Women in Leadership publication 2017 Spring Issue

ISSUE 01. SPRING 2017

Women riding high in construction

with RICS President, Amanda Clack

PUBLICATION

Portraits of Invisible Women Leaders

by Zita Luiten and Edo Landwehr

Time for Conscious

Revolution Exclusive interview with United Nations Assistant Secretary-General Lakshmi Puri

Traits of Female Business Leaders

with Facebook, KPMG & Barclays £3.95

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Foreword R

eport after report tells us that women’s leadership is vital.

Consultancies and think tanks urge equal decision-making and economic participation if we are to close the gender gap for the good of GDP, while institutions highlight the importance of women’s equality to global development.

Women at the frontline are change makers, not just leading organisations and communities to success and growth but showing how difference can drive results by breaking through outdated structures and strategies.

However, being a leader who is a woman risks being purely a symbolic role unless we each lead with an understanding of other women’s experiences and challenges. The barriers in front of our sex remain high - higher still to those whose experience of being female intersects with, say, age, race, ethnicity or disability. Only a collaborative approach can bring them down, to the benefit of everyone.

Remember the women leaders who created space for us, and in turn let’s make space for the women leaders who will follow us by supporting and encouraging each other as women. The opportunities we seek to create for ourselves depend on the opportunities we make for others. And when we give expression to the brilliant, diverse creativity and talent of all women we lead the way towards building a world where all can flourish.

Sophie Walker

Leader, Women’s Equality Party Follow on twitter @SophieRunning

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Editor in Chief

Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu

Editorial & Business Consultant Godwin Ohajah

Copy Editor

Dr John Rowe

Design & Production

Satsuma (Design & Publishing)

Sales & Marketing

Satsuma (Consultancy)

Head of Production Godwin Ohajah

Publisher

Women in Leadership Publication Ltd

Contact (Editorial)

Women in Leadership publication Tel: 0800 970 9862 Tel: +44 (0)207 206 2596 editor@wilpublication.com www.wilpublication.com

Contact (Production and Marketing) Satsuma Tel: +44 (0)845 057 0515 publishing@satsuma.eu www.satsuma.eu Twitter: @SatsumaEU

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Contents Foreword, Sophie Walker, Leader of the Women’s Equality party...........................................................................................03 Contents......................................................................................................04 Editor’s Note...............................................................................................06 Contributors...............................................................................................09 Portraits of Invisible Women Leaders,

by Zita Luiten and Edo Landwehr....................................................10 Tackling gender-based violence, with Dr Shruti Kapoor.......18 Time for conscious revolution: exclusive interview with Lakshmi Puri, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women.........20 Designer John Herrera Empowering Women in the Philippines......................................................................................26 Traits of Female Business Leaders with Facebook, KPMG & Barclays....................................................32 Creative Expression with Najwa Zebian........................................42

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Women riding high in Construction, featuring RICS President, Amanda Clack.....................................46 Stand up with Sajeela Kershi.............................................................56 Women Leaders in Law, featuring the 2016 Chair of the Bar Council Chantal-Aimee Doerries QC ............................60 The Power of Philanthropy, by Gay Huey Evans ......................72 Personal Brand – It’s your time to stand out,

by Adele Mclay.........................................................................................74 Women in Tech: “Placed App”, by Cass Horowitz ....................76 Autism Spectrum, Fight the stigma & discrimination, featuring Anna Kennedy OBE, Jo Wiggins and Mala Thapar..............................................................................................83 Book club.....................................................................................................88 Gender Pay Gap Reporting, by Nicola Mullarkey ....................94

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Editor’s Note

L

et’s start with the absolute unequivocal truth - the time has come to be Proactive and not Reactive about women’s rights, establishing a balanced reflection of gender in leadership and equal opportunities for the advancement of women. Diversity must become the commercial currency sought by every leading corporation and government which will inevitably set the pace for others to follow.

The advancement of Women must be the centre premise of every major socio-economic, socio-legal and political agenda of any society. It is imperative that this is not seen

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as a local or national transformation but a global metamorphosis that will have a ripple effect across all strata of global society. The first quarter of 2017 has evidenced visible change of women’s roles in society and the growing, unrelenting demand for this change to be reflected across the broad spectrum of the global agenda. Marked by marches, talks, performances, demonstrations and strong themes, the common cause draws women in solidarity to one cause against gender inequality.

In this issue I have had the privilege, and enjoyed speaking with and hearing from incredible women defying stereotypes and paving the way for a more inclusive society through their leadership roles, businesses advancing women and topical issues tackling societal barriers, as well as addressing stigma and discrimination. We have received insightful contributions that have enriched our content on a variety of topics.

It is most definitely not the time for a Cautious Shift but as candidly put by Lakshmi Puri, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, ‘it is time for a conscious revolution’. It is time to consciously take a personal decisive step

The Women in Leadership publication is part of the Women in Leadership Foundation initiative, a non-profit organisation, to promote equality and diversity. © 2017 Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu. All rights reserved.

All content of this publication is copyright protected and no content can be re-published without prior consent of Women in Leadership publication. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited.

All copyright, trademark, patent, design rights and other intellectual property rights (registered and unregistered) and content, features, in and on this site or the Women in Leadership publication in print, digital or online are owned

Diversity must become the commercial currency sought by every leading corporation and government which will inevitably set the pace for others to follow. and #BeBoldForChange you want to see. If this means advancing your career; breaking barriers in industry; starting a new business or changing gear in existing business; defying stereotypes in our communities, then that is what we must do. By advancing each other we advance all and by advancing all, we advance each other.

Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu PhD MBA LLM MA LLB IAQ Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Women in Leadership Publication Founder of the Women in Leadership Foundation New York Attorney and Solicitor of England & Wales (Consultant Solicitor) Author, Public Speaker & Huffington Post Contributor Twitter: @SholaMos1 www.drshola.com

by the Women in Leadership publication and/or third parties whose intellectual property are controlled or used by the Women in Leadership publication. These are protected by international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws.

Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in each article is the opinion of its contributor and does not constitute an endorsement by the Women in Leadership publication. Therefore, the Women in Leadership publication carries no responsibility for the opinion expressed therein. All material published in the Women in Leadership publication including adverts, editorials, articles and all other content is published in good faith. The Women in Leadership publication does not accept responsibility for the accuracy of claims made by advertisers.

editor@wilpublication.com www.wilpublication.com @WILPublication @wilpublication @WILPublication

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Contributors A D È L E M C L AY A chartered accountant by qualification, Adèle Mclay led her own multi-million dollar consultancy working with New Zealand’s leading corporates. She has worked as a highly successful business consultant, providing strategic advice on large corporate change and profitability programmes. She is now the owner of a number of successful brands, a life / business coach, public speaker, mentor, entrepreneur and investor, and the author of two books on business success. @adelemclay | @small.business.huge.success AdeleMcLayFan | SmallBusinessHugeSuccess @adelemclay

CASS HOROWITZ Cass Horowitz is a freelance journalist and entrepreneur. He has previously written for VICE, Time Out and the Telegraph, and is the current Culture Editor at About Time Magazine.

G AY H U E Y E VA N S Gay Huey Evans is Independent Non-Executive Director at Standard Chartered Plc, Independent Non-Executive Director at ConocoPhillips, a Member-Management Board at P.R.I.M.E. Finance Foundation, a Member at Council on Foreign Relations, Inc., and a Member at Forum UK. She is on the Board of Directors at Standard Chartered Plc, ConocoPhillips, Financial Reporting Council, Wellbeing of Women, and Wigmore Hall Trust.

T E M I KO L E OWO Temi Koleowo is an idea catalyst and director of the Ideation Consultancy, Business First Steps, which supports businesses to develop new product or service ideas. She works ivn collaboration with many SMEs to develop strategic growth plans for their businesses. packagemypassion | temi.koleowo.3 @Business1ststep @temi_ideacatalyst

NICOLA MULLARKEY Nicola Mullarkey has been involved in the recruitment sector for almost 20 years and has become known as The Honest Recruiter with her clients as her approach to business is exactly that, open and honest. Nicola supports and empowers Micro and SMEs to grow their business through hiring their dream team. Nicola is Co-Chair for Women in Recruitment and a Mentor with the Cherie Blair Foundation. @NicolaMullarkey

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a leader is someone with determination, perseverance, resilience and merit but is also someone caring, honest and just. I have found that these traits are in women leaders.

Zita Luiten

PORTRAITS OF

Invisible

WOMEN LEADERS

Photo by: Zita Luiten and Edo Landwehr

O

n International Women’s Day #IWD2017, we celebrate not only the visible women leaders, but also the less visible voices of empowerment. Social activists Zita Luiten and Edo Landwehr share with us portraits of incredible women from their visit to a Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon. The women featured are fighting for a better life with honour, dignity and strength. Though

they may be invisible to the world, their voices and actions are loud enough to have a rippling effect on their destinies and lead to the change they want to see. Zita is of the firm opinion that: ‘a leader is someone with determination, perseverance, resilience and merit but is also someone caring, honest and just. I have found that these traits are in women leaders.’

Photo by: Zita Luiten and Edo Landwehr

F AT I M A Meet Fatima from Idlib, Syria.

She lives in a camp in Bekaa Valley, with her family. At the age of only 22, she has a fourmonth-old son Moustafa, living in a tent with her extended family. Her fight for a better future for herself, but mostly her child, is a

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daily and constant one. She is finishing her BA in Philosophy, because she believes that her education will change her baby’s entire life. An educated woman can create a lifeline of development. Every day, she fights for her children’s future. Every day, she is an inspiring female leader.

Photo by: Zita Luiten and Edo Landwehr

MANAL Meet Manal from Idlib, Syria.

She also lives in a refugee camp in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, with her husband, daughters and grandchildren. For 5 years, she’s been living here. Every day is a fight to survive. She and her family have to pay about $100 US a month to live

in a tent in a camp with an open sewer system.

Every month they battle to have a roof over their heads and food in their mouths. Every day she fights for her family. Every day she is an inspiring female leader.

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Photo by: Zita Luiten and Edo Landwehr

MARIA Meet Maria from Syria.

become self-sufficient.

She founded the Anamel center to embody and empower Syrian women who reside in Lebanon due to the war. It consists of the kitchen and the tailoring workshop. There are also rooms for empowerment trainings provided to the women by different societies. Products from the workshops are sold to the public to help them

Maria says: “What is happening in Syria isn’t easy for anyone going through it. But the thing that brings happiness and gives great positive energy is to create self-sufficiency, to fuel that energy in a woman. That ultimately, in the process of work and friendship, a woman creates a new home for herself.”

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Photo by: Zita Luiten and Edo Landwehr

UM KHALED Meet Um Khaled from Homs, Syria Um Khaled is a proud mother of six children.

She lost her 13 year old son in 2011 to a bomb attack. In 2012, her oldest son and husband went missing. She found the patience and strength to go on and moved to Lebanon to live with her other son. One day, three Syrian ladies came to the door and told her about Anamel.

She says: “There aren’t enough words to express how happy I was when I found work here at Anamel. I registered for school here, I am doing tailoring work, we go on trips together and we have fun. Anamel makes us forget what we have been through, and sometimes, that is all you really need in this situation.”

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Photo by: Zita Luiten and Edo Landwehr

Zita Luiten and Edo Landwehr are social activists and storytellers who raise awareness on social issues around the world through visual storytelling - bringing people closer together, through photography and videography.

To put Fatima and Manal’s situation into context, take a look at these pictures. They show the contrast between the camp and the city behind it, separating refugees from normal citizenship but still keeping it close.

This is one of the many camps in the Bekaa Valley, near the border of Syria. Everywhere in the region, you see tents pop up, from small camps with 2 tents, to bigger camps with 50 tents. As ‘national guests’, they will never receive any official papers. Forced to work illegally and for low salaries, they have to work incredibly hard to pay for their tents, food, electricity, education and healthcare. Not only do they have to pay to build and maintain their tents, most have to pay the landlord to live on this small piece of land. People in this specific camp in the picture have to pay between $66 and $100 US per month for a tent in a camp with an open sewage system.

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Zita Luiten

Edo Landwehr

TACKLING GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE WITH Dr Shruti Kapoor

D

r Shruti Kapoor is a gender equality activist, economist and social entrepreneur who is passionate about girls’ and women’s safety. Shaken by the horrific gang rape in Delhi 2012 that caught the attention of the global news media, she founded Sayfty in June 2013 to educate and empower women and girls against violence.

The initiative aims at, not only creating awareness of laws and legal rights around the issue of violence against women, but also uses digital media, tech-for-good and storytelling for women’s safety. In 2016, the White House nominated Dr. Kapoor as a change maker for The United State of Women Summit 2016. Sayfty was awarded the People’s Choice Award by Femvertising (2015), and won a State recognition award by the UP Government in India for the organisation’s work on safety and education of girls. In this interview we speak to Dr Kapoor on methods and measures to tackle gender-based violence. She is of the firm opinion that violence against women is a global problem and hence everybody’s problem.

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Defend Yourself We provide self-defence workshops for girls at various educational institutions and women. Some women are often shy, lack confidence and have no understanding about marital rape. Through our workshops we teach women basic selfdefence skills, discuss gender roles and marital rape. We go as far as getting each participant to break a brick with their hands. Many women who participate do not believe on the outset that they can break a brick but through the training at the self-defence workshop, every participant is able to do this and it boosts their confidence that they can do something about their personal safety. We also find that some women don’t trust themselves or their instincts but after the workshop they leave with renewed self confidence that they can do something about their safety.

Dispelling the Myth that Violence Against Women is Just by Men We run awareness campaigns that are not focused on men but on gender-based violence which can be perpetrated by both men and women. Our aim is to educate women to be aware that violence can be perpetrated by anyone and not be in denial.

They should know their rights, stand up for themselves and speak up about it. We also work with men and boys. We will speak up for them equally if they suffer gender-based violence.

However, most of the reports we receive are domestic violence cases of husbands beating or raping their wives. We recognise that women are also perpetrators of abuse against other women, especially psychological abuse in the intergenerational homes where the mother-in-laws have control. We are open to addressing this form of abuse because in a number of cultures where this type of abuse exists it’s perceived as a cultural norm.

Don’t Be in Denial - Have an Action Plan Women and girls must realise that their safety is in their own hands. We can no longer use the excuse that our government is not doing enough or we are not strong enough or we are the weaker gender and need protection. Simple things like - stay mentally alert, mind the way you walk in the night, have your mobile phone charged, know your strengths - what you can and can’t do, and let people know where you are going. This doesn’t restrict your freedom.

Some women think they are safe because of the home they live in, where they come from or that they drive and don’t use public transportation. But anything can happen at any time to anybody. Unless you have an action plan in your head, you will never be ready for the danger when it comes.

Violence against women stems a lot from gender inequality and societal perceptions of women as second class citizens. We need to start from home by teaching boys and girls to respect each other. Start from where you are with what you have and practise it daily in your life. If you see something wrong, speak out against it. Don’t be a bystander. Educate yourself on what to do.

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LAKSHMI PURI 20

TIME FOR CONSCIOUS Revolution EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH UNITED N ATIONS ASSIS TANT SECRETARY-GENERAL

L

akshmi Puri is Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women. She has contributed strategically and vitally to building UN Women since its inception in 2010.

With 28 years in diplomacy and human rights advocacy, Lakshmi Puri is a powerhouse in international relations. She has contributed significantly to positioning UN Women as the global advocate for gender equality, women’s empowerment and in securing high-level political commitments.

In this interview, Lakshmi Puri provides rich insight into aligning and addressing global standards on topical issues such as gender equality. She also talks about the power of transformative ideas that have revolutionised the world.

She shares with us the challenge of being a busy mum and how the dedication of her husband, children and family have helped her become who she was destined to become.

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How did it feel to be awarded the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award?

I treasured it more than most other things in my career. This is because of what Eleanor Roosevelt represented and accomplished. It also represents the UN - its mission and work, particularly because it focuses on human rights. In my case, human rights work has been an integral part of my career since 1981. I also treasure it because the award is woven into everything else I have done in development, peace and security, gender equality, women’s rights and empowerment, human rights. The fact that the United Nations is a global standard-setting body which is a pivotal part of my work particularly in long-term development, different aspects of peace and security, and gender equality.

What challenges do you face in establishing global standards locally and internationally?

UN rule is to set the bar high on what it expects the member states to do. The UN is also a member state as much as it is the secretariat, citizenry of the world. We convene the citizenary and member states together.

The UN Secretariat puts forward the creative ideas that are universal, transformative and comprehensive. The Secretariat engages with the member states to create the soft or hard law that becomes the global norm by which member states judge what they do and hold themselves accountable.

I was reflecting on all this. In the last 6 years we achieved an unprecedented progress in global standards, particularly around gender equality and making sure the norms are centrally reflected in the intergovernmental agreement and processes. Some people questioned why gender rights should be at the centre of the discussions but it was clear from reports that gender equality is an integral point of interest in peace and security, migration and refugees; HIV and AIDS, drugs and other issues being globally addressed.

UN Women ensures the translation of groundbreaking solutions into regional and national laws, policies, measures and special measures. For example, through the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) reporting, we build accountability on how countries implement the changes and norms agreed globally. We work upstream to align countries to the norms and standards we have helped established and make sure this aligns between the global, national and local levels.

We can’t just have a top-down approach. You can have the best legislation in the world but it will not get implemented if the society does not buy into it. Gender equality is one such area where social

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Some people questioned why gender rights should be at the centre of the discussions but it was clear from reports that gender equality is an integral point of interest in peace and security

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norms, cultural norms and patriarchy is so obdurate that we need to break it all down, including gender stereotypes and discriminatory mindsets to unpack.

We need a conscious revolution which requires a high-powered advocacy campaign. We had a campaign getting leaders to commit on Gender Equality in which 70 Heads of States and governments attended in 2015. This was unprecedented, especially on the issue of gender equality. Advocacy also means movement building. Our HeForShe campaign has really contributed to significant movement building. We also support local campaigns and have a wider reach. People are forced to have a conscious revolution. This includes men, boys and the youth. Gender Equality is such a multi-sectorial agenda that draws other parts of the UN to be involved What in your opinion is the transformative power of ideas?

It was inconceivable before 2012 that the concept of Sustainable Development, which took root in 1992, would evolve into a universal transformative and comprehensive agenda that is applicable to all countries, which integrates the three dimensions of economic,social and environmental sustainability. Look at the way that idea changed the world.

Even companies in the private sector are talking about SDG, not only in financial terms but also about how they can build a corporate sustainability framework.

It is a great example of how an idea germinated grows into something phenomenal. I have been involved in different parts of the SGD agenda and seen it have incredible impact.

Another point is the issue of globalisation. The UN’s position has always been that globalisation must be directed towards a more equitable and beneficial globalisation particularly

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for developing and poorest countries.

We are concerned about inequality, especially with the over-assertion of globalisation, and the markets being allowed to reign. If markets are allowed to reign at will, it is a total wave against globalisation particularly for those countries that have profited most. Now people are reacting and saying globalisation is a bad thing, however, the UN has been on the forefront saying globalisation must be managed and rules set so that there are equitable outcomes. No country is left behind and we go to the farthest first.

We have also been able to seed the Gender Equality and Women Empowerment ideas both as a prime enabler and prime beneficiary into all the epic undertakings in this century.

Did you always want to be a diplomat and human rights advocate?

I had wanted to be a doctor and had enrolled for a pre-medical course for which I got admission and was very passionate about it. My parents were about 45 years old when I was born and my father was retiring when I was finishing college. My father was a feminist and thinking about what would be best for me professionally. He wanted me to be settled as quickly as possible professionally and steered me into foreign service. He had some exposure to diplomacy and felt that my personality would flourish in this area. I resisted for a while and was finally persuaded to give it a go. I joined the Indian Foreign Service and came second in the India exams. The rest is history.

For 28 years I was in the foreign service.

In one of my postings, I was posted to Geneva as India’s delegate to the Human rights Commission and that’s where my journey into human rights advocacy began. I always thanked my father for redirecting me from what I wanted to be to what I was destined to become. I would say my journey has been a combination of volition, direction and happenstance.

I always thanked my father for redirecting me from what I wanted to be to what I was destined to become.

How have you achieved a worklife balance with all your accomplishments and career success?

It has been a challenge and sometimes I’ve had huge bouts of guilt. Both my kids have been very understanding and my husband has been very supportive.

It is important to have a partner who is as engaged as you are in what you want to achieve. My husband and I are in the same profession so it has been a compatible and mutually beneficial relationship which has enabled me to have a semblance of work-life balance.

I really don’t believe there’s a worklife balance [laughing]. If at all there is an equilibrium, it’s a very shaky one.

Sometimes you end up working too much at the expense of your personal life. On another hand, your personal life completely overwhelms you. As an example, there was a year I took off work to dedicate it to my daughter because I felt she needed me. Now my daughters have all grown up.

As women, we are called upon to prove ourselves much more than men. That puts an extra burden on us as well as proving that we are not compromising on what is owed to our family.

NOMINATE

A YOUNG PERSON FOR A DIANA AWARD Diana Awards are bestowed in Diana, Princess of Wales’ name to young role models who are going above and beyond in their daily lives to create and sustain positive change in their communities and around the world.

For more information visit diana-award.org.uk/nominate

“Everyone needs to be valued.

Everyone has the potential to give something back”

#DianasLegacy

JOHN HERRERA 26

DESIGNER JOHN HERRERA

Empowering Women in the Philippines

C

outure designer, John Herrera, shares his conviction to help disadvantaged women from his native Philippines by training them in the skills of fashion and design to give them the ability to earn the financial independence they need. Recently named Britain’s 2017 Top Designer, his designs are innovative and unconventional, as evidenced in his new collection, Agila.

He credits his female workforce for the tireless energy they bring to work every day alongside their energetic kids who are often playing in the office over school holidays when their mothers don’t have alternative childcare.

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What proportion of your workforce are women?

100% My assistant designer who I consider to be a woman is trans-gender but the rest of my work force are mothers. I used to have nine but three went back to their provinces recently and now I have 6, they’re all mothers.

Tell us more about your workshop for disadvantaged women.

I’m in the planning stages of increasing my production, which means we get to hire and train more women from challenged areas here in my neighbourhood and in the Philippines.

I shortlist ten women for the first batch of trainees. We will cover their allowances but they won’t be making money for the company. So I’m really expecting a big slump, it’s not going to be a smooth sailing ride at the beginning but I have a wonderful support group who see the value in what I’m trying to do. If we can successfully train the women then they can apply to work for our fashion label if they desire to, or work elsewhere and we will give a recommendation.

We’ll open the floor to every designer we know in the country so that those designers who need to increase their workforce can come directly to us and we will give them an evaluation.

Why did you start this project helping disadvantaged women?

My late twin brother was partner in this business before and it was his idea to give less privileged women a purpose and a means to sustain themselves through learning a skill set. He felt that a lot of them from poor communities were left with very limited choices other than giving birth and living on the streets. He felt strongly that if we were patient in training them, the rewards would be mutually beneficial to both sides. We ran it once a year for two years and took a hiatus due to limited space.

From this year, we will run it every six months, training ten new batches

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every six months and hopefully we can also get sponsors to help with the allowances and materials for their training.

There’s a demographic in the Philippines of many young unemployed because they’re not trained for anything. After high school or grade school they just stop educating themselves, and also because of our religious predisposition we don’t have realistic reproductive laws.

Women do so much and I know it’s unfair that when they break up with their husbands, partners or boyfriends it’s a clean cut. They are left with no form of support or income. Rather than focus on the problem, we chose to focus on the solution. I want a homegrown designer brand to have a buzz in London so more people will buy our stuff, more people will believe in our products, and maybe even though we’re a bit more expensive than what China produces, hopefully people will say I’ll buy this one, because by buying this I help women, children and communities. That is my dream right now and I hope it works.

Why did you choose to specialise in Womenswear?

I find women’s clothing exciting and appealing. I am constantly studying and learning from women. Everything women do reveals something about themselves to me and inspires my creativity. I tried to hire a man before but men are different and are not so patient when it comes to making clothes and dresses. [Laughs] Men don’t get affected when I play Barbara Streisand music, they are not moved.

But when I play Barbara Streisand or some Broadway music, like Miss Saigon soundtrack - my female staff react, sing along and they feel the music.

Everything women do reveals something about themselves to me and inspires my creativity.

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How did you become a designer?

I grew up watching my mum. My mum was an educator and a teacher of home economics at an all girls school. I watched my mum on sewing projects with women she taught, always with the sewing machine. So the sound of the sewing machine is a constant in my life. I always tell my mum, I am exactly like you but in a different capacity. I became a designer not a seamstress and I’m educating people just like you did. It’s a running joke in my family.

What inspired your latest collection?

I’m inspired by prints, especially prints on the Pawikan, a Philippine turtle. These are protected species in my country.

I actually saw one up close the first time I went swimming in the pristine open waters of Palawan. I research this amazing creature and I realised that if we don’t raise awareness towards how we handle them and come up with laws to protect them, I won’t see another one again the

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next time I go swimming anywhere in the Philippines. I was inspired by their shape, silhouette and especially the prints. I am now collaborating with a printing company called Epson from Japan. They have a local office here in the Philippines and asked me to be their brand ambassador for their sublimation printing which is perfect for my collection. As an example I have designed a hooded trench coat that is very boxy, very unisex and androgynous. It will have the print of the turtle.

Among my feminine pieces is a crater dress with our national sleeve which we call the butterfly. They are just going to explode with prints all over, including boots. I’m designing thigh-high boots with that print as well as more modern renditions of the Philippine dress.

Follow John Herrera on twitter @iamjohnherrera

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FEMALE BUSINESS LEADERS ON TRAITS, UNCONSCIOUS BIAS & WORK LIFE

Balance

H

igh achieving female business leaders share similar unique traits that drive ambition and additionally, possess a healthy resilience to the unconscious bias that exists in the business world. The underrepresentation of female business leaders does not deter them from taking a seat at the table. The October 2015 Women on Boards Davies Review revealed that there are now more women on FTSE 350 boards with female representation at 26.1% on FTSE 100 boards and 19.6% on FTSE 250 boards with no allmale boards in the FTSE 100 but there’s still a long way to go.

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It is important that organic pipelines of female leaders are created in organisations in order to position women into senior management and leadership roles. It will have a visible and noticeable effect on firm performance and a direct correlation with firm profitability. This is not a tick box exercise where obligations to diversity owed by an organisation are satisfied by a lone woman as CEO or on a board or as manager. Research undertaken by the Petersen Institute of International Economics in 2016 titled ‘Is Gender Diversity Profitable?

Evidence from a Global Study’, revealed that an organisation with 30% female leaders could add up to 6 percentage points to its net margin.

MBAs are a major pipeline to senior executive positions in the business world and more women are encouraged to take them to progress their careers. However, the MBAs do not necessarily prepare female candidates for gender-specific leadership training that helps to address typical questions considered by women as they step up the career ladder. Such questions include ‘How can I project a credible persona in a male-dominated environment?, ‘How feminine can I be and be taken seriously?’, ‘How do I address unconscious bias targeted at me? and ‘How do I achieve a work/life balance in the face of the threat of stereotyping? These, among others, are critical hurdles women face as they try to navigate a male versus female power struggle in the business world.

Lowered aspirations, less assertiveness, intolerance to stress and unenergetic persona are the very opposite of the traits generally found in successful female business executives.

To address some of these questions, Women in Leadership publication has undertaken a review of personality traits and challenges associated with women’s leadership success by interviewing senior female executives as they share their personal experiences and thoughts on some of the topical issues faced by women on the rise, including those at the top of their profession.

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MELANIE RICHARDS V I C E - C H A I R M A N & PA R T N E R , K P M G

Melanie Richards is Vice Chairman and partner in corporate finance of KPMG (UK). She is a member of the UK board and founder member of the 30% club steering committee. She is also on the Harvard Women’s Leadership Board.

Melanie joined KPMG in 2000 to develop the Debt Advisory practice and has more than 30 years of banking experience in bank lending, debt restructuring and capital markets’ instruments. Melanie is a staunch supporter of fostering an Inclusive Leadership culture because she firmly believes that diverse and inclusive organisations are more effective.

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We have a responsibility to stretch ourselves.

Take opportunities and step outside your comfort zone.

KPMG is recognised as one of the top employers for women in the UK and a corporate leader on the gender parity agenda. It visualises the increase of female leaders serving on corporate boards as imperative for building better businesses and increasing diversity in their talent pools. It is fortunate to have many different senior women leading this agenda within the firm, including Melanie. Her pragmatism, warmth and passion eminate throughout our discussion.

Make choices not sacrifices. It helps to be passionate about what you do.

Have you experienced any unconscious bias in your career path?

I have chosen not to notice when unconscious bias might be in play. In other words, I never allow other people’s perceptions

or preconceptions to drive my decision-making or the choices I make. This is not to say I am not interested or don’t like to receive feedback or take advice (in fact I have always actively sought it) but I never let others project their own ideas of me or to disproportionately affect my decisions.

What traits have helped you become a successful business leader?

I didn’t start off with a master plan.

I believe in taking responsibility and stretching outside your comfort zone as well maximising opportunities that come your way. Three traits I have observed in female leaders are resilience, authenticity and team builder.

have to be made. In other words, the perfect work-life balance is a utopia that does not, in reality, exist. I think about it as work life fit - sometimes work has to take priority and sometimes family but those choices are made easier if you are happy and stimulated by your work. Don’t apologise for making those decisions because this is about you, not what everyone else thinks. Everyone has an opinion which is framed by very historic societal norms. Be safe and comfortable with your definition of good motherhood.

What are your thoughts about achieving a work-life balance?

Be realistic about work-life split.

Work-life balance is not just about motherhood but clearly for me the balance has often been between my husband and children, and work.

The reality is that senior roles cannot be done without a great deal of hard work and often choices

Follow Melanie Richards on twitter @MelRichardsUK

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At Facebook, promoting diversity is a core part of its public policy advocacy.

It is working hard to increase diversity through a variety of internal and external programmes and partnerships. Facebook is at the forefront of efforts by technology giants to recruit a more diverse workforce.

Women in Leadership publication welcomed the opportunity to speak with Nicola, to share her experience as one of its senior female executives.

What are your thoughts on how to deal with unconscious bias?

Bias is one of the key factors preventing women from rising to the top, and it’s likely we’re all perpetrators of it – totally unaware we’re doing so. One example is what we call the Competence vs Likeability trade-off bias. Should I be high-achieving or should I be likeable? Women face a tradeoff between the two that men simply don’t. So how do we fix it?

By acknowledging it, working to understand it, and then dropping the curtain. In doing so, we ensure that career progression is purely based on merit. That’s why we offer unconscious bias training at Facebook – to help people develop this self-awareness, and to recognise their biases so we can reduce their negative effects for women and others at work.

How have you achieved a work-life balance?

In one of my first advertising jobs I discovered in my contract that I had to come back to work for three years after having my first child before I could have a second.

My work was essentially telling me when I could have children. I protested of course, but they never

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changed the policy. I’m glad to say that would never happen at Facebook. We support our staff at every single life stage – whether you are single, married, male, female, gay or straight, with dependents or without, sick or well. That aspirational attitude to work and to life is truly embedded in the fabric of our culture here at Facebook – and it’s something I personally benefit from every day.

How would you describe Facebook as an organisation to work in? What policies/initiatives are in place to support female professional growth?

At Facebook, culture is not just a nice thing to have, it’s essential. It reflects our mission – to be open and connected. One of the ways we work to be more open is by encouraging our people to have hard conversations. They stop us becoming complacent. And that includes having hard conversations about all aspects of diversity. We believe that tackling the issue is everyone’s responsibility— not just the Diversity Team’s — and that having those conversations can change behaviors and create better outcomes for people, including women. Last year, we asked 2,000 women here in the UK what barriers were preventing them from starting up their own businesses. Asking those questions has provided us with the right information to play an active part in tackling those specific barriers through #SheMeansBusiness, an initiative to help more women turn their ideas into businesses by offering much needed advice and mentoring.

Bias is one of the key factors preventing women from rising to the top, and it’s likely we’re all perpetrators of it. which is: ‘What would you do if you weren’t afraid’. Trying, failing and learning is a process you need to go through - it makes you better, more motivated and more willing to shake things up. b) Another lesson I’ve learnt over the years is that if you can’t see it, you can’t be it. Our own research has shown a lack of role models is one of the major barriers preventing women from starting up their own businesses. That’s why I’d encourage more women to speak to others – whether that’s online, at webinars or at networking events.

I want more women to be able to think ’I can do this, and there’s plenty of people who will support me and show me how’. c) My last piece of advice would be to celebrate the women around you and let yourself be empowered by their success. Women are natural community builders and it’s important that we share knowledge and learn from each other in a really supportive, virtuous circle.

What 3 top lessons learnt would you like to share with other women? a) I know from personal experience that women are often reluctant to put themselves forward, perhaps because they are afraid of failure.

So one piece of advice I would give is to be brave enough to take the leap. We have a mantra at Facebook

Follow Nicola Mendelsohn on twitter @nicolamen

NICOLA MENDELSOHN CBE V I C E - P R E S I D E N T E M E A , FA C E B O O K

Lady Nicola Mendelsohn is one of the leading women in the British Tech industry and Vice-President at Facebook for the EMEA region. She was honoured with the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the creative industries as part of the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours and, among other roles, is a non-executive director at Diageo. She is co-chair of the Creative Industries Council and director of the Bailey’s Prize for Women’s Fiction. She is a staunch supporter for tackling the barriers that prevent women from rising to the top of their professions.

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REBECCA McNEIL

C O O , B U S I N E S S B A N K I N G - B A R C L AY S Rebecca McNeil is the Chief Operating Officer, Business Banking at Barclays (UK). She is also the Chair of the British Bankers Association Corporate Committee. In her tenure at Barclays, Rebecca McNeil has supported everything from microenterprises to multi-million pound businesses. She has also used her passion for supporting UK businesses to shape Barclays’ SME Lending strategy. Rebecca has been instrumental in driving Barclays’ support for charitable organisations that help people start their own businesses, including The Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise (PRIME) and ASPIRE. 38

Have a reason to get out of your work routine. It is destressing.

Barclays is recognised as one of the top employers for women in the UK and in 2014 launched the Barclays’ Women in Leadership Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) which is the first of its kind to invest in companies run by female CEOs or a female board of directors. It is committed to achieving gender equality and is on record as employing more women than men in its organisation. It is fortunate to have many senior women leading this agenda within the firm, of which Rebecca is one.

Rebecca is delightfully downto-earth and a firm believer of risk-taking, balancing priorities, having the courage to make decisions and stick to them. Just as important is not feeling guilty once a decision has been made. These are some of the traits that make her the successful business leader she is today, in addition to being open with people and true to herself.

Always be nice to people on the way up because you don’t know who you will meet on the way down.

What is particularly fascinating about your personal journey is how you took charge in building your career. Can you share some of these experiences?

Ironically, two of my biggest opportunities have come from potential redundancies. In both cases, once at Amex and at GE, I worked hard to build my network and make myself invaluable, sharing skills people might not have immediately realised I had.

I think we take for granted that everyone knows what we’re good at! Both led to very different career opportunities which ultimately resulted in promotion. The other one was more recent, as we set up our new Business Bank in Barclays, the new CEO happened to have coached me during my MD process a couple of years earlier. During that coaching he mentioned to me that one day I should think of a Chief Operating Officer role, something I’d not thought of before. When he was announced as CEO I reminded him of his advice and asked him if he was looking for someone to COO for him! I was in product at the time and thankfully he decided to take a chance on me and gave me an opportunity to try something completely new.

How would you describe Barclays as an organisation to work for?

There are many initiatives in place to support the growth of female executives which makes Barclays a progressive organisation to work for. It’s a big focus for Barclays, we have a women’s network, a ‘Return to Work’ programme for women

returning to work after child or elderly care or any other career break. In the Business Bank we have a dedicated coaching programme to help women at critical career stages, and Barclays has also run some great Unconscious Bias training for its leaders.

Please share your thoughts on societal expectations on women in the work place.

I think that we need to stop associating things like flexible working with women, we all need this now. With more people sharing child care, and elderly care becoming more critical, this isn’t just a ‘woman’s problem’, it’s a societal problem. Yes, I do think that there’s a perception that some women sacrifice having children for their career, but it could be that they can’t have children, or like me, it’s just not something they’re interested in. I have some lovely nephews and godchildren, but I’m much happier interacting with kids when I can hand them back! I think I have a good work life balance. My partner Sam and I (after 19 years - we got together at 19) still have regular date nights, and we’re both into triathlon so we train together when we can, particularly at the weekends. Having a training plan during the week gets me out of the office and helps me clear my head (a bit).

Follow Rebecca McNeil on twitter @RebeccaMcneilBB

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What is the gap in recruiting BAME women?

mentoring and women in leadership programmes to build their careers.

When you look at BAME recruitment as a whole, there are a lot of BAME females at the junior level – this appears to be very well supported. Where there seems to be a lack is the mid to senior levels.

The higher you go up the ladder to the executive roles, leadership positions or on the boards, the numbers of BAME females are minimal. You are lucky if you can find 10 CEOs that are BAME females. I am speaking particularly about large organisations like FTSE100 companies and FTSE250 organisations. It is not like the talent isn’t there in the BAME female pool, it just seems like another barrier that women have to overcome.

I have 18 years of experience, part of which was in corporate organisations and reached senior levels in business. However, to reach these levels, I felt that the only way I could move up was to move out of these organisations. The frustration for women of colour is that the opportunities are not there. They get overlooked for promotion and there’s an unconscious bias element as managers are often perceived as only promoting people that look like them and they are comfortable with. Visibility and appreciation appear to be missing. The people who do get promoted tend to be of a certain demographic. People get frustrated after a while and end up going it alone or setting up their own companies as a way to move up in their careers. For organisations, that is a downside because they lose that talent. We work with companies in achieving their diversity agenda and retaining this talent. The culture of the company has to be inclusive and open to people from different backgrounds.

My company focuses on bridging that gap in the mid-senior levels for the BAME community. We provide support mechanisms including

What traits have led you to be a successful business entrepreneur?

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I am self-determined, motivated and focused. I set a goal and focus on the end-goal. You will have good or bad days but you have to stay motivated.

If you are going into business, then you have to stay resilient. You need to rise above issues on almost a daily basis. Pushing through whatever may arise and being determined to succeed. Having that self-belief that you can do it is important.

What challenges have you faced as a black female executive?

Lack of self-confidence working in a male dominated environment at the early stages of my career was a challenge. I didn’t have the level of confidence I have now. I didn’t have a voice. Every time I put up my hand, I got overlooked.

I would make a suggestion and it was treated as irrelevant but when someone else made the same suggestion it was considered a great idea. That kind of environment can be very challenging as I didn’t understand my true self-worth. On one part I felt I had to blend in but in doing that lost myself. Eventually I overcame this challenge when I realised that I stand out as a woman in this organisation and more so a woman of colour because there weren’t many women there and hardly any women of colour. I decided I must be known for the right reasons and that motivated me to push harder and work twice as hard.

The other kind of challenge was the barrier in companies around progressing in your career. I found it really difficult. There were people getting promoted above me that I knew had less skills and didn’t have the qualifications like I did. They

probably didn’t work twice as hard as I did but yet because they looked a certain way, they got promoted.

It can make you self-doubt. You can’t change your gender or colour so what do you do. You lose confidence in the organisation and doubt yourself. I felt strongly that such companies did not fulfil my ambitions and would move out to move up to an organisation that saw the talent and potential in me as well as support me into senior leadership positions.

What are your 3 top lessons learnt you would share?

If I could speak to my 18 year old self about what I have learnt on this journey, I would say trust your instinct, believe in yourself, and never give up. If you feel something is right, go for it even if others don’t think it is. Go with your instinct, it’s the most powerful thing you have.

Always believe in yourself and never lose sight of your goal.

How do you achieve a work-life balance?

The balance is really prioritising what is more important to you. It is trying to find a way to be successful at what you do in both life and work.

I am very fortunate that my parents and in-laws are very supportive which allows my husband and I to have the careers we have. As much as I am a successful business woman, that is secondary because the most important thing in my life is my family. I feel blessed every day that I have my daughter and want to treasure every moment. If it meant choosing between going to see my daughter’s school play and a corporate event, I would always choose my daughter’s school play.

Follow Cynthia Davies Twitter @Cynthiadavis77 @Bameagency

C Y N T H I A D AV I E S CEO BAME RECRUITMENT

Cynthia Davis is the founder and CEO of BAME Recruitment, a Recruitment and Consultancy service that is dedicated to achieving highly-effective diverse candidate attraction and strategies. ‘The reason I set up this business was to help organisations achieve their diversity strategy and help them to identify ways in which they can better attract and retain talent.’ Cynthia is a diversity and inclusion expert with a focus on Women in Leadership, BAME, LGBT and Apprenticeship Recruitment.

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CREATIVE Expression WITH NAJWA ZEBIAN

N

ajwa Zebian is a successfully published Lebanese Canadian author and poet. She is also a TEDx Speaker and educator. Her passion for creative expression started from a young age when she delved into Arabic poetry and novels. She is 26 years old and the youngest of six. Born and raised in Lebanon, she moved permanently to Canada on her sixteenth birthday. She describes herself as visibly and proudly to be Muslim. She has a Bachelor in Science, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Education and Master of Education degrees, and is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Educational Leadership. She is currently in her fifth year of teaching. This is Najwa in her own words through the eyes of a poet, giving a voice to the silenced souls out there.

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NAJWA ZEBIAN 43

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INFLUENCE OF CULTURAL BACKGROUND I am visibly and proudly Muslim.

My cultural background encourages generosity and kindness. So does my faith. That has manifested into who I am today and into how I carry myself. It has also made me more of a giver, and I don’t mean that in a materialistic sense. I mean that it has pushed me to give understanding and empathy in abundance. My faith has had a bigger impact on me than my culture, as it encourages me to be more mindful of my actions and how they may impact others.

It encourages me to be reflective, focused and purposeful with my time so that it doesn’t go to waste.

As much as my cultural background has benefited me, I try to fight many cultural norms that society dictated, which are widespread and challenging, especially for women.

Having lived longer in Lebanon than I did in Canada, some of those cultural norms have followed me. Instead of submitting to any expectation that is demeaning towards women, I have turned that into resistance and resilience. I am a very stubborn person and reflect deeply on what I believe and why I believe it. I don’t like following blindly. I have to be fully convinced of what I believe and do.

NAVIGATING THROUGH LIFE EXPERIENCES AND COMMUNICATING PAIN Every person has a voice and every person wants to be heard somehow.

We all express ourselves in different ways, although it is thought that speaking is the only way to express yourself to be heard. The sad reality is that not everyone has someone to talk to. Not every person has someone who will listen to them with full understanding. I was surrounded by people who were much older than me for most of my upbringing and that was a blessing in disguise. I was always more

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comfortable diving into my journal and spilling my heart out through my pen than speaking to someone.

I listened a lot, but when it came for me to express myself, I wrote. With time, poetry became my voice. There is a unique power in writing poetry that no other voice can give you. We live in a world, and in a time, where people are more likely to judge you than try to understand you.

When you write, you are making yourself feel heard, without the fear or pressure of judgment. The most powerful thing for me about poetry is that I have the power to end my story in the way that I want to end it.

MOST CHALLENGING EXPERIENCE One of the most challenging experiences that I’ve had was fighting to get my voice heard.

Perhaps the first fight was with myself- to gather up the courage to speak. The second fight was with the world. It is honestly so much easier to be quiet than it is to try to put your voice out there because the world is not always the nicest place to be. You do what you believe in and you think that everyone will be happy for you, because that is what you would feel in return for someone else’s happiness. But you will find that more people will fail to hear your voice and understand it. They prefer to hear it to judge you.

INSPIRATION BEHIND THE NECTAR OF PAIN After I published Mind Platter, thousands of people from all over the world reached out to me, sharing their stories with me. At the same time that my words made them feel heard, their reactions to my words made me feel heard. I was inspired to write my feelings while incorporating bits of inspiration from everyone who reached out to me. I describe The Nectar of Pain as a compilation of poetry and prose that the pain of love and loss gave

birth to. It is not just romantic love that I am referring to, although many pages and verses do refer to that kind of love. If you notice, lust is nowhere to be found in The Nectar of Pain, as I don’t believe that it is part of the true definition of love.

Love is a universal language. It is a universal way of expressing yourself.

Parents share it with their children and with one another. Friends share it with one another. People express their love towards the work that they do for this world. From a young age, we all need love. We are hard-wired for connection and love gives us that feeling. Love is not just romantic. Love is about feeling heard, respected, valued, worthy and feeling that you belong. It is a compilation of all of those feelings that gave birth to The Nectar of Pain.

THE SINGLE MOST CHALLENGING CULTURAL ISSUE WOMEN FACE Women face issues regardless of the culture that they belong to, let alone those belong to a culture that is attached to negative misconceptions. I believe that a universal issue that women deal with is the expectation of what their gender role entails. Depending on whose eyes we are being seen through, we are expected to look a certain way, dress a certain way, carry ourselves a certain way, get married by a certain age, have children by a certain age, etc. Then there are those who will judge a woman if she gets married too early or too late, has less or more children than they deem appropriate, etc.

The struggle for women is ongoing and different, based on where they are and who is looking at them. I applaud the women who dare to carry themselves with courage and bravery to be themselves and do what makes them feel successful.

Many women sadly strive to be accepted. Acceptance is not enough.

Respect is what we should be looking

for. When someone respects you as a human, you won’t feel that you need to prove yourself to them. Instead, you will prove yourself to yourself.

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IMPACT OF GIVING A TEDX TALK Someone else would totally answer this question differently, but here is my honest answer. Accepting to speak at the TEDx conference came as a given. As the day got closer, I got more and more nervous, but there was a part of me that was extremely excited to be on that platform. As I prepared for my speech, I gained so much more appreciation for speakers of TED conferences. I found myself writing pages similar to those in Mind Platter. I wrote about the feeling of being home, how we develop it and how it feels for it to be taken away. I used metaphors and analogies to help explain it but I knew that it was not enough to do that. It just didn’t feel real. I wasn’t able to memorise the pages that I wrote, not because I didn’t know what they meant, but because they were too ideal. There was an element that was missing. I kept wondering what would make my speech any different from anyone else’s if I am just stating facts. I reflected back on the most common question that I get: how do you know so much about life at such a young age? That is how I knew what was missing: my story. As scary as it was to get up there and speak from my heart for fifteen minutes, it was one of the most liberating experiences of my life. I allowed my vulnerability to speak for me and that was so magically uplifting. I remember listening to my speech once it was released, and at the moment when I choked on tears, I thought ‘I want to give you a hug’. I was so proud of myself and the courage that I allowed myself to feel as I spoke of my most vulnerable moments. That is my truth. And I did not hide it.

Follow Najwa Zebian on twitter @najwazebian

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Women

RIDING HIGH IN CONSTRUCTION

T

he misconceived view that women don’t belong in the Infrastructure, Building and Construction industry is an outdated stereotype. There is a growing need to raise awareness for more women in the industry and dispel this common myth. There are interesting and varied career opportunities within the Infrastructure industry that can be attractive for women. It is a profession that requires greater diversity and it is possible for women to thrive in an industry dominated by men.

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According to the 2016 Randstad Report on Women in the UK Construction Industry, women are expected to make up a quarter (26%) of the UK’s construction workforce by 2020. Companies must harness the power and skills of women to avoid a skills crisis within the construction industry.

However, perceptions surrounding equal pay still persist among women, with 41% believing they earn less than men. The report further reveals that the number of women in senior roles has leapt from 6% in 2005 to 16% and one in fourteen of those in senior management positions or

directorships now earn more than £75,000. Another 2% earn over £100,000 a year. Just 3% of women now occupy traditionally “female” roles such as secretarial or support, compared to 9% in 2005 with more women entering the profession in roles such as surveyors or construction managers.

More than ever, the Infrastructure, Building and Construction Industry recognises that it is imperative that no industry remains susceptible to a workforce homogeneity which is no longer suitable or acceptable to a diverse representative of a potential workforce. The

Government’s #NotJustForBoys initiative aimed at all industries traditionally dominated by men, inspires women and raises awareness of the different career options available to create genderbalanced teams across industries.

Women in Leadership publication welcomed the opportunity to speak with three leading women in the industry who share their personal leadership experiences as practitioners in this field and also what traits make them successful in their line of work.

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AMANDA CLACK

P R E S I D E N T O F R I C S A N D PA R T N E R , E R N S T & Y O U N G Amanda Clack is an inspiration. She is the second female president of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in its 148 year history and Partner at Ernst & Young where she is Head of Infrastructure (Advisory). Formerly a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, she has over 30 years of experience in the industry and is a senior property professional and a qualified specialist in real estate, infrastructure and construction.

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I have the right background and experience to really help make a difference.

Have you experienced any unconscious bias in your career path?

Interestingly not really around gender which, given my career is in the construction sector, may surprise you. I always have in terms of my age – I guess I’ve often held roles where I have been younger than my peers. Often I have been to meetings with a senior male colleague who works as part of my team, and initially many people who wouldn’t know us would talk to him rather than me. Interestingly, that seems to not happen as much – maybe that’s just a sign of getting older! I now just feel I hold some great roles at a time where I have the right background and experience to really help make a difference.

What challenges do women face in the Construction industry and how would you advise these be dealt with?

1. Attraction in the first place – the Construction Industry is not seen as a natural place women would choose to work. In fact, RICS and YouGov did a survey of over 1,000 13-22 year olds and 43% of those girls surveyed considered construction to be ‘men only’.

2. Retention – retaining top talent between 25-35 is difficult for both men and women, but particularly women. EY looked at data from the Inclusive Employer Quality

Mark data form RICS of around 50 organisations – “Building Inclusivity: Laying the foundations for the future” identifies it is key that middle managers walk the talk and support those in their midcareers to stay within the sector.

3. Role Models – we really need more senior women as role models so that those in the early stages of their career can see senior women who have succeeded in their career. Again, in the RICS/YouGov survey, 41% of girls surveyed felt their gender would hold them back compared to 4% of boys. All cited the impact senior role models have and gave examples like Theresa May, Nicola Sturgeon and Hillary Clinton as being what they need to see for construction. It is why, at RICS, we are promoting many of our successful women, sponsoring awards like Women of the Future and getting people to talk about why they #lovesurveying to help inspire that next generation.

What traits have helped you become a successful senior executive?

1. Science - I am very logical and business-minded. This means that I am good at organising and is probably why I love programme management.

2. Arts – I get people and care a lot about instilling the right culture and values. I hope I have good people skills, and after all, every aspect of what I do is about working with and influencing the people around me. I studied music as a classical pianist but would say I am more of a mathematical pianist than a true artist!

How have you achieved a work-life balance?

By remaining grounded - having great family and friends and loving what I do. Having many different interests outside of work like sailing, skiing, photography, interior design and a love for all things French! Plus realistically being able to compartmentalise my life and know when I need to hit the pause or stop button – and I don’t always get that right by the way!

The main thing that motivates me is making a difference. When I ever feel I am no longer making a positive difference, to me, says it’s time to move on. I would say I have two key traits, which always come out in psychometrics: Follow Amanda Clack on twitter @amanda_clack

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I love that I am still able to develop, learn and challenge myself.

What challenges exist in the Infrastructure industry for women?

I do not think that infrastructure and the variety of careers available within it is particularly on the radar of girls as a career when at school or college as there is simply not enough careers awareness given about the jobs available. The perception of the industry being male dominated is perhaps intimidating for women.

Perception that the job requires long hours and has little flexibility In your opinion, what would be the best method of addressing these challenges?

To be honest, I was not really aware of careers in surveying when I was at school, apart from the surveyor who carried out a survey when buying a house. We do have a huge challenge but greater exposure in the media, education of pupils and teachers in schools by the way of talks, career days, mentoring is the way to create greater awareness.

Do we need more women in Infrastructure and why?

As with many sectors, having a diverse workforce is more productive. So yes, having more women would be of benefit.

However, many sectors within the Land, Property and Construction Industry have an aging workforce so the challenge is more than just gender diversity, there is a need to engage with the next generation of professional surveyors overall.

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What 3 lessons from your personal leadership journey would you share with aspiring women looking to come into this industry?

I love the fact that the industry allows for so many diverse opportunities around the world which really excites me.

No two days are the same, I love the challenge of working collaboratively with a team of professionals to overcome challenges and make a difference. I love that I am still able to develop, learn and challenge myself.

What is the biggest myth or misperception about the infrastructure industry?

I believe that the profession is not regarded as highly as that of other professionals, certainly within the eyes of students, i.e. Solicitor, Accountant, Architect, which is a shame.

What traits have made you one of the pioneering females in this industry?

I think the main trait is never to give up! I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to study to become a Chartered Surveyor and I am extremely proud to have those letters after my name. I think that this make me strive to be the best I can be in my career and want to ‘give back’ to the profession that has done so much for me, hence my involvement with the RICS Matrics.

What is your role as Matrics Chair at the RICS? Being Chair has given me the opportunity to ensure that as a group (there are 40 local groups around the country) we are at the forefront of inspiring the next generation, engaging those new to the profession, supporting them on their way to being Chartered and raising the profile of the profession as a whole. Since my involvement I have now been fortunate enough to see friends I have supported become Chartered and know of pupils that I have supported go onto a job in surveying. I have been involved in the RICS Matrics since 2009 when I was still studying part time at University. The contacts I made within the RICS Matrics helped me with my studies, find a job when I got made redundant and supported me when I was preparing to sit for my Assessment of Professional Competence to become a Chartered Surveyor.

During this time I have been Chair of two local groups and then onto the National Board.

Follow Amy Leader on twitter @amy_leader

AMY LEADER

M AT R I C S C H A I R M A N AT R I C S Amy Leader is passionate that the role of a chartered surveyor is seen as the number one career of choice. She is Matrics Chair at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and has a first-class degree in Building Surveying.

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B R Y O N Y D AY

F U T U R E L E A D E R & A S S O C I AT E AT A R C A D I S Bryony Day is a strong influencer in the industry and the Women of the Future Award Winner 2016 for Real Estate, Infrastructure and Construction.

She is an inspiring future leader and graduated with first-class honours in Quantity Surveying and Construction Management.

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Never be afraid to put yourself forward (...) don’t be afraid to challenge people. Have fun, make friends, enjoy work!

What is the biggest myth about the Infrastructure industry?

That it’s all hard hats, massive rail project or a ‘gentleman’s club’. I don’t spend my days on a building site, and even when I do visit a projects on site it’s really rewarding, all the hard work become a reality, whether it’s seeing a new school being built, or the pieces of a complex laboratory building coming together. There is a more diverse working community – but we still have a long way to go.

What challenges exist in the Real Estate/Infrastructure industry for women?

There are things about the industry that challenge us all. The drive for innovation is not as big as in other sectors and as such, the excitement of the industry can be lost on some.

We keep doing things in the same way we’ve always done them, including recruiting! The Industry’s challenge around women in Real Estate / Infra is retention. Looking at recruitment data, most big firms are managing to recruit a balance of graduates, but the women ‘drop-off’ somewhere in their 30s… How can we incentivise them to stay? Take up those leadership positions and ensure they have the work-life balance to support them?

In your opinion, what would be the best method of addressing these challenges?

To attract a more diverse workforce you need a diverse workforce.

But I think a top-down approach is required in the way business operates. Half of the battle is knowing how to communicate.

I’ve found that some groups of men find it hard to communicate with women in the workplace, but the same can be said for communication with disabled people, or minorities where historically we have been lead to believe that these differences make us different. Better training and coaching around that is critical – we also need to see leaders / line managers role modelling these behaviours.

Do we need more women in Real Estate/ Infrastructure and why?

We need more people. To bring diversity and balance we need more women, but we also need to challenge stereotypes across the industry and open up more opportunities for other diverse groups to bring innovative ways of working to the industry.

What 3 lessons from your personal leadership journey would you share with aspiring women looking to come into this industry?

Never be afraid to put yourself forward, for saying yes and taking the opportunity. But it’s also important to know when to say no, and don’t be afraid to challenge people. Have fun, make friends, enjoy work!

What traits have made you one of the pioneering females in this industry?

Integrity - being genuine.

Being open and honest (where appropriate) and asking for help (this has been the toughest one for me to master, and I’m certainly not there yet!). It’s easy to underestimate the effect your actions and emotions have on those around you. It’s ok to have an ‘off-day’ but if you take a positive attitude to your work, and let your passion show, then it’s contagious. That’s how you inspire others to be successful. It’s also about making time. Time for a coffee with a colleague or a team member, a client or anyone really.

It can be about work, development, personal life or just the weather.

Remember to listen. That’s where relationships grow but that’s also where leadership comes from.

What does it mean to you, to a female leader in this industry?

Trying to be a ‘real’ role model - I work hard, but I also try to show my team that it’s important to make time for their friends, their families and themselves. Work-life balance is not something that many have the luxury of, but it’s a critical factor in success and being able to withstand the pressure that we often face.

Follow Bryony Day on twitter @bryonyday

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Stand up with SAJEELA KERSHI T

he multi-talented comedian, writer, actor and promoter of comedy, Sajeela Kershi is in a league of her own. She has been known to perform stand-up at unusual places: on a moving bus around Edinburgh, a man-made beach in the middle of Birmingham town centre and on a punt at the Cambridge Festival (the first comic to have ever done so). She was also part of a group of comics to take the first comedy tour around the Scilly Isles. Since 2006 she has performed stand-up across the UK

and abroad, including taking shows to the Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leicester, Manchester, Buxton and Brighton fringes as well as performing abroad at the Prague & Montreal Just for Laughs festival. Sajeela was up front and centre at the January 2017 Women’s March in London, taking a stand against the divisive politics of Donald Trump. She jokingly says satire is what the world needs right now because Trump comes up with the script and comedians don’t need to write a thing.

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Getting into comedy as a British Asian female took some doing according to Sajeela.

I loved being on stage from when I was young but it wasn’t a thing that was accepted in my family or culture.

I remember one of my uncles asking me ‘What do you want to be an actress for? Actresses are prostitutes.’ [laughs] I think prostitutes actually get paid more. It wasn’t seen as the thing to do but when you tell young girls they can’t achieve anything, it can be very negative. After I had my son, I took a comedy course because I really wanted to make people laugh. I had always used humour, growing up, to deflect things. Comedians often use humour to combat adversity and draw from their experiences. After the comedy course, I did about 3 or 4 gigs. The last one was in the House of Commons where I did a routine on stage about 9/11 and making a statement about who was actually behind 9/11. I didn’t even get that far, I got booed off. I was humiliated. I had literally died on my arse. I gave up and then restarted because it was always bugging me that I wanted to do this, why haven’t I done it. I went full swing back into it, doing gigs three nights a week. I could have taken more opportunities but felt I hadn’t earned it, I didn’t deserve it.

I know we women tend to think this way. In a roundabout way, it made me work twice as hard. There are lots of good female comedians out there but they won’t get on TV because it is felt they don’t look right. Though our job is to make people laugh and entertain them, we are judged by how we look. I love live audiences and the immediate reaction you get from them.

Through her show Immigrant Diary, Sajeela has used her platform to celebrate what it means to be a British immigrant in order to create a positive message of who immigrants are and how they embrace the British culture.

I wasn’t born here but I’ve embraced everything British. I love the Queen

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and Christmas. I am not unique in that. Immigrants are not here to try to get rid of Christmas, we want to steal Christmas. [Laughs] This is the same with Eid, Diwali or any festival from other people’s cultures that you embrace. We shouldn’t be frightened by this. I would call this sharing your culture so we can move forward. Immigrant Diary is not in any particular genre because it crosses genres. It is now in its 5th year and people get it. Sometimes assumptions are made about an audience, that they won’t be able to connect the dots on a show like this, but they have.

These stories resonate with all of us.

You don’t have to be an immigrant to understand about fitting in or parental clash. It’s these stories that connect us and takes away the differences. All of a sudden we are reminded about how similar we are through the context of the stories.

Following the events of 9/11, it was important to Sajeela to stand up against the prejudice against Muslims. She uses satire to address a lot of political and cultural issues that stem from this.

I attack terrorists and also have an opinion on certain things that may not fit in with the norm. For instance, I don’t personally like the hijab or burka, I wasn’t brought up with this, however, I will defend a woman’s right to choose to wear them. You can’t legislate on what women can wear.

If we are going down that road then you know what, I find thongs really offensive and uncomfortable. Why aren’t we banning them? [Laughs]. The whole Burkini thing in France really infuriates me - it is awful. I don’t like the fact that there are countries forcing women to wear Burkinis but also don’t want other countries to deny them the right to wear it if they choose to.

That said, as a woman myself, I have some problems with the Burkini and with why women choose to wear it. I don’t believe it is for religious reasons because there is nowhere in the Quran that says that.

I will defend a woman’s right to choose to wear them.

You can’t legislate on what women can wear.

Sajeela’s body of work in the last few years has been about bridging gaps and building understanding but she says some people only hear what they want to hear.

You can’t win or please everyone. I have been accused of being a terrorist sympathiser but I am too thickskinned to let that bother me. I like to think people get my work because those who don’t are few and far between. I have struggled with the term ‘feminist’ for a long time because I felt it didn’t necessarily include my experience. I am a feminist on my own terms. I believe in equality with my sisters to have the right to think and feel how we want. That is part of being a feminist. So when someone says a woman who wears a burka can’t be a feminist, I say why not? If she is forced to wear the burka, she has the right to stand up and say no. If she chooses to wear it, she has the same right to determine her choice. She is still a feminist. My new show on feminism will tackle some of these issues with a lot of personal anecdotes.

Sajeela is writing her new show Paradise Beneath Her Feet which will preview at the Brighton Fringe in May 2017 followed by other UK dates.

Then also Edinburgh in August 2017.

Sajeela Kershi on twitter @sajeelakershi

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Join our network of inspiring and innovative women (and a good number of men who recognise that equality is better for everyone) and make the connections that help us all to get ahead.

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WOMEN LEADERS IN Law

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here has been a rapid rise of women in the legal profession in the last 30 years but some are of the strong opinion that this growth has not gone far enough. The legal industry is taking more conscious steps to instil diversity, however, coupled with this should be time and money invested in creating an environment that develops growth and is flexible to the varying dimensions of personal and professional development.

Senior management and leadership positions in the legal industry are predominantly dominated by men, which does not help to speed up gender parity. One of the key

statistics from the Law Society Group Annual Statistics Report released in 2016 is that there has been a rise in female partners of just over 4% in 10 years compared to men who make up 72% of all partners, with more women occupying the roles of associate and assistant solicitor than men.

Women in Leadership publication welcomed the opportunity to speak with women who are currently in key leadership positions in the UK legal sector on how they see their role, suggestions on how to address gender inequality in the profession and how they have achieved successful careers.

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C H A N TA L - A I M E E DOERRIES QC

H E A D O F AT K I N C H A M B E R & 2 0 1 6 C H A I R M A N O F T H E B A R C O U N C I L O F E N G L A N D & WA L E S Chantal-Aimee Doerries is one of the leading female practitioners in law and youngest woman to be made QC in her set. She has a wide-ranging practice in domestic and international commercial dispute resolution relating to energy, natural resources, construction, engineering and infrastructure projects, joint ventures and so much more. She was listed in the Debrett’s 500 Most Influential People in 2016 (under Law) and featured in The Lawyer’s Hot 100 list for 2009.

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I hope that I am able to provide support and guidance, if sought, to the next generation.

What does it mean for you, personally, to be a senior female leader in law?

It means being part of a profession and believing in making a difference - working to ensure that the best things about my profession are preserved, but also ensuring that we are a modern profession. And it means looking out for the next generation. I was lucky that at the various stages in my career I have always had people I could turn to for guidance and advice, and I hope that I am able to provide support and guidance, if sought, to the next generation.

What traits have helped you become a successful senior female leader in law?

1. Determination – in other words if things don’t worked out as planned, regrouping, learning and having the courage to continue.

My first pupillage at the Bar did not lead to a tenancy, but instead of letting this dissuade me from my course, I looked for other opportunities. I learned a lot at the first Chambers and made some good friends. A combination of determination and the old prerequisite of luck helped me find a tenancy at a different Chambers, Atkin Chambers, which I have been happily practising from for over 20 years now.

2. Willingness to take chances or risks -generally I am probably relatively risk adverse, but at

various stages in my career I have taken risks. In some ways coming to the Bar is a risk, given the relatively low number of training places, or pupillages as we call them, on offer compared to the number of students applying. Applying to become a QC (Queen’s Counsel – awarded to recognise excellence in advocacy and generally seen as leaders in cases) is a risk in the sense that, if successful, you move onto a new stage in your career, with larger more complex cases and sometimes, therefore, with a different client profile. Taking a year out of practice to be Chairman of the Bar could be seen as a risk.

Although prestigious, you are largely away from your client base for twelve months. So far, however, I have been lucky, in that each of these challenges have worked for me. They have taken me forward professionally and I have enjoyed the new role.

3. Being articulate and skilled at structuring an argument are central to a career as an advocate. Enjoying advocacy and persuasion helps.

I have had the good fortunate to do this in a number of different arenas: in the UK Courts, as well as, in international arbitration, and as Chairman of the Bar in a more political arena. Like any skill, it is a mix of talent and practice.

Finally I would suggest a degree of discipline or hard work, which probably applies in most fields!

Have you experienced any unconscious bias in your career path - how did you deal with it?

I suspect that I was relatively fortunate when I started at the Bar 25 years ago. Quite unusually for those days, we had a female head of Chambers, and two female QCs in the building. To give you a sense of how unusual that was, when I was called in 1992, about 50 women had ever been appointed silk! I am not conscious of having suffered any substantial bias, but am also realistic enough to appreciate that we may not always be aware of prejudice, whether conscious or unconscious. And sometimes we may feel that we are being prejudiced against when in fact there is another explanation for the situation. I have spoken to enough women to realise that the Bar 25 years ago was not always a friendly place, and even today, like other professions, we continue to face challenges. I was fortunate to have a number of mentors who helped me on the way, and I hope to be able to do the same for others. I have always believed that we take responsibility for ourselves and for our communities. There is no easy answer to how we deal with unconscious bias, but recognising that it exists, raising awareness amongst ourselves and others and focusing on improving your own particular community is a very good starting point. I have had a number of experiences in my career where people, who themselves had suffered prejudice,

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At a personal level, I try to encourage younger women to stay at the Bar and to aspire to more senior roles.

said something, which was surprising and which suggested a prejudice or bias against others.

Taking the lead to flag the issue and to challenge the underlying perception often works. Overall, it is important that we raise awareness and create a working environment in which we all feel comfortable.

What is the best approach in addressing gender inequality in the legal profession?

Leadership and support are essential. Gender inequality has not existed at entry level for the Bar since 2000. We are about 50% at qualification. The challenge for the Bar, in particular the selfemployed Bar, is retention and progression. Retention because we still find there is a high attrition rate among female practitioners in their mid-thirties and progression, in that fewer women apply to become Queen’s Counsel, although when they do they are more likely to succeed than their male counterparts. So, by contrast to the qualification rate, at the level of Queen’s Counsel, around 13% of all Queen’s Counsel currently in practice are female.

At a personal level, I try to encourage younger women to stay at the Bar and to aspire to

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more senior roles. Promoting greater awareness and discussion seems to help. I participated in a panel of senior women all with different stories speaking to a mixed audience of students and young practitioners. I was a little concerned that by talking about some of the challenges we faced and how we overcame them might put younger women off. In fact, a number spoke to me afterwards about how refreshing it was to hear individual stories of people succeeding and how they got there, despite some real challenges. How do we address gender equality? I would choose three things: 1. Role models and leadership within the profession 2. Mentorship and support across the profession 3. Practical steps, such as ensuring Chambers offer maternity leave and comply with the E&D requirements and, where necessary, modernising these requirements, e.g. The Bar Council, as the professional body, has been campaigning for shared paternity leave.

Follow The Bar Council on twitter @thebarcouncil

The First 100 Years is aisground-breaking history project, supported byby the Law The First 100 Years a ground-breaking history project, supported the Law Society and the Bar Council, celebrating the journey of of women in in Law since 1919.

Society and the Bar Council, celebrating the journey women Law since 1919.

Work is now under way to to produce a new digital museum made upup of of 100 video Work is now under way produce a new digital museum made 100 video stories that telltell the story of of women in in Law. The collection will bebe donated to to the stories that the story women Law. The collection will donated the British Library in in 2019 onon the centenary of of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act, British Library 2019 the centenary the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act,

TheThe First 100 Years is calling onon individuals and First 100 Years is calling individuals and organisations connected to the profession to to organisations connected to the profession support thethe project through donations and support project through donations and sponsorship opportunities. sponsorship opportunities.

Donate £50£50 and have your name included onon Donate and have your name included thethe Donors’ Wall inside thethe digital museum!

Donors’ Wall inside digital museum!

TheThe First 100100 Years is managed

by SPARK21 registered charity no. no.

1167825 First Years is managed

by SPARK21 registered charity 1167825

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FUNKE ABIMBOLA FRSA

G E N E R A L C O U N S E L & C O M P A N Y S E C R E TA R Y, R O C H E U K Funke Abimbola is the general counsel and company secretary for Roche UK. She is a public speaker and multi award-winning solicitor. She joined Roche UK in the year 2012 as Managing Counsel and rose to the present position in the year 2015. She works as a volunteer in the area of education, fundraising for cancer research and economic regeneration. In October 2016 Funke Abimbola was honored as a ‘Point of Light’ by Prime Minister Theresa May.

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Having a genuine interest in empowering and developing others has also been a core part of my success.

I enjoy finding out what makes people tick and unlocking the potential within them.

What traits have helped you to be a successful senior female leader in law?

Although I have had a lot of supporters along my journey, I have also had more than my fair share of naysayers and haters along the way. Without recognising my own worth and remaining focused, determined and persistent in reaching my goals, I would not have succeeded.

Having a genuine interest in empowering and developing others has also been a core part of my success. I enjoy finding out what makes people tick and unlocking the potential within them. As women, we are naturally more curious about people, wanting to find out more about their personal lives and other things that make them who they are. I also believe that, because we are genetically engineered to carry a human life and to give birth, we tend to be nurturers, another strong but often underestimated leadership trait. A combination of natural curiosity and nurturing can really help to foster trust and understanding within a team, leading to a

collaborative, loyal and supportive team culture. Constantly learning and developing has been another core trait - seeking regular feedback on what I am doing and committing to improving where necessary. Lastly, developing my own personal brand has been essential, i.e. knowing and recognising my ‘why’ in fuelling my ‘what’.

Have you experienced any unconscious bias in your career path how did you deal with it?

Definitely at entry level. I qualified via the transfer test route which still remains an unusual route to qualification as a solicitor in the UK. Despite only needing 6 months’ pre-admission experience before qualification (the usual requirement is a 2 year training contract), I struggled to secure an entry-level role by sending off my CV and covering letter. I was determined to become a corporate lawyer yet a recruiter told me that ‘corporate law is too competitive for a black woman’.

In the end, I drew up a list of the top 100 corporate law firms in the

country, did the same with inhouse legal departments, found out the names and telephone numbers of the team leaders and cold-called each and every single one. I had a sales pitch about what I had to offer and, incredibly, was able to secure interviews and an entrylevel position this way.

When I compared the challenges I had to others who were also applying for roles, the key differentiator was that I had an obviously African name which stood out on paper. My peers with English names (some of whom were actually of West Indian descent but their names did not give this away) were progressing with applications where I was not.

I put this down to unconscious (or, quite possibly, conscious) cultural bias at the time.

What is your best approach in addressing gender inequality in the legal profession?

Setting gender targets in terms of what the firm is aiming for as a percentage of female partners - a similar strategy can be used for other parts of the profession

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I am proud that my 14 year old son has signed up to HeForShe... My hope is that many more male gender champions will follow his example. outside private practice. I am deliberately using the word ‘target’ rather than ‘quotas’ as quotas need to be filled and often lead to resentment and backlash.

Having set a target, the firm can then work towards that target, getting all the necessary support structures in place to ensure that target is met. A fundamental part of reaching any target set for female partnership is supporting women returning after maternity leave whilst also allowing parents to work in a more agile manner.

Firms need to recognise that it is not only mothers who want flexibility - there are plenty of ‘hands on’ dads also wanting to be there for their children and not miss out on their upbringing.

devote a significant amount of my personal time to volunteering within the diversity space, with a key focus being on campaigning for more gender equality within the legal profession and beyond. A core part of this is engaging male gender champions who are an invaluable part of winning this important campaign and I fully support UN Women’s HeForShe campaign. I am proud that my 14 year old son has signed up to HeForShe, having noticed that the girls in his school often lacked confidence despite being exceptionally bright and capable. My hope is that many more male gender champions will follow his example.

What does it mean for you to be a senior female leader in the legal profession?

I feel proud and incredibly privileged to have made it to such a senior role within law as a female leader. As a black woman in this role, I am also very visible and have tremendous impact and influence amongst the legal and wider business community. However, it has been incredibly hard work reaching this position and I have faced many, many challenges along the way. I use my senior position as a platform to empower and uplift others and

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Follow Funke Abimbola on twitter @diversitychamp1

The search is on for the 2017 Future Leaders Award Winner Open to women based in the UK, working in organisations employing 250+ and with the executive board in their sight.

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VA N E S S A D AV I E S

D I R E C T O R G E N E R A L - B A R S TA N D A R D S B O A R D Vanessa Davies is the Director-General of the Bar Standards Board which regulates barristers and specialised legal services businesses in England and Wales. She previously held the position of Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Operations at Refugee and Migrant Justice. Vanessa is a natural linguist and prior to undertaking a career in the legal industry was the Director of the Language Centre at King’s College where she established it as a leading centre in the UK for applied language studies.

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Never ever think the work is done… and always call out the inequality when you see it: don’t ignore it.

How can women be effective change agents in the legal industry?

If you want to disrupt the status quo, you must recognise the value system of those in power in order to renegotiate it.

Recognising something is not the same as legitimising it. You must understand how a different group operate before you can interact with it for change. My 18 year old self would probably be horrified to hear me say something so nonradical but experience has taught me that you won’t get people to change until you are ready to recognise what they place value in.

If you start from this basis, people will let you in.

a difference for even only a tiny number of women in the law, then that means a huge amount to me.

What traits have helped you to be a successful senior female leader in law?

It would be more instructive to ask other people that about me, but I think resilience and an unwillingness to take negative things really personally; a sense of perspective and priorities: there are sometimes more important things in life than whatever the pressing professional problem seems to be. I think I always have a clear sense of what I want to achieve, but I am not sure that is a gender-based attribute for leadership.

What does it mean for you to be a senior female leader in the legal profession?

Can you define unconscious bias women experience in the legal profession?

It’s something I am very proud of, and I take my responsibility to the next generations of women in the law very seriously. I may not always live up to my aspirations, but if I have been a role model or made

I don’t think unconscious bias is defined differently in the legal profession to anywhere else, but it will have its own special manifestations and examples.

Here’s a good regulatory law

example: we at the Bar Standards Board have just got going – and will soon be finished – on a much overdue piece of work to turn our Code of Conduct and Handbook (the Duties and Rules that determine how barristers practice) into gender-neutral language.

There were 350 references to he, him, his and only 40 to she, her.

No one writing the Code set out to be biased… but it is good to see the unconscious use of language improved on now.

What is the best approach in addressing gender inequality in the legal profession?

Never ever think the work is done… and always call out the inequality when you see it: don’t ignore it. When you come to a position of power, use it as far as you can to make changes, even if they are only small ones: they all add up.

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THE POWER OF

Philanthropy B Y G AY H U E Y E VA N S

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here is still a belief in the UK that philanthropy is best done quietly that those who give should remain humble, modest and should never draw attention to the impact that their generosity has. Yet if we stick with that view, how are we ever going to encourage others to give?

I strongly believe that we need much more of a giving culture in the UK, with an established view that those who can give back, should. Philanthropy is good for society and good for the individual that gives - we need to talk about it a lot more and celebrate it for what it achieves.

I’d like us to take a leaf from my homeland across the pond where we shout about philanthropists and celebrate the contribution they make to American society. Take universities, for example.

American universities couldn’t survive without the donations from alumni to their funds. It’s pretty much become an expectation that you should give back

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if you have the means to do so. That was certainly my introduction into the world of philanthropy. This went further when I moved to New York and joined the Blue Hill Troupe, a musical theatre group. Since its inception in 1924, the group has produced a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta every spring, with lavish production values and a full orchestra, donating the net proceeds to a New York City charity. That involvement confirmed my belief in the importance of giving and is a message I continue to spread through all my work.

And it’s a message that is more important than ever now. If we look back over 100 years to the Victorian era, philanthropy was an enormous contributor to our society, funding areas such as health and education. Post-war governments then stepped in and a culture of public spending took over. Times are changing again and while I don’t believe that philanthropy can simply replace government funding, I do believe it can enhance it. The time has definitely come to look much more towards philanthropy as a solution.

One of the best ways to do this is to learn from those who have got it right. That’s where Beacon comes in.

The Beacon Awards recognise exceptional philanthropists, those that are changing our world through strategic philanthropy and can inspire others to follow in their footsteps.

It’s these people who recognise the power of philanthropy and the need to use that power responsibly – people such as J.K. Rowling, Jamie Carragher and Kavita Oberoi.

But let me be clear, this is not about patting the big guys on the back and simply saying well done for your generosity. This is about learning from these inspirational individuals who ensure that their giving has an impact.

They are using their money effectively, changing lives, creating positive societal change - and we celebrate them because of that work they do.

Look at Ben Drew. Most people know him as rapper and producer Plan B. Ben is shaking up the education system with his charity ‘Each One, Teach One’, which supports projects that invest in kids with creative vocational skills such as hairdressing, video-production and music and drama.

He’s using his philanthropic power to change young people’s lives and as a 2015 Beacon winner, he’s certainly an inspiration to me and many others.

Just imagine if everyone who had the means took a leaf out of their book. How many social problems could we solve. I would love to live in such a society where everyone took responsibility and gave back.

Until we get there we need to continue celebrating and shouting about those who do. I call on you all to build on that network of inspirational philanthropists. Let’s stop being coy about philanthropy and celebrate its power and force for good.

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PERSONAL BRAND IT’S YOUR TIME TO

Stand Out B Y A D È L E M C L AY

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ersonally and in business, it’s time to start thinking about the importance of our own personal brand. Perhaps as women, our brand, our persona and our ‘niche’, come with preconceived ideas, and that doesn’t have to be the case. We have the power to shape our external image, our brand, and to make sure we are getting noticed in business or in society.

We have all noticed people who are already very good at this. They capture their market, time after time. They get media exposure. They have a successful business. They have a big community following them. They have people wanting to associate and do business with them too.

There is no secret science behind these people. A high profile, a successful business and a well-known brand is something that we can all attain if we know what to do. Once upon a time (that’s code for before the digital and social media age), it was much harder to have the public profile that many enjoy today. You had to pound the pavement, grease the right palms, have a convincing story and more... to get into the media, to get noticed.

That’s all changed. It’s now a level playing field and anyone can stand tall and stand out. These are the seven key things that all ‘those’ people are doing:

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7 key things 1 2 3 4

THEY’RE CLEAR ABOUT WHAT THEY WANT TO ACHIEVE. THEY USE THEIR PERSONALITY TO ENDEAR THEMSELVES TO OTHERS. THEY HAVE THEIR ‘PATTER’ - THEIR UVP OR SALES PITCH - NAILED.

5 6 7

THEY OFFER PRODUCTS AND SERVICES THAT PEOPLE WANT. THEY FIND PEOPLE WHO WANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH THEM, PARTNERING WITH OTHERS. THEY’RE PROFITABLE.

THEY MAKE A POINT OF GETTING NOTICED WHERE THEY WANT TO BE SEEN.

AND THE KEY INGREDIENT?

They work hard.

Many of us assume we are already doing this, but most of us are missing a clear strategy to bring this together and achieve success. The real winners – those who really get noticed and achieve the success that many of us aspire to – have total clarity and commitment to what they’re doing and why they’re doing it.

They embrace being branded Those that stand out embrace what I call the 7+1 Pillars of Personal Branding that support them to stand tall, stand out, and get noticed: Passion – they live and breathe what they do in business and life.

Personalisation – gone are the days where we show everyone just the bits of us we want

people to see. Now it’s about seeing the real person.

Positioning – they know what their market is; they are niched and proud of that niche. They aren’t trying to be everything to everybody.

Platforms – this is the really exciting part. Regular people are achieving extraordinary success and getting noticed by putting their message out to their market by choosing the platforms that work for them.

Products – they serve the market they’re focused on with products and services – free and paid for – that are relevant.

Profitability – to be truly successful, we must ensure our business model is profitable, so that our business interests reflect positively on our personal brand.

And what’s the +1?

Performance - personal branding success comes with commitment, discipline, resilience, time and hard work.

The 7+1 pillars to standing tall in business are there for the taking, for you and everyone you compete with in your market. Are you going to take the plunge and become your very own brand?

Partnerships – people want to partner and be associated with branded people as the relationship is mutually beneficial.

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Women in Tech: ‘PLACED APP’

GROUNDBREAKING APP FOR THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

BY CASS HOROWITZ

P

laced, a recruitment application for the hospitality industry, is the brainchild of two highly ambitious women with no previous background in the technology sphere but an incredible network, passionate drive and deep understanding of an industry that is in desperate need

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of an innovative solution to an age old, ongoing and in many cases, a worsening problem.

Swedish born Jennifer Johansson and South African native Natalie Chassay are pushing boundaries to disrupt archaic recruitment methods in the

hospitality sector by building a niched platform that is entirely hospitality-focussed, highly innovative and constantly evolving to accommodate the needs and demands of its customers.

Both Johansson and Chassay have a long history working in the hospitality industry having met each other at their posts at global luxury concierge company, Quintessentially Lifestyle for 4 years as Head of Nightlife and Head of Restaurant Relations, respectively. Managing relationships with London’s hottest restaurants, bars, clubs and private members’ establishments as to the service of the demanding dining and drinking needs of the rich and famous, allowed Johansson and Chassay to build up a combined, unbeatable blackbook of contacts in the London restaurant and nightlife scene, leading to the to formation of close relationships with the influencers,

pioneers and decision-makers of the industry from chefs to owners, managers to mixologists.

As a restaurant writer for Telegraph Luxury and previously, The Gourmet Traveller, Chassay is passionate about the evolution of a restaurant from concept development to menu creation, recruitment and launch. Combined with Johansson’s strengths in business development (having built up Quintessentially Spirits, a new sister business to the Quintessentially Lifestyle brand) and her contacts in the nightlife world, they left Quintessentially and built their first business together: a hospitality consultancy servicing the needs of new venues, inclusive of marketing and recruitment, as well as assisting with the drive of footfall to existing ones.

A few months into their consultancy and after working with a number of high-end venues, they were approached by a variety

of clients from the technology sector, having built innovative hospitality-related products and services but with minimal connections to the decision-makers of the venues themselves, rendering their sales strategies rather limited. And so Johansson and Chassay were engaged to sell their products and services to the venues where they possessed the strongest connections.

Whilst Chassay and Johansson were acutely aware that recruitment in the hospitality industry was a major challenge faced by venues, they were unaware as to how extreme the problem actually was.

It was during these daily meetings with hospitality venues on behalf of their clients that uncovered this truth to them. Regardless of the nature of the meeting, recruitment would always be at the forefront of every conversation.

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The intensity of the problem lies in the fact that the turnover of staff in this industry is so incredibly high meaning that venues are constantly searching for the right candidates but with very limited means of doing so.

The intensity of the problem lies in the fact that the turnover of staff in this industry is so incredibly high meaning that venues are constantly searching for the right candidates but with very limited means of doing so. Current recruitment processes are incredibly expensive and insanely time consuming considering the advanced era in which we live where immediacy and efficiency are at the forefront of almost every service available to consumers, regardless of industry.

For a medium to large size restaurant or a small restaurant group that staffs roughly 80 people, statistics show that, due to the high churn rates, they would hire a minimum of 5 new people every month, rendering recruitment an everyday challenge for hospitality venues.

With the hospitality industry also being the largest employment industry for people under the age of 25, there was no denying that through this perceived problem emerged a major opportunity which they jumped

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on immediately. It was obvious to both that a streamlined tech-based solution was needed and as such decided a matching algorithm, similar to those of a dating app would need to be utilised effectively and instantly to connect suitable candidates to open roles at suitable venues, allowing them to adjust preferences and criteria per job post. And of course to massively reduce the cost it takes to find great people by offering venues access to unlimited placements for a small monthly fee, a pricing model that disrupts exorbitant commissions per placement or hefty price tags for access to CV databases or job posting sites which still fail to provide any sort of matching or filtering system.

They began working on Placed in August 2015 by conducting market research with a large number of industry professionals to decipher the features and functionalities that would truly ease the existing pain points of hospitality recruitment. Once the Placed concept was fully formulated, they engaged a tech company and began to raise a small amount of funding to build the app and bring it to market in order to test and prove the concept.

Their first investor, the CEO of Park Plaza Hotel Group (PPHE), was an initial triumph. Backing from an industry leader such as this was a huge reinforcement that they were onto something with huge potential. After 6 months of development, they launched Placed in early July 2016.

With the intention of testing the product with about 30 venues and bootstrapping the business by focusing on as much organic growth as possible, Johansson and Chassay were inundated with venues eager to use Placed. In a short 6 weeks they had close to 200 of London’s top restaurants, bars and hotels using Placed to find suitable staff for their venues.

Being a two-sided marketplace however, and with limited funds to spend on marketing and user acquisition, they were facing an initial challenge of equalising supply and demand.

A classic chicken and egg scenario was at play, as naturally, a large number of venues would require a large number of jobseekers to fill vacancies accordingly. It soon became apparent that a second round of funding was an immediate priority in order to market the product fully and attract quality candidates, in turn maintaining customer satisfaction on the venue side.

Considering the uncertainty of a recent Brexit vote, the fundraising climate, especially for a pre-revenue start-up was not ideal. Having reached out to a number of angel investors and seed investment funds but with no solid commitments, Johansson and Chassay made an executive decision to launch a crowdfunding campaign on the Seeders platform to engage the community and reach an investment target of £85K. Renowned as one of Europe’s leading equity crowdfunding sites with an incredible network of investors, Placed was ready for the challenge!

Before launch, they engaged support from a number of industry leaders, with commentary in their campaign video from celebrity chef Luke Thomas, world-famous DJ and restaurateur Seth Troxler and Jason Wass, Group Head Chef of Polpo Restaurants, all expressing their support for the Placed solution.

They launched the campaign in early October and, whilst it was not an easy ride, they found them-selves at an incredible 288% of funding in just 3 short weeks of being live on the platform.

This round also saw investment from TrueStart, one of Europe’s most prestigious accelerator programmes, part of private

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In 6 short weeks they had close to 200 of London’s top restaurants, bars and hotels using Placed to find suitable staff for their venues. equity fund True Capital. Placed were shortlisted from hundreds of applications from startups across Europe and, after a number of pitches and interviews, were accepted to the programme alongside 3 other startups. Other notable startups to have received investment from TrueStart include Vitl, Beeline, Aday and City Pantry, to name a few.

After closing the round of funding at ÂŁ215K, Johansson and Chassay moved into the TrueStart offices and have hit 2017 with a bang, signing up more great venues and attracting quality candidates. Once they have proved the concept in

London, they have every intention of launching their business nationally and internationally where the recruitment problem persists, namely Dubai, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, Sydney and Cape Town. The technology itself is in constant evolution with a number of upcoming features and functionalities that will continue to iron out the issues that surround recruitment in this industry.

@ThePlacedApp @placedapp

Autism Spectrum FIGHT THE STIGMA & DISCRIMINATION

Stigma and discrimination are real struggles for children with autism and their families. There appears to be a systemic failure to provide the support required and inadequate resources in place to properly diagnose children in a timely manner. Families often have to wait 6 months or longer to get a diagnosis. Schools are often without the resource to prepare and educate teachers which inevitably creates a nonsupportive environment for autistic children and their families. As there is no single medical test to diagnose autism, there can be huge differences between behaviours and diagnosis of children with autism. According to the UK Human Rights Committee,

“Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) is a lifelong neurological difference defined by diagnostic criteria that include differences in social communication and social interaction and restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, or activities.�

The charity, Anna Kennedy Online, was established in 2009 by Anna Kennedy OBE. Following her experiences with her two sons and the plethora of requests from parents and families experiencing the struggle she had previously been through, she started the charity to create a platform of support for children with autism, a place of hope and advice for their families and to campaign against the injustice being experienced. Her personal journey is an inspiration to many and has overcome many battles. Her charity showcases the gifts of these children and celebrates the uncelebrated through their annual events Autism Got Talent and Hero Awards.

Women in Leadership welcomed the opportunity to hear from Anna Kennedy and two of her charity champions, Jo Wiggins and Mala Thapar – these three women are female champions providing much needed support to other families and reinforcing the need for us as individuals to not feed into the prejudiced view against autism.

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ANNA KENNEDY OBE Proud mum of Patrick and Angelo. When her sons were rejected by 25 mainstream schools, Anna re-mortgaged her house and founded Hillingdon Manor school to provide autistic children with a safe, structured education and a brighter future. Her work to support those with autism now includes two schools, a college, a respite home and a website with over 63,000 international followers.

What would be your advice to parents and families?

What changes would you like to see implemented?

Just don’t give in. All I can say is be relentless, persevere, and be tenacious. Arm yourself with knowledge, and also when you have meetings with people about your child (school, council, hospital and professionals), always keep a file of your child - of all the appointments that you’ve had, keep all the letters you’ve had from whichever professional it is that you’ve seen.

I would like to see every single teacher, social worker and health professional get properly trained on autism. There is a single care plan called the education and healthcare plan, with three organisations working together, those being social services, health and education. In my opinion, these professionals have put together a care plan without appropriate training and see children with autism as a number.

I’ve been living with autism for twenty-odd years and I still don’t know everything there is to know about autism. I think that training is key for everybody in the profession, be it education, health or social care.

How have you tried to address the issue of diagnosing autism through your charity?

With reference to diagnosis of autism, we conducted a countrywide survey completed by two thousand families which revealed that, on average, parents were waiting 5 years for a diagnosis on their children. We shared our findings with the department of health. The problem with this lengthy process is the impact on the children. They find it difficult to cope at school, the teachers don’t know why the child is having difficulties because they haven’t been diagnosed and the parents bear the brunt of it. It impacts on the child, the family and the schools.

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What other challenges do parents face?

The actual special needs system is quite complicated so it’s almost like you have to learn a different language. There are lots of different acronyms so, for example, SALT or OT and parents just starting on the journey would need support. SALT is Speech and Language Therapy and OT is Occupational Therapy.

It’s quite a complicated process of learning and if you’re already stressed and tired you can find the

whole process quite exhausting.

What two things have your charity done that makes you proud?

The Autism’s Got Talent and Autism Hero Award - we are now preparing for our 6th Autism’s Got Talent which will be on May the 6th at the Mermaid Theatre. Last year was the biggest one we’ve ever done, we had twenty-three performers from all across the country and Croatia, even the ambassador for Croatia came to support ths young man. We also had people from Sweden, America and Canada. It got a lot of press so that was fabulous for the children and families.

What I’m trying to do is make a difference to families but also create opportunities for children and adults, so like scholarships at Pineapple performing arts where we’ve got six children with scholarships there.

Follow Anna Kennedy OBE on twitter @AnnaKennedy1 For more information about the charity or how to donate or help with fundraising, visit www.annakennedyonline.com

JO WIGGINS Proud mum of Ryan Wiggins and Charity champion of Anna Kennedy Online. Her son wasn’t diagnosed with asperger (a form of autism) until he was 10 years old though he had been going for regular examinations since he was four years old to test if he had autism.

I try to dismiss any negativity because there’s always something worse that could be happening

How would you like to change the way society responds to autism?

How long have you been a champion for now?

I think we need to start with a better understanding at schools, which will forge a better future for all. However, for this to work, we need to push for equal rights for people with disabilities in the workplace. I want to see Ryan going out to work. A lot of people with autism end up on benefits and don’t work. I don’t want that for Ryan. I don’t want him to be on benefits when he’s older. I want him to go out to work and live as normal a life as possible.

Only just over a year but we’ve been involved with every event ever since Ryan joined Autism’s Got Talent in 2014. Ryan is always performing then progressed to be a patron of Anna Kennedy Online and now gives speeches.

Once diagnosed, what difference did it make for you?

It was just a relief to finally know, but there it ended. I had no understanding of what it meant and was provided with none until I became part of Anna Kennedy Online. There were little things that I wasn’t sure about and obviously because he was my first child, I didn’t know. Until they are your own you never really know what it’s like.

How do you keep strong through it all?

I just like to try and be positive about everything. Even silly things like when I had my phone stolen, I just thought it doesn’t matter, my children are healthy. I try to dismiss any negativity because there’s always something worse that could be happening.

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M A L A T H A PA R Proud mum of Aran and Champion of Anna Kennedy Online.

Her son was first diagnosed with autism at 2 years old.

She shares with us that being from an Asian background complicated the experience because of the stigma attached to mental health in the Asian community.

How did you get the support you needed?

Aran was being bullied and I didn’t know what to do, so I contacted the national charity. I received no phone call back. I saw Anna on TV, it was November 2011 and she was talking about autism and bullying, promoting her ‘give us a break’ campaign. I contacted her straight away and she got back to me immediately. She said I can come to your school to promote autism awareness within your school and I thought, wow. I’ve been with the charity ever since.

You went through an incredible ordeal trying to place your son in a good secondary school.

It was terrible. The school and council were against us for wanting to send Aran to Baston House, a school more suited to support him than the mainstream schools. They wanted him to go to a mainstream school with an attached unit due to costs. We had to refinance everything to fight for our son to go to the right school. We were bullied and harassed by the council, school and representative law firm. Without Anna and her

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team supporting us every step of the way, it would have been much harder. The council finally conceded and Aran was placed at Baston House.

How do you support the charity as a champion?

I started with plug in talks at local schools and colleges to raise autism awareness. I sold raffle tickets for autism dance day and then progressed. I’ve done a couple of flash mobs, a ball in November 2015, a glitter ball in Croydon with Mitch Winehouse, and then in 2016 helped to organise the Autism Awards. I support local families who are in need of support or guidance and direction.

I think Autism, any form of mental health, has always got a stigma attached to it within society in general and culturally within the Asian community, it’s even harder to get through.

Follow Mala Thapar on twitter @mala_thapar

If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.

BOOK club

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Book Club

RECOMMENDED LIST OF 10 SELF DEVELOPMENT BOOKS

BY T E M I KO L E OWO

I

f we desire a new level of success, there has to be a degree of internal and external change to bring about the desired results.

The difference may not be apparent to the naked eye, but there needs to be internal reconstructing to embrace

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new opportunities that will lead to a new level of success in leadership.

Reading books allows us to conquer the impossible; it enlarges the mindset and increases the capacity

to embrace new opportunities. If you want to achieve the level of success you desire in the coming months, you need to embrace a healthy appetite for the acquisition of knowledge.

Will Durrant captures the essence of knowledge so well, he stated, ‘Knowledge is the eye of desire and can become the captain of the soul.’

No woman can grow beyond what she knows. If you have set some audacious goals for yourself in the coming months, the best way to guarantee success is to first invest in the knowledge to acquire a new way

of thinking as the key to achieve your evasive goals.

Benjamin Franklin once said, ‘An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.’ There is no greater investment than investing in knowledge, the rewards are infinite and extend for generations. I implore you to make the acquisition of knowledge a key goal every year.

To start you on your journey of knowledge acquisition, here is my list of personal development books to help you on your way.

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BOOK club 1

Mindset - Dr. Carlos Dweck This million best seller has been a reference book for many professionals from all occupations. It addresses a belief system that permeates our lives in one way or the other – the fixed mindset. What I love about this book is that it encourages the reader to embrace a growth mindset, which believes that we can accomplish anything we set our minds to do through the application of knowledge, effort and the right mental attitude.

This book enables the reader to step away from misconceptions and teaches how to use the right strategies to achieve the outcomes we desire in pursuit of excellence.

3

How to Succeed with People - Paul McGee One of the sentences in the book sums it up nicely. “Intelligent people do stupid things. A high IQ does not mean automatic success with people. They do not give out degrees in common sense. So be humble.” Paul McGee advises leaders to build better relationships with the people they manage and pay attention to their needs. I love his take on mutual success, which is achievable when we understand the other person’s situation, motivation, wants and needs.

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Never Split the Difference - Chris Voss and Tahi Raz Negotiation is a part of our daily lives, whether we do it consciously or unconsciously – booking a holiday, buying a car, marriage proposal or a job promotion. Written by an ex-FBI hostage negotiator, this book provides insight into the mindset of a negotiator when there is only one desired outcome. It shares practical principles used in high stake encounters to improve the art of persuasion in any area of life. If you want a win-win situation and fruitful engagement, this is the book to read to gain the required skill for negotiating deals in your favour.

Invisuble Influence - Jonah Berger What affects the decisions we make on a daily basis? Is it our upbringing, family, friends, social status? Jonah Berger brings to light the things that are right under our nose that affects the way we think and the decisions we make.

A good read for those who want to master their thoughts so they can make better decisions that produce positive and lasting outcomes

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2

4

13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do - Amy Morin

The author lost her mother overnight with no warning, and her husband on the third anniversary of her mother’s death.

What prepares us for situations beyond our control? The answer is mental strength. This book explains how to develop mental strength to deal with any circumstance thrown our way.

This book was a gift from a friend who wanted me to achieve greater success with what I do with my clients. It has given me ample information to support my clients through challenging situations to release their true abilities.

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The Success Principles - Jack Canfield This book is one of my favourite motivational books, but be warned, there is a lot of information to imbibe. If you like personal development books, this is a ‘must have’ in your library. It is more than just a book; it is a reference you should go back to read more than once. This book will jolt you out of your comfort zone and challenge you to take charge of your life using a comprehensive and practical system.

It will also nudge and teach you how to focus on your top priorities, set goals outside your comfort zone and achieve those audacious results. It is full of thoughtprovoking exercises, which will infuse you with the energy and drive to achieve the success you deserve.

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7

The Power of Focus- Jack Canfield I have to feature this book because it is one of the books that helped me stop trying to be the master of all trade and expert at none. It shares simple but poignant principles that we probably know but never pays attention to them. The power of focus in needful for every woman who wants to excel and extend her borders.

The One Thing - Gary Keller with Jay Papasan In an age where we leave no margin in our lives due to the pressure to multitask and get more done in less time, this book is a refreshing interlude that advises us to focus on one thing. Focusing on one key priority can be a challenge, but it is achievable as buttressed in this book with useful examples to support the core message. The writer takes the time to write in an easy to follow pattern that helps you prioritise your life and achieve more on a daily basis.

Successful Women Think Differently- Valorie Burton Another one of my all time favourite, a great read for women who want to reach out for more opportunities and increase the level of success. The core message of the book is to imbibe seven important habits for success. One of my favourite chapters is ‘Get off the Hedonic Treadmill’ – “the process of continually adapting to improving circumstances and eventually returning to a relatively neutral point.” It is the hit and miss pursuit of happiness by the acquisition of things. It is full of nuggets for daily living and principles for outstanding success.

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BOOK club

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Goddesses Never Age- Dr. Christiane Northrup The author shows us in her thought-provoking book that we have the ability to enjoy the journey of growing old beautifully and gracefully. She addresses the need to cut down on certain foods, improve our emotions, and embrace who we truly are. She shows us what to expect in our later years if we pay attention to developing a healthy lifestyle now.

She states that ‘agelessness is about vitality, the creative force and connecting with our divine source.

There you have it, my ten recommendations to add to your library and list of books to read this year. Reading is an art we should imbibe on a daily basis. I am encouraging my clients to take the time to read more. If we commit to reading at least one book a month and put what we learn into practice, we will surely achieve some great things. I am expectant of great things happening in your life this year –go for gold.

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PUSHING DIVERSITY & INCLUSION TO THE TOP OF THE AGENDA Diversity & Inclusion Firm BAME Recruitment Ltd explain why it is key for employers to embrace the right diversity strategy to attract and retain talent!

Diversity and Inclusion Consultancy Firm, BAME Recruitment, truly believe in helping people and orgazinations live the definitions of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

By understanding our differences and “protected characteristics�, organisations can create a culture and commonalities where everyone feels included and are far more likely to engage fully, develop loyalty and enjoy job satisfaction.

BAME Recruitment work within the private and public sector offering a unique service that is tailored to each organisations diversity imbalance.

BAME Recruitment believes that by breaking down barriers to fairer employment and hiring process that are representative of the diverse population of the UK, only then can companies achive true inclusivity!

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0203 7535584

@bameagency

www.bamerecruit.com

Š 2016 Ernst & Young LLP. All Rights Reserved. Ernst & Young LLP is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community

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Join today. Change tomorrow.

Visit ukcareers.ey.com #BetterQuestions

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Gender Pay Gap REPORTING

BY NICOLA MULLARKEY

I

t has been almost half a century since the Equal Pay Act was introduced in 1970. In 1968 the women at Ford’s Dagenham plant went on strike over equal pay. Where are we 49 years on?

3. The difference in mean bonus pay between relevant male and female employees; 4. The difference in median bonus pay between relevant male and female employees;

What is Gender Pay Gap Reporting?

Gender Pay Gap Reporting is a legislation that comes into force on the 6th April 2017. Under the Regulations, employers who have 250 or more employees will be required to publish the following data: 1

1. The difference in mean pay between relevant male and female employees; 2. The difference in median pay between relevant male and female employees; 1 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2017/9780111152010

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5. The proportions of relevant male and female employees who were paid bonus pay and 6. The proportions of relevant male and female employees in each quartile of their pay distribution.

The definition of ‘relevant employee’ is a ‘full-pay relevant employee’ who is not, during the relevant pay period, being paid at a reduced rate or nil as a result of the employee being on leave.

Median full-time gross annual earnings by sex, UK, 1999 to 2016

calling the pay gap ‘mummy tax’2.

It is noticed that when women take time off to have a child ‘This apparent wage penalty for taking time out of paid work is greater for more highly educated women, at 4% for each year out of paid work,’ the IFS found.

What could women do about the gender pay gap?

The data is taken as a snapshot on a certain date – the first date for data capture will be the 5th April 2017.

Once the company has collated the date it has to be published on their website by the 4th April 2018, there must be a signed statement confirming that the data is correct and it has to stay on the website for 3 years.

Will collating the data actually make a difference?

Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that in April 2016, men working full-time earned, on average 20% more than women per week (Based on ONS figures £578 for men per week compared with £480 for women). As you can see from the graph below, there has always been a gap between men’s and women’s earnings. The gap between men’s and women’s earnings between 1997 to 2016 has shown a fairly constant gap of about £100 per week.

By recording this information, we can see that earnings for women is showing a faster increase than men’s earning when comparing

2016 with 2015 (1.9% for men and 2.2% for women). The data shows the gap is closing, but is it closing fast enough or will it ever close?

There are plenty of surveys around sharing that having women on your board makes the business more productive and profitable.

Although according to research by NGA Human Resources, very few people at the top of businesses are taking the gender pay gap reporting seriously. Only 17% of decisionmakers believe that Gender Pay Gap Reporting will reduce the gap.

The Resolution Foundation says that the gender pay gap for women in their 20s has halved. Is this the look of things to come? Is what we are doing making a difference or when these women get to 30 will the gap increase again?

Many people think that the gender pay gap occurs because many women work part-time or stay at home with their children . The data for these women is not included in the statistics, only full-time employee earnings are used in the surveys. Although the break to have children may be instrumental in the gap forming, some people are

Whilst it is important to make sure that equal pay for equal work is achieved between genders, the legislation is only part of the solution, though a vital one.

Women need to ensure they put themselves forward for promotion and break their own glass ceilings.

In 2015, shared parental leave was introduced, maybe this will help make a difference. In Sweden the parental leave quota is 90 days and if they don’t take the time off work, the couple as a whole loses the 3-months leave.

The Women’s Equality Party is calling for state childcare help to start as soon as paid parental leave is over. ‘Without bold changes women will keep dropping out of the workplace and men will keep dropping out of their families.

This is bad for our economy and our society,’ WEP leader - Sophie Walker. Other areas that could help are more flexi-working and working from home.

According to the Fawcett Society, jobs traditionally done by women, such as cleaning, catering and caring, are ‘undervalued and paid less than jobs traditionally done by men, such as construction, transportation and skilled trades’ meaning ‘men’s work’ is generally given a higher value both socially and economically.

2 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37156178

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Women in Recruitment was born off the back of the October 2015 Women on Boards Davies Review. We are here to empower women in the recruitment sector through personal development and networking as well as educating organisations to understand the opportunity that lies behind gender diversity. I will admit throughout my career in recruitment, I didn’t come across the difference. We were submitting both men and women for the same jobs, at the same salary. I remember my first role after university, I worked in Finance, I was working as a temp in the Management Information section at head office for a leading bank. I worked alongside a man supporting him. When he moved on to another position I was offered his role. I was over the moon to

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move from a temping role into a permanent position and for the step up, as I would be doing my boss’s role and generating the monthly reports for senior management.

Salary was then discussed, I was being offered less than I was currently earning and half of what the previous man was earning. I have to admit I did not expect to jump straight in at his salary at 22 years old, but to be offered less than what I was currently earning but expecting to do the same role as the person paid almost double what I was earning, this was my first experience of the gender pay gap.

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GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN THE UK Meeting the challenge of the Sustainable Development Goals

www.britishcouncil.org