, medical and nursing advice and the treatment itself but does not include the cost of the hormonal medication which ranges from £800 - £1200. ◗ Carole is the CEO and Founder of the Agora Clinic in Hove, the largest Fertility Clinic in Sussex offering both NHS and privately funded treatment. She is a Consultant Gynaecologist with particular expertise in Fertility and Reproductive Medicine. www.agoraclinic.co.uk

EMPOWERING WOMEN WITH THE FREEDOM OF REPRODUCTIVE CHOICE WITH HONESTY, WISDOM AND COMPASSION 71

WELLNESS TRENDS ADVANCES FOR 2020 & BEYOND

It’s a new year, a new decade and the coronavirus isn’t the only development to keep an eye on in 2020.

BY TESS DE KLERK

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DY NA M IC

H E A LT H

NUTR IGENOMICS The testing of DNA to determine how different foods may interact with specific genes is not new but as consumers increasingly realise that our physiology is as unique as our personalities, nutrigenomics is going main-stream. The refinement of this technology is offering a major opportunity for us to take charge of our own health and wellbeing.

The cost of in-depth analysis of your bodily make-up, including gut microbe analysis and personalised reports on what you should and shouldn’t be eating for optimal health, has become affordable with packages starting from £99. Companies can also offer insights into body type, strength and aerobic capability.

The ease of testing is fueling this growing trend as kits are received in the post, samples collected at home and sent off to the lab. The analysis takes around 10 days.

GENE THER A PY

Gene therapy shows remarkable potential in treating genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis, infectious diseases, cancer and even heart disease. It allows for DNA to be introduced into a patient’s cells to compensate for faulty genes or to make an advantageous protein. If a mutated gene causes a required protein to be defective or missing, gene therapy may be able to

introduce a normal copy of the gene to restore the function of the protein.

The development of the CRISPR-Cas9 system over the past decade was an exciting development in the genomeediting field and the introduction of the CRISPR based ‘prime editing’ holds incredible potential. In a nutshell, it could allow more efficiency, accuracy, speed and importantly, can be used at less cost.

Gene therapy still faces many

challenges and is currently primarily available in research settings but with the availability of technologies such as CRISPR, research and development are speeding along.

Big pharma are investing heavily in cell therapy for cancer over the next year and beyond.

Several companies are in latestage development of their genome therapies and the hope is that we will see FDA clearance for the treatment of haemophilia and muscular dystrophy in 2020.

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DY NA M IC

H E A LT H

THE WELLNESS SABBATIC AL The need to strike a balance between the pursuit of wellness and the need to work is the central concept of the wellness sabbatical.

According to behavioural psychologists, it takes 21 days to break bad habits and to make lasting lifestyle changes but few of us are fortunate enough to be able to take three weeks away from work to immerse ourselves in nature, yoga, meditation or whatever it is that we yearn for.

Fortunately, the retreat and wellness world is slowly but surely catching up as breaks are being tailored to those of us who want our work and

wellness too! Whether in the mountains of Thailand or on the beaches of the Caribbean the wellness sabbatical must offer superfast wifi, be smartphone and laptop friendly and offer flexible time for working as well as pursuing health and happiness. No more shaming for not disconnecting!

At the same time physical pursuits, stress-reducing treatments and opportunities for rest and relaxation should abound.

Surely being allowed to work and play in supportive and beautiful surroundings can only increase health happiness as well as productivity.

PSYCHEDELIC THER A PY CENTR ES Lastly, but possibly the most fun, is the rise in Psychedelic Therapy Centres where natural psychoactives, such as ayahuasca and magic mushrooms, are used to facilitate therapeutic breakthrough. With converts making statements such as ‘10 years of therapy achieved in 3 days’ this trend is growing.

Not just for hippies and those who long for days gone past, mainstream medicine is taking the emergence of this new psychedelic medical movement seriously. Trials are taking place in Europe and the US with Imperial College London and Johns Hopkins University having launched their own centres

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into psychedelic research.

Results are proving astounding, with patients reporting miraculous and enduring psychological transformations.

The use of psychoactives such as psilocybin, the active in magic mushrooms, is still illegal in most countries, therefore the only therapy available in the UK would be in a clinical research setting but fear not, Holland offers very comfortable, spa-like centres and in Jamaica, you can find yourself breathing tropical air and warming in the sun while experienced facilitators safely guide your journey.

This therapy is set to continue its rise in popularity during 2020. A note to my editor - the use of psychedelic centres must be investigated and I would be willing to do so in Jamaica.

FERTILIT Y ASSISTANCE TECHNOLOGY As both women and men desire more control over their reproductive health, reproductive assistance, once deemed a luxury, is becoming a growing part of healthcare.

Conversations around fertility are now common as women, long underrepresented in medical research, demand more information, more innovation and the fertility services are listening. Medical research is, of course, expensive but femtech (had to have been coined in Silicone Valley!) start-ups are believed to have secured over ÂŁ1 billion in investment to date.

Fertility Assistance Technologies include wearables such as the Ava fertility bracelet which tracks physiological signs

and indicates optimal fertile days, with an accuracy of 89%. The hand-held myLotus measures luteinising hormone concentration in a urine sample to indicate the best days for conception. Both these devices allow for information to be followed on an app and period tracking apps are now one of the

most popular health categories in the App Store.

New Hope Fertility released an at-home IVF kit, which allows women to privately prepare for the egg retrieval process, while Modern Fertility sells fingerprick tests to gauge reproductive hormones.

Digital platforms such as Peanut Trying to Conceive are increasing in numbers too as women seek and offer support during their journeys to conception and the sperm/egg donor matching app, Just A Baby, is going from strength to strength.

Thankfully, women are not the only ones encouraged to take charge as last year saw an influx of products that measure, track and store male sperm too. This is encouraging as one-third of all infertility cases are reportedly caused by male reproductive issues.

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BEATING STRESS AT WORK Maintain a healthy workplace with effective wellness practices Picture the scene, you arrive to work late, the trains were delayed, and the carriage was crowded, you had no time to grab a bite to eat. You’re in back to back meetings, you’ve not touched your to do list, you skipped lunch and then in frustration you lose you temper with a colleague. To improve your mindset, you seek out sugar and caffeine, which is great for a while but just as you finally get productive, you hit a sugar crash. You miss the gym –

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too tired – get home eat something quick and easy, have a few glasses of wine, crash out and then start again tomorrow. Notice I didn’t even mention the family.

Reacting to the stress triggers in your day has led to the following: • Cortisol increase • Highs and lows of sugar and caffeine fixes • No exercise • Poor food choices – skipping meals, convenience foods • Mental and physical tiredness • No space for organisation and planning As our stress levels increase, so our resilience lowers. Challenging deadlines, external influences, financial worries and poor self-

management all increase the load leading to brain fog, high blood pressure, weight gain, exhaustion, illness and burn out.

Companies are choosing to address these issues by implementing wellbeing programs.

They recognise the benefits of supporting their people in becoming more resilient – wellbeing changes mindsets, team dynamics and increases morale.

This issue we are discussing two of the most popular wellbeing interventions in the workplace.

We’re not suggesting this is the complete solution however, for the majority of businesses it’s a great place to start.

DY NA M IC

H E A LT H

MASSAGE AT WORK

Massage at work is an instant hit. People’s faces light up when massage therapists walk in, they know they are going to receive physical and mental respite from their hectic schedule and personal ailments.

A massage break offers so much more than a cigarette, coffee or sugar fix (the more socially acceptable work breaks).

It encourages mental and physical relaxation allowing the individual to recalibrate their approach to the day and recognise the effects of stress on their wellness.

Seated sessions are fully clothed, a medical history is recorded and so the session starts. Sometimes there is silence, sometimes a need to speak and sometimes we discuss how to become more well. What that niggle might mean, why your legs twitch in bed at night, why you’re so thirsty? Every session and person is different.

The goal is that the person receives exactly what they need to improve their work performance and create a better work/ life balance. Whether that is signposting services, inspiration, validation, understanding or simply relaxation. It’s amazing what can happen in 15 minutes.

DY N A M I C R E A D ER O F F ER 20% OFF

MEDITATION AND MINDFULNESS IN THE WORKPLACE

How many of us truly know what the practice of mindfulness and meditation involves? Invariably, they are thought of as practices that require totally quiet minds, zen-like behaviours and huge amounts of time to practice.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Mindfulness invites us to simply observe and be connected to our state in any given moment without changing it. Meditation offers us a method to practice that observation, bringing our attention from the mind to the body, instantly creating calm.

For some of us we get the same experience from painting, listening to music, or reading a book but for the majority of us this is not so easily practiced at

The Benefits IMMEDIATE BENEFITS ◗ Stress levels reduce ◗ Muscles relax ◗ Postural awareness increases ◗ Mind calms ◗ Clarity and focus increases

our 90-day trial programme to get you started

LIFESTYLE BENEFITS ◗ Muscular imbalances ease ◗ Stress level awareness increases ◗ Signposting to supportive services ◗ Clarity to change ◗ Work/life balance improves

COMPANY BENEFITS ◗ Increased self-

quote DYNAMIC Valid to end of April 2020

work. A two-minute meditation or mindfulness practice can bring that calm. It offers respite for our exhausted minds by simply focusing on the breath as it flows in and out of the body.

It’s great to practice alone or as a group and the internet provides a myriad of opportunities to engage in guided meditation.

For those who would like to try a simple meditation practice the Headspace app offers no nonsense sessions and not a guru in sight! Remember, ‘if your mind wanders a thousand times, your only job is to bring it back 1000 times’ Jon Kabbat-Zinn.

Brighton Wellbeing Company Font: Century Gothic Grey: K 80 Yellow: Y 100 M 30 Blue: C 80 Pink: M 100 Turq: C75 M10 Y20 Green: C50 Y100

◗ Contact Alison@brightonwell beingcompany.com or visit www. brightonwellbeingcompany.com

responsibility for health

◗ Presenteeism triggers addressed ◗ Wellbeing support and advice ◗ Better team dynamics ◗ Improved communication and decision-making

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THE CAMPAIGN Campaigning for genuine flexible working

BY MAARTEN HOFFMANN

We are lobbying hard on the Dynamic Manifesto in an attempt to force flexible working higher up the political agenda.

Not only is flexible working a huge attraction to women returning to work after maternity leave, and to all other employees, but the recruitment process for many large companies is changing fast. No longer do corporate HR Directors and recruitment firms advertise a job and then sit back to sift the applicants, rather they are

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actively out there targeting people they feel they want to employ. They are hunting the best people for the job whether that be poaching them from other companies or, more often increasing the benefits offered to appear more attractive.

Increasingly, this is aimed at women.

I note in the article by Dr Carole Gilling-Smith on page 70 of this issue, that some American firms are offering egg freezing as an incentive to attract new staff

– by its very nature, female staff.

Surely this indicates that there are not enough high quality applicants for these jobs. This begs the question as to why flexible working for returning mothers, and all others, is not much higher on every firm’s agenda. Zoe Wright, former Group Director of People at B&CE said: ‘Having a strong shared purpose, vision and set of values is crucial in ensuring flexible working is seen as a positive part of organisational culture’.

Companies are fast discovering that flexible working solutions such as part-time work, job-sharing, home working,

THE DY NA MIC M A NIFESTO

compressed hours, flexitime, annualised hours, staggered hours and phased retirement, may boost productivity and allow them to retain talent during times of recession.

However, attitudes vary greatly towards flexible working and are still evolving in many countries in different ways.

In June 2014, the UK Government introduced the right to request flexible working for all employees with at least 26 weeks’ service. With the aim of creating a “modern workplace”, it removed the parental/caring requirement and moved the discussion away from the reasons why employees need to work flexibly onto how flexible working will work for businesses.

The process for requesting flexible arrangements has been simplified, but employees still continue to have only “a right to ask”, and employers can refuse a request if they are able to demonstrate that it will not work within their organisation.

Around the world

Flexible working legislation and practices vary US Business necessity and legal compliance are the main drivers for flexible working arrangements in the US, where a comprehensive national programme addressing flexible working arrangements does not exist.

GERMANY In Germany, there is no special government programme providing flexible working arrangements, even though there has been growth in flexible working and numerous statutory provisions offering flexible working models.

ITALY Like the UK, Italy is in the process of increasing flexible working arrangements to tackle high unemployment rates and make the job market more dynamic and attractive. At the same time, its Government wants to improve work-life balance for employees.

FRANCE Flexible working arrangements have been offered for a long time in France, but recent legislation introduced a new concept of flexibility. This was not only for the benefit of the employees, but also to allow businesses to adapt to change.

Conclusion The overview above shows that, despite different legislation regimes, flexible working arrangements are becoming more established internationally. This is due to the realisation that flexible solutions are no longer an exclusive need of employees but also of employers. The latter are, in fact, finding ways to exploit this kind of flexibility, while governments are providing regulatory recognition of the existence of such flexible solutions by introducing substantial reforms in order to allow a better worklife balance.

Both businesses and HR departments need to analyse these new solutions and assess the benefit to the organisation, as well as the need to promote a better work-life balance for employees.

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DY NA M IC

STATS

W HER E A R E THE WOMEN? Women make up just 39% of secondary head teachers. This figure has not changed since last reported in 2018 and has risen by 6% since 2005.

Women make up 30% of university vice-chancellors – but only 1% of university vice-chancellors are women of colour.

{at a g l a n c e} Education I Facts and stats

The year-on-year increase in female managers (17.4%) is outstripped by the increase in the numbers of women working in programming/software and web development roles (20.3%). Ref: WISE

Girls are more than twice as likely as boys to pass a GCSE in a modern foreign language according to a report for the British Council. Just 38% of boys in England took a foreign language in 2018 compared with about 50% of girls.

The UK is on target to reach 1 million women in STEM by 2020, says WISE, the campaign for gender balance in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world Nelson Mandela

T H E R I G H T TO E D U C AT I O N

Poorer students with good A-level grades are significantly more likely to opt for less prestigious universities than those with similar results from more advantaged backgrounds, according to major research carried out by the UCL Institute of Education.

The Education Secretary has made a call for British education to be the envy of the world, marking the start of a ‘post-Brexit education revolution’. Gavin Williamson delivered a speech at the Education World Forum in London where he announced a one-year extension to a £2.5 million school exchange programme which allows disadvantaged children to experience other countries and improve their language skills.

Dynamic Education is sponsored by Hurstpierpoint College Excellent all-round education with a strong academic core hppc.co.uk 80

IT’S ALL ABOUT

GETTING INVOLVED Education is about much more than achieving the right grades.

And forward-thinking schools ensure there are no gender divisions in the co-curricular activities, as Nick Creed, Assistant Head of Co-curricular at Hurst College explains…

Firstly, Hurst College uses the term co-curricular rather than extra-curricular. Why is this?

We regard co-curricular activities as being key to the all-round education of every individual student, and use the term cocurricular because we believe that the activities should run alongside the academic curriculum as part of the weekly timetable. We value what goes on outside of the classroom as much as what goes on inside, as skills that are learnt through these activities can be transferred to the classroom.

Sport and games are compulsory throughout the week and our service afternoon is compulsory for students in Years 10 and 11. The majority of our Sixth Formers continue to be involved with the service afternoon programme, dance and drama are compulsory for Year 9 students and have protected slots as part of the weekly timetable. Music activities such as the choir, orchestra and jazz band have protected slots during the afternoon timetable. Specialist sports during timetabled games

The aim of our co-curricular programme is to equip our students with the skills and experience to make a success of their lives 82

sessions include mountain-biking archery, climbing, rowing and sailing.

Through these activities students will not only gain certain skills and develop a range of qualities but we hope they will also be introduced to a pastime or hobby which they can enjoy throughout their lives.

Why are co-curricular opportunities so important in a child’s education?

The range of activities provide many opportunities for our students to try new ventures, confront risks and learn from experience – all crucial aspects in developing skills for life.

The aim of our co-curricular programme is to equip our students with the skills and experience to make a success of their lives beyond Hurst.

Respect, responsibility, resilience and reflection are learnt

E DUC AT ION and to bring out the best in each student – and some students discover talents they didn’t realise they had. For example, first team rugby players have also taken lead roles in our Dance Showcase and musicals. By the time students leave Hurst, the majority will have performed in a sports team, on a dance floor, on the stage, as well as having marched with the CCF and been involved with recycling or another environmental activity as part of the service afternoon.

through the programme, and students also learn how to communicate with each other as part of a team and in leading a team. The various activities also help them to become accurate decision-makers – another important asset for later life. Benefits from the more physical activities help to improve students’ health, wellbeing and fitness levels in order to maintain a balanced lifestyle.

Which co-curricular events tend to be the most popular among students?

We encourage our students to engage in as much of the cocurricular programme as possible – whether that is as a member of one of our dance companies or sports teams, performing in one of our drama or music productions or taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh award.

We have highly qualified expert staff to deliver the activities

Do you actively encourage girls to get involved in activities traditionally favoured by boys – and vice versa?

Our co-curricular programme is not focused on gender and therefore the activities are not gender-specific. For example, boys are as equally involved in dance as the girls. In sport, some of the teams are made up of boys and girls – particularly cricket and hockey. Hurst boys and girls are strongly supportive of each other, whatever the activity, a characteristic for which the college is renowned. ◗ www.hppc.co.uk

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GET LINKED A simple LinkedIn strategy can grow new business in 2020 says Kerry Watkins, Founder and MD of Social Brighton Gone are the days of LinkedIn being seen as a rather naff ‘digital CV’. It is now the most popular marketing platform for B2B organisations, largely because Microsoft have made some great improvements to the platform

Our LinkedIn feeds are only as interesting as the people we’re connected with

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over the past couple of years. 45% of B2B marketers have gained customers through LinkedIn (Ref: Quick Sprout).

We can now not only upload native video to LinkedIn, but also have the ability to live stream.

They’ve released a simple, yet long sought after, ability to post on your profile or page from the home feed and we can also invite our connections to follow our company pages.

So the platform is improving, but how do we utilise it to generate new business?

DIGI TA L

M E DI A

The reason LinkedIn is perfect for B2B marketing and networking is because we know people are in a ‘work mindset’ when on the platform. LinkedIn activity should mirror ‘real life’ networking to generate new business. Think about how you behave at a networking event and apply this to LinkedIn.

BE SOCIAL, MEET NEW PEOPLE AND GROW YOUR NETWORK

Our LinkedIn feeds are only as interesting as the people we’re connected with. So it’s imperative to grow a relevant network, including those you’d love to do business with.

stand at a networking event shouting to anyone who would listen about your business; you join conversations and contribute your expertise when relevant.

The same goes for LinkedIn.

ENGAGE WITH OTHERS AND CONTRIBUTE TO CONVERSATIONS

SHARE IDEAS AND STORIES THAT ARE USEFUL OR INTERESTING TO OTHERS

The LinkedIn algorithm favours posts that generate engagement, particularly comments and conversations. You wouldn’t

If you take a look at your LinkedIn news feed, you’ll quickly become aware that you

scroll past the more ‘salesy’ posts and adverts (unless they’re particularly well targeted) and instead read the more engaging, authentically written posts that interest you.

It can be a struggle to build up a following on your company page organically as LinkedIn is focused on the individual, in the same way a networking event is.

One strategy that will bring results involves mobilising your most socially savvy, engaged employees to optimise their profiles, grow their networks, pro-actively engage with others and share their expertise and work-related stories.

In 2020 ‘Employee advocacy’ content will continue to be the most trusted by LinkedIn members, but it takes a coordinated and strategic approach. A company page that is balanced with corporate published content and posts shared from employees, presents a credible business with a skilled and engaged team.

Social networking is as worth investing in as real life networking (even if we can’t enjoy the food and drink!). ◗ www.socialbrighton.com @social_brighton Social Brighton deliver in-house training and consultancy on LinkedIn Lead Generation and Content Marketing.

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Are we doing enough about

SEXUAL HARASSMENT? Sexual Harassment in the workplace can lead to anxiety and depression says Dermot Dennehy, Director of Heard Solutions If you ask 10 people to define what sexual harassment is, you will get 10 different answers. Despite high profile cases and #MeToo, there remains confusion about what it actually is. The perception of where the boundaries lie are often blurred, especially in the workplace.

While the fundamentals are easy enough to get to grips with, make no mistake, it can be so nuanced it appears hard to understand. For instance, if someone is being harassed by a manager, a dangerous power play comes into force

that makes the situation far more challenging. A seemingly ‘innocent’ gesture towards someone junior: compliments about their appearance, resting a hand on their shoulder while they are seated at their desk, or playful questions about their personal life will make the recipient feel their career prospects are in jeopardy.

Recipients rarely complain.

Often, they have no faith their complaint will be taken seriously.

However, the effect on mental wellbeing cannot be understated.

Workplace sexual misconduct can

Sometimes, doing nothing damages or unravels all the good stuff you do for your team 86

lead to anxiety and depression.

Corporate reputational damage and inhouse mistrust proliferate, none of which help a company thrive. Absenteeism rises. All of this carries financial implications.

It is not exclusively women that get harassed. In environments where men are heavily outnumbered, women can jointly inflict hideous, inappropriate behaviour on male colleagues.

What’s the answer? Let’s begin by accepting it is not the place of anyone to modify their appearance so they do not get harassed. Or stay quiet and tolerate it. Everyone has the right to feel safe.

Next – men and women, senior and junior, LGBTQ+ – take ownership of the problem.

With education, understanding and empathy every person can recognise why people harass and why others tolerate it.

It sounds complex, but the principles are incredibly straightforward.

Companies need to lead inclusively from the CEO to the shop floor, all operating with zero tolerance on sexual misconduct. Everyone is responsible and everyone is accountable, but it begins

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PHOTO BY KRISTINA FLOUR ON UNSPLASH

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with education and above all, empathy.

When the conversation starts around sexual harassment, you can guarantee that every single woman in the room has experienced it. Empathy kicks in with the realisation that colleagues most probably

have endured many levels of harassment from sexual assault to street harassment.

Not everyone feels they can talk about their experiences, but they now have people acknowledging how crushingly commonplace and awful harassment is. That is game changing.

The principles are: EDUCATION What is sexual harassment? What does the law say? What are your company policies?

UNDERSTANDING At an intellectual and emotional level, realising that nobody is ever responsible for being harassed, regardless of their clothing, age, race or gender.

EMPATHY Caring about your colleagues and then wanting to be part of the solution.

MYTH BUSTING For instance, comprehending that a flattering comment about someone’s physique or appearance is often not taken as ‘a compliment’.

It is harassment.

CONFIDENCE Your company and all your colleagues have zero tolerance for sexual harassment and misconduct.

You can call it out without fear of retribution. You can report it. Your company will deal with it openly, firmly and fairly.

This problem is solvable.

With everyone on the same page, implementing transparent and fair anti sexual harassment policies creates corporate trust.

Employees must have the confidence to report problems.

We realised long ago that most companies have the will to eradicate it, but don’t have resolution procedures in place that are fit for purpose. Once they are buttoned down, things can really start to shift, and when that happens, societal progress will have been improved.

◗ Dermot Dennehy and Melanie Barren are the Directors of Heard Solutions.

Heard Solutions specialise in enhancing culture, training and providing reporting solutions.

Contact Dermot on 07788 417419 or dermot@heard.solutions www.heard.solutions

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Enabling social enterprise to thrive Megan Peat, CEO NatWest Social & Community Capital has seen firsthand the tremendous positive impact community ventures make to the UK, working with a range of organisations to help community and social enterprise For the last 20 years NatWest Social & Community Capital Fund (S&CC) has been a leading supporter and champion of the UK community finance sector, providing support to organisations such as not-forprofit businesses which can’t achieve mainstream funding.

It is unique in UK banking

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and, thanks to its support, numerous community organisations throughout the country have been able to scale, grow and maintain the valuable community services they provide.

A key part of what makes S&CC so special in its support of social business is that lending decisions are made by a panel

of experts, with social impact being an essential part of the application.

The impact that S&CC has on the organisations it supports is profound. Megan Peat, Chief Executive of S&CC describes the reaction of one of those organisations: “I visited a customer recently to give them the good news that our credit panel had approved their loan. It was a challenging time for them and their sense of relief was clear.

They were so delighted I even got a hug! It’s a real privilege to be able to support social enterprises that care so deeply about their mission. Telling them that we would like to support them to have an even greater impact is easily the best part of my job.

“It’s sometimes easy to forget how crucial a role finance plays for social enterprises and how a

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It’s sometimes easy to forget how crucial a role finance plays for social enterprises and how a loan at the right price and at the right time can make a huge difference

loan at the right price and at the right time can make a huge difference.”

Megan was appointed CEO in 2015, having joined NatWest in 2007 from a US investment bank. Her background in debt structuring, networking and deal origination across the international financial institutions sector laid excellent foundations for her leadership in Social Enterprise. Megan also sits on the board of responsible lender Scotcash, and is now recognised as one of the UK’s most prominent leaders in this field. With a long career of personal achievements, she describes her most proud moments as hearing the stories of the work her customers do.

Megan works closely sharing insights and experience across the UK, and continues to recognise achievements through the NatWest SE100 Index celebrating the growth, impact and resilience of social ventures in the UK by naming the most impressive 100 social enterprises of the year in the Index. Her personal ethos mirrors that of the Fund – and one that oversees continued growth and impact in our UK communities.

The NatWest Social & Community Capital Fund recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, offering a series of grants of £20,000 for each of the UK regions to allow organisations

In numbers £3.8M In loans approved, up 90% on last year £3.9M Total loans value lent to 20 organisations £1.3M towards employment training and education 96% of customers said the S&CC team’s understanding of their mission and values was good or very good

to develop projects that create direct social impact on a community with need, and have the potential to become a sustainable product or service.

The Fund remains an integral part of NatWest’s strategy to make a positive difference to

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local communities. “We work together with a range of partners and networks to create opportunities and initiatives aimed at strengthening social enterprise”.

In addition to the Community Fund’s priorities, Megan aims to promote networking and discussion and to support purpose-led decision making and impact, sponsoring the WISE100 index of leading women in social enterprise and hosting a series of networking lunches and dinners around the country.

Megan added: “I am so proud of the role the Community Finance team plays in recognising that social enterprises have a vitally important role to play in helping create vibrant, healthy and supportive communities. We in turn support these enterprises through loan funding and support from S&CC, as well as helping with wider market support and awareness.”

◗ For more information and to make an enquiry, visit www.natwest.com/sccc

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With chaotic schedules that take you through 9-5 and beyond, rethink what you wear to work

BY KATE MORTON

DAY TO NIGHT DRESSING When getting dressed for work, most of us want versatility and ease - hence why reaching for the classic skirt or trouser suit is the easiest solution. But if you have networking drinks or a business event to attend after work, then the “what shall I wear?” crisis beckons. Thankfully, this season there are some brilliant options that are perfect for both day and night, and there’s no need to take a change of outfit!

It’s all about mixing in with what you are already wearing - ditch the large tote bag for a more dressier bag, swap your LBD with a black and white print and keep your heel low – block or kitten – your feet will thank you at 11pm! Adding colour into your day/eve is one of the easiest ways to brighten up your look. Make a printed dress work by adding a statement piece of jewellery or neutralise your outfit with a tailored blazer on top. And if you’ve worn a shirt all day, try swapping it for a prettier blouse as you head after hours.

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FA SH ION

Taffeta blouse £50 Monsoon: 0844 8110068

Monochrome check dress £65 wallis.co.uk

Lilac cross body bag £39.50 marksand spencer.com

Animal print pleated scarf £19.50 oliverbonas.com

Transition seamlessly from day-to-night with these wardrobe favourites ‘Brioni’ cream heels £95 dunelondon.com

Beatrice pencil skirt £149 hobbs.co.uk

Black block heels £32 wallis.co.uk

Blue leopard print dress £55 dancingleopard. co.uk

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nth** o m g perrvicin * 9 29 ee se £ nly rs’ fr o m a Froh 3 ye wit

The A-Class From £299* per month with 3 years’ free servicing** The Mercedes-Benz A-Class is as youthful and dynamic as ever, with added comfort and technology. The A-Class introduces MBUX – Mercedes-Benz User Experience, plus it offers a number of functions usually found in classes above.

Thanks to the Driving Assistance package, the A-Class can drive semi-autonomously on certain roads, and MULTIBEAM LED headlights are optionally available as part of the Premium Plus package. All models of the A-Class are also powered by new, efficient diesel and petrol engines.

Representative Example

A200 AMG Line Manual 5dr

Monthly Payments of1

£299.00

Customer Deposit

£3,999.00

On the Road Price

£26,095.26

Optional Purchase Payment2

£11,725.00

Amount of Credit

£22,096.26

Duration of Agreement

48 months

Total Amount Payable3

£30,086.00

Purchase Activation Fee

£10.00

Representative APR

5.9% APR

Fixed Interest Rate

5.78%

Excess Mileage excl. VAT

8p per mile

2

For more information please contact our Sales Team at Mercedes-Benz of Guildford on 01483 916292

Mercedes-Benz of Guildford Moorfield Road, Guildford, GU1 1RU

01483 916292 www.sandown-group.co.uk

1. Finance offer based on a Mercedes-Benz Agility agreement. Vehicle condition, excess mileage and other charges may be payable. 2. Payable if you exercise the option to purchase the car. 3. Includes optional purchase payment, purchase activation fee and retailer deposit contribution (where applicable). *Orders/credit approvals on selected A-Class models between 1 January and 31 March 2020, registered and delivered by 31 March 2020, excluding Mercedes-AMG models, 6,000 miles per annum. Guarantees may be required. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Some combinations of features/options may not be available. Subject to availability. Over 18s only. Finance is subject to status and provided by Mercedes-Benz Finance, MK15 8BA. Sandown Group is a credit broker and not a lender. Sandown Surrey and Hampshire and Sandown Dorset and Wiltshire Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for Consumer Credit activity and our Firm Reference Numbers are 679326 and 684382 respectively. Sandown Surrey and Hampshire and Sandown Dorset and Wiltshire Limited are Appointed Representatives of FISC Limited Trading As TRACS, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for General Insurance; FISC Limited’s Firm Reference Number is 773446. All New and Approved Used cars sold by any Sandown Mercedes-Benz Retailer is subject to a purchase fee of £129 inc VAT. **To qualify for this offer, all new A-Class hatchback vehicles (excl. AMG A35, AMG A45, A-Class Saloon models, and S176 A-Class) must be ordered and registered between 1 January and 31 March 2020 (inclusive). Vehicles must be purchased on a MBFS finance contract to be eligible. Offer applies to all private retail and small fleet (1-24 units) customers only. ServiceCare Plan is based on 3 services taken at the relevant service intervals – either 15,500 miles or 12 months whichever comes sooner. All services must be completed by an authorised Mercedes-Benz Retailer. This offer can be used in conjunction with all other applicable Sales Campaigns except other ServiceCare campaigns. No cash alternative.

ServiceCare plan stays with the vehicle and therefore in the event of change of vehicle ownership, the ServiceCare plan cannot be moved to another vehicle, but should be given to the new owner of the same vehicle. Mercedes-Benz Cars UK Limited reserves the right to amend or remove this offer at any time. Prices correct at time of going to press 01/2020. Images for illustrative purposes.

» GI R LTORQU E

BACK TO THE FUTURE

By Motoring Editor, Fiona Shafer, MD of MD HUB

“The future is electric Fi, you had better get used to it and by the way don’t forget to write about the “range anxiety“ – Maarten’s editorial advice was ringing in my ears as I gamely jumped into the new Audi e-tron 55 Quattro.

Range anxiety? Having just about worked out if I am “woke enough“ this was just another thing that I needed (or didn’t need) in my daily life as a very busy MD. Mentioning this to one of our clients who is not really into cars, he asked if range anxiety was something to do with which cooker to choose... if only it was that simple. Nice try though, Steve. You made me smile. And Maarten laughed like a drain.

Range anxiety is in fact the fear that a vehicle has insufficient range to reach its destination and

would thus strand the vehicle’s occupants.

The term, which is primarily used in reference to battery electric vehicles, it is considered to be one of the major barriers to large scale adoption of all-electric cars.

So, what was I to make of the new Audi e-tron – consumer rated up there on a par with the Jaguar I Pace, Porsche Cayenne and Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, and ever so slightly ahead of the Tesla Model S. Above all I was curious – what exactly did those super clever Audi engineers have in store for us.

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It is worth noting that an electric car is virtually identical to any normal car – the only difference is in the method of propulsion.

Several of the female MD’s I work with have made the leap over to electric vehicles and hybrids and are adamant that they will not go back to to the dark side of fuel for very real and obvious reasons: Reducing their Carbon foot print on our precious planet, no fumes, hugely economical and fast when needed – what’s not to like?

In the spirit of first impressions (as mentioned in Issue 1), I deliberately did not do any research in advance of this test drive – I wanted to experience how easy, intuitive, economical, fast and comfortable or... not, this Audi e-tron was to drive.

I wanted to go into the whole experience naked (metaphorically of course) to see what happened.

The only exception to this lack of research being that I had planned a journey from Sussex to see a new client at Elstree – 162 miles away – during the drive

The secret diary of an range anxiety virgin 94

to thoroughly test it out and I would have my business partner Phil Green with me, who is an Audi driver and very keen to experience the e-tron. The only preparation I had done was asking our clients at Elstree if they had any charging points, they did not.

This review is one of two halves. The first, my immediate experience and the second, why we should absolutely be considering electric cars.

So this is a shortened version of the secret diary of an range anxiety virgin to give you a flavour of why, without proper research you could either be completely put off from buying an electric car or why you could also have your mind seriously changed.

Back to picking up the cars keys... it did not start well.

The Audi – e-tron is incredibly quiet, so quiet in fact that I had absolutely no idea if it was on or not when I pressed the start button.

MONDAY

4pm I drive in torrential rain to Lewes for a two hour meeting.

Two warning signs appear en route about distance sensors and asked me to to report to a work shop. Decide to ignore.

I quickly abandon the idea of using the electric charging point in the Lewes car park as limited to only 1 hour. It’s so wet, I can’t be bothered and will charge it later at home. Bad move.

7.30pm Arrive home, get the manual out, locate charging cables in the front of the Audi in a very neat bag (very German) and my extension cable to plug the car into. It all looked very straight forward apart from having to wade through a flooded flower bed to feed extension cable through a small window to reach the power supply.

Checked green light pulsing on the power pack and the car for charging – all good.

9 p.m Feeling quite pleased with myself, head off for an early night.

» GI R LTORQU E

Tech stuff Model tested: e-tron 55 quattro Engine: 265kW Range: 237 miles Speed: 0-62mph 5.7 seconds Top: 124 mph Price from: £70,805 As tested: £79,270

TUESDAY

4.15am Woken from deep sleep by green flashing lights outside my bedroom window.

FFS... Eye (sleep) mask located in knicker draw with the aim of trying to get back to sleep. Good lord, this is beginning to turn into “50 shades of range anxiety“!

6.00am Crisp, frosty morning, unlock car to be confronted with Battery Charge error!

I am no further forward on topping up my mileage than the night before. Thinking logically, we shall have to stop at a charging station earlier than planned – no problem.

I then tried to disengage the charger from the car. I pulled and I twisted, I got the manual and the torch out this was definitely range anxiety now. Sense of Humour – Zero.

I thought I would give it another 5 mins before coming up with a Plan B and giving it one last attempt, I managed to release the charger but not without being propelled back

into a very muddy garden Sense of Humour – minus 5.

Transpires that disconnecting the charger from the Audi is a common problem and they have devoted an idiot’s guide to this on YouTube. The engineering is so clever, that they have hidden the release button in the body work to seamlessly blend in with the design (for security reasons) except except they don’t tell you that in the manual!

7am Pick up Phil, we plan to recharge at Pease Pottage and phone client to let them know we are going to be 1.5 hours late with massive apologies.

We have to download an App to sort the charging out which is going to take 45 minutes, so head off for a cuppa. The App tells you how far you are along with the charging – we like that. £10. 49 worth of electricity later for 192 miles, we are finally on our way, sun is out – my SOH returns.

The Audi has a beautiful linear drive, is wonderfully smooth and fast but spectacularly eats into the mileage if you put your foot down.

4.30pm We leave our understanding clients and head back to Sussex.

Tried to check out charging stations near to me and they are eight miles in the opposite direction. So I decide to phone good pal and Tesla owner Sam to see if I can use her supercharger en route home but no joy there as the Tesla charger is not compatible with Audi – SOH beginning to

go south again. Sam did suggest changing my extension cable for a thicker one (same voltage) – as I was now busily calculating if I had enough power to get to my meetings the next day.

8pm Back through the still flooded flowerbed with new cable.

WEDNESDAY

8am Result! Ridiculously pleased to see that I had managed to add 35 miles on top of the 30 miles left in the battery.

There is a battery god. I am disproportionately happy at the result.

Meetings all managed and I leave it to charge for 12 hours overnight which gives me an additional 45 miles – so realistically – without a fixed home charger you will need about three days to charge the battery fully on a domestic system.

Home chargers start retailing at between £279 - £449 and the very good news being you can indeed buy Universal chargers or a Tethered charging unit where you have a permanent fixed cable.

So, on the day our Government announced that they are bringing forward the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by five years to 2035, what conclusions can we draw from all of this?

Will the true driver experience become obsolete as we embrace the environmental and economic benefits of the electric car?

Is it no bad thing that we potentially have to work a lot harder to think about our travel and how much it costs?

I would say that it absolutely has to. ◗ www.mdhub.co.uk Supporting leaders, sustaining growth

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» GI R LTORQU E

YAY

THE VERDICT NAY

◗ It drives like a dream – very smooth and linear. ◗ For a big car it feels light to handle and brilliantly responsive. ◗ No petrol fumes. ◗ Very responsive braking. ◗ Illuminated seat belt buckles when trying to connect seat belt. ◗ Seriously spacious boot space. ◗ Economical – once Super Charger paid for and installed at home. ◗ I had probably spent about £22 for 267 miles over 4 days. ◗ B & O sound system.

◗ There is a discount on the price of brand new low emission vehicles through a grant of £3,500 the government gives to vehicle dealerships and manufacturers. ◗ It has Co2 emissions of less than 50g/km and can travel at least 112km / 70 miles without any emissions at all. ◗ Range anxiety can be absolutely overcome without drugs or a spell in rehab through having a charger at home (essential) and rigorous route planning.

◗ It looks a little old fashioned – the design feels out of sync with the technology. ◗ One of the least intuitive cars I have ever driven. ◗ Lots of technology but took absolutely ages to work it all out.

◗ Very, very few charging stations. ◗ The manual is not very clear but there does appear to be lots of Audi Engineers on the internet explaining how things work instead if you can be bothered.

7.5/10 It felt like a super clever engineering fantasy for automotive engineers rather than being designed for environmentally conscious customers who want to make a serious difference with their future driver experience.

But the future is definitely electric and with the right research and a supercharger at home, I would definitely consider the leap.

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R ECRU I T M E N T

CLOSING THE GENDER GAP Are STEM companies getting better at recruiting women?

By Sara Knott, Recruitment Consultant at Peopleforce Recruitment

As things stand, women make up only a quarter of the UK’s STEM workforce.

It’s a figure that should be shocking, but as a recruiter, it really doesn’t surprise me. When I’m sifting through applications for our clients in the STEM industries, there’s never much in the way of gender diversity.

Many companies talk a good game about closing the gender gap, in the press and on social media, but are they really attempting to do so in reality?

Reflecting on my own experiences – specifically in education – I’m not convinced. Outside of appearing at the occasional careers fair, there was little that STEM companies did to appeal to women like me.

Instead, they should be engaging more proactively.

Female role models should be sent into schools and colleges to give young women an introduction to the STEM industry, and to prove that it’s not just a career option for men. A face-to-face meeting with a successful female scientist, engineer or mathematician would have made a huge impact on someone like me.

If we’re to address the STEM

skills shortage we’re going to have to increase diversity, and the only way we’re going to do so is by capturing the attention of women from an early age. The choices we make in our teenage years often dictate our future careers, so it’s crucial that opportunities in STEM are presented at that stage, both by the education system and the wider industry.

Over in the States, female students recently won every award in a national STEM competition – for the first time in the event’s history. The talent is clearly there, we just need to get better at harnessing it and inspiring Britain’s young women. Only then, will STEM companies really start to tackle the gender gap.

◗ If you want to bring more top female talent into your team, contact Sara today. Tel: 01273 830815 Email: sara@peopleforcerecruitment.com

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I NSPI R I NG

WOM E N

My Inspiration Emma Lane, Area Director - Brighton and South East at Allied Irish Bank (GB)

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I am a firm believer in following your dreams and having the confidence to take control of your destiny. This is a legacy I want to leave for my children. I am also driven to do a good job for my community and to contribute to a sustainable future through helping businesses to grow. My mantra is if you want something done - give it to a busy woman, which is reflected in my female role models…

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and former Vice President at Google. Sheryl’s book Lean In talks about how in the boardroom women tend to sit back and listen first rather than taking the lead. It really made me think about how we portray ourselves and to have the confidence to ‘lean in’ and engage.

Margaret Thatcher was famously quoted as saying, “In politics if you want something said ask a man; if you want something done ask a woman.”

She has helped to encourage more women to have the belief they can succeed and get involved in politics at all levels and business.

Greta Thunberg is saying what she believes, and for a young girl to have this confidence on an international scale is amazing.

Darcy Lane, my 14 year old daughter has a great attitude. She is navigating a society dominated by social media and is not afraid to follow her dreams a great example is that she is a brilliant rugby player.

Enid Blyton – my childhood inspiration. Books filled with moral stories, inspirational and gritty adventures and children following their dreams.

Following Enid’s advice, “The best way to treat obstacles is to use them as steppingstones. Laugh at them, tread on them, and let them lead you to something better.”

Businesses local to Gatwick are 50% more likely to export than the national average

Gatwick brings global trade opportunities closer

We’re more than just an airport