I went to a fabulous birthday lunch last week at the Michel Roux restaurant in Westminster hosted by Claire Enders, a dear friend who is a powerful networker, mentor and successful businesswoman. There were thirty of us there - only women - from all walks of life; publishers, media, philanthropy, education, banking, the arts.
This made me think about women-only worlds and how they have evolved in the past four decades or so, even before Peggy Seeger sang I Wanna be an Engineer in the early 70s. The women's movement in the 60s, 70s and 80s brought women together to share books they have read, to discuss the 'new politics' of power and sexuality, to build each other's confidence when competing with men in the workplace. Germaine Greer, Marilyn French and Betty Friedan were our coffee table books.
These days I receive many invitations to women-only events or events organised by women or international conferences on women's leadership. This despite the fact that already women are fast catching up on men in entering medical schools, that girls are outperforming boys on many fronts in schools including GCSE results (they have traditionally outperformed boys at A level). Women's awards for the Best of... have sprung up everywhere and mostly sponsored by big brands - which means their research has shown that these awards reach the sorts of paying audiences they like. The annual Women of Achievement Lunch, by invitation only, has grown in the past fifty years into a major event in professional women's calendars - women wait and hope to be invited and tweet ferociously when the card plops on the doormat.
Women-only events are now becoming credible and mainstream. They are no longer subversive, no more on the fringe of the establishment. So I'm bound to ask, are they still necessary? There are now very few formal men equivalents - unless of course you count the men-only Freemasons which started in the 16th century and now has some six million members worldwide. Informally of course, men continue to meet in bars, golf courses, football matches where business is discussed and conducted. Is it not time we say: enough already?
Sadly, no. In the UK and the US, the percentage of women on major Boards or senior positions are still hovering around the 8-20% mark depending on which statistics you're quoting. Women are still earning, in the UK, some 15% less than their male counterparts. Also in the UK, this year women are losing their jobs at a disproportionately higher rate than men. So things are moving at a glacial pace in the US and UK - if not reversing. How about further afield?
In the Middle East, where the traditional women's role is still associated with home-making, there has been an upsurge in interest and commitment to further women's participation in higher education, public life and the workplace. In the UAE, Emiratis only account for some 15% of the overall population, so squandering half of this already small percentage would, by any calculation, be foolish. The UAE leadership has wisely appreciated this and is acting upon it. I meet amazingly talented, ambitious and highly educated women as I travel through the Middle East - willing to learn, thirsty to look to role models, yet highly respectful of cultural traditions. They are quietly, without fuss, furthering the cause of women participation.
We've moved in leaps and bounds from women's emancipation to today's challenge, participation. Participation which can't be self-conscious (why should you notice the fact that a woman is holding a particularly senior job?) and fair (one day soon, we really will win positions by merit alone). I am more enthused by women's events which are about world issues, not just women's issues - again and again research into the the economic collapse five years ago shows that the banking industry would deliver very different results had it had more women at the helm. It is therefore no surprise that banking and audit corporations are bending over backwards to encourage more women participation in the sector.
We can all do our bit. If you are a woman leader, probably in your 50s or 60s who appreciate your mother's trailblazing work five decades earlier and wish to make things better for your daughters and younger sisters, I suggest five thoughts:
1. Mentor young people you admire and think are inspirational, men or women. Tomorrow's world will be more gender-blind and I say amen to that
2. Go to no more than two annual women-only events - more than two is obsessive and none means you lose touch. Use them as networking platforms and opportunities to hear about other women's achievements, make sure you leave with at least five new contacts
3. Go to no more than one women-only meetings/dinners/lunches a month. Use them as a way to stay in touch with what other women are doing, share your own experiences and learn from others
4. Keep in touch. Women are famously good at keeping in touch. When I reach out to people I meet, chances are women respond more quickly and warmly.
5. Be generous, be lavish with your introductions. Treat your contacts as a universal resource to share and to give away.
We have the statistics about women's participation in education and the workplace, we have more books on women and equality than we would ever need. Now let's be practical about this: men and women each account for roughly half of the population and unsurprisingly, about half of the wisdom, intelligence, ambition and contribution. It's not that difficult to work out what we should do about this simple fact.
But until then, let the men keep their golf days and let us keep with our women only lunches and dinners. They're too much fun to give up!
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