Inspiring Leaders event: join the women at the top

Do you want to learn from women who made it to the top? Explore the obstacles and gender imbalance of leadership and discuss what needs to be done? Be inspired to pursue your own ambitions?

Only 22 per cent of British MPs are women - we are trailing at the bottom end of the league table for European and established democracies. A survey of Britain’s top 100 companies find that, of 329 executive directors, only 20 are women. In the Media Guardian top 100 – the most powerful people in the industry – the first woman is at number 12.

Come to Inspiring Leaders, a partnership event between Camden Speakers Club and Progressive Women, which is a day of leadership training, discussions and debate. We are working together to ask questions, spark dialogue and find solutions.

Saturday 6 November, 10:00 – 16:00

Book tickets here

Fiona Mactaggart, Shadow Junior Minister for Equality, confirmed as keynote

Other speakers include:
Mary MacLeod (Conservative MP)
Professor Deborah Cameron (Oxford University linguist and author of the book ‘The Myth Of Mars And Venus: Do Men and Women Really Speak Different Languages?’)
Louise Doughty (novelist)
Boni Sones (Executive Producer, Women’s Parliamentary Radio)
Vicky Booth (Lib Dem Campaign for Gender Balance)
Lee Chalmers (leadership coach)

Training includes: public speaking, debating, self-promotion, the path to self-employment, a political career.

The event is open to women and men of any age and any background, and it is wheelchair accessible.
Cost: £12.50                                            

London Irish Centre, 50-52 Camden Square, London, NW1 9XB

Book tickets here

Camden Speakers Club provides a friendly and supportive environment for practising the skills for speaking in public.

Progressive Women aims to support women through discussion and networking events for women interested in politics and the economy.

Sweden's sisters

A survey of Britain’s top 100 companies finds that, of 329 executive directors, only 20 are women. In the Media Guardian top 100 – the most powerful people in the industry – the first woman is at number 12.

Depressing, isn’t it. So, how refreshing it was, the other day, to come across these Swedish bank notes, which celebrate notable women in history.

Jenny Lind (1820 –1887), was a Swedish opera singer. Selma Lagerlöf (1858–1940) was a Swedish author and the first female writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Sweden rocks!

By chance, Woman’s Hour yesterday was discussing Sweden.

A group of women in Sweden, 10 years ago, got together to try to increase number of women in Parliament.

They made stickers and put them into men’s toilets in the Swedish Parliament. The stickers said:

“Little sister is watching you.”

Indeed.

Yet more stereotypes...

Look at the home page of msn.

Scroll down to the bottom right and you will see a tab for men and a tab for women. Look at the suggestions for each...

Msn is deciding for you what pages you want to visit, based on gender stereotypes.

I’m a woman. I like sports (men’s tab), but I’m not that interested in hair, clothes and celebrities (women’s tab). I also want to find out about the economy, but that’s in the men’s section.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just approved the sale and use a new emergency contraception ‘Ella’. This news is, unsurprisingly, in the woman’s tab.

Just a thought: surely men are also interested in more options to prevent unplanned pregnancies?

Female bosses aren't bitchy, but we are

I got lots of comments on my previous post about stereotypes. Commenting on a little girl’s looks as opposed to her brains (and a boy, vice versa), may seem innocuous at first, but imagine a lifetime of that.

Imagine a lifetime of drip drip pressure on women to be pretty, passive and polite, and pressure on men to be ambitious, adventurous and boisterous.

The result?

Only a fifth of politicians are women.

For example.

But not only that. More insidious, it’s what society comes to expect.

Who’s saying: Where are the women? Well, some of us are, but many people aren’t.

Worse, there is a general aversion to women who take on leadership positions, simply because it’s not the expected and accepted outcome for women.

Look at this the results of this survey. Look at it and think very very carefully.

Be very very honest with yourselves; I have trust in you, readers.

‘Women and men prefer male bosses.’

One reason cited is that men have ‘no time of the month’.

Now, ask yourself this question. And remember, be honest! Forget what people have told you; colleagues, parents, friends. Sit yourself down and be truthful.

Assuming the results of this survey are accurate, and the questions were asked in a non-biased way (which I actually very much doubt):

Can you really tell when your female boss is having her period?

Or is it more likely that we’re so used to not seeing female leaders around, that when we see one being ambitious, assertive and dynamic we feel just a little bit twitchy?

That when we do get an unreasonable female boss, it resonates so much with our stereotypes, that we conclude: all women must be unreasonable.

That when we get an unreasonable male boss, we tend to forget all about it.

Time to address inner prejudices, not blame women for being bitchy.

Feminists can be sexist too

I am a feminist but I still shock myself at my own (unintended) sexism.

A few days ago, I visited a friend who has two lovely daughters, aged four and two.

When I met them, the first thing I said to the oldest was: “That's a beautiful dress.”

It was a beautiful dress but that's not the point. I said it because she's a girl -and girls are 'supposed' to wear nice clothes and be pretty. I said it because I didn't know what else to say.

I am ashamed of myself. Stereotypes are dangerous. Girls and women are already constantly bombarded with these stereotypes and, as a result, women and the rest of society end up valuing women for their looks and nothing else.

My friend told me that her daughter – the girl I spoke to – went to nursery and told people she wanted to be a ‘fire-girl.’ She came back home saying: “They told me that girls can’t do that.”

Sexism is rife, and it starts with these stereotypes, which are so deep-rooted in our minds that even feminists have them.

So when I meet another little girl, I will not comment on her dress. I will praise her career aspirations instead.

After all, if a little boy said he wanted to be a fire fighter, I (and anyone else) would probably say: “Good for you! That’s sounds so exciting.”

And no one would mention his looks.

A movement is rising

This article is published today on the website of Progressive Women, which aims to support women through discussion and networking events for women interested in politics and the economy.

Evan Davis on the Today Programme described it as a ‘hoot’, illustrating – in one throwaway sentence – why the feminist movement needs to exist.

Women are paid, on average, substantially less than men, constitute a pitiful proportion of politicians and leaders in every profession and face the daily threat of male violence – and yet still people joke. In the mainstream, there has been a reluctance to take these issues seriously, let alone committing resources and effort to try to change things for the better.

So that’s why the UK Feminista summer school, which took place on 30 and 31 July in London, was very welcome; the highlight in any feminist’s diary. A weekend of advice, training and discussion reminded us, the feminists, who have been feeling for a long time that there are issues that aren’t quite right, that there are others like us and – together – we can work to make a change.

It reminded us that we don’t have to sit at home fretting and fulminating, that we can go out, take on the world, and we’ll get results. It ignited that spark, and equipped us with the vital advice, resources and knowledge that will help us work out how to put our ideas into action.

The Saturday kicked off with a panel discussion on the importance and practicalities of campaigning, which included some star tips that came straight from the Obama campaign. Following that, there were seminars on topics such as how to lead a feminist group, how to run an effective campaign and how to organise a demonstration.

The second day included sessions that would be useful once you had your group set up. There was a session on working with the media, for example, and one on influencing politicians. “Never doubt that a small group of people can change the world,” said Janet Veitch from End Violence Against Women coalition. A statement couldn’t be more motivating.

The weekend ended with its climax; feminism question time. A panel that included Julie Bindel and Bidisha was quizzed on topics such as unequal maternity and paternity leave, the hostility that feminists are subjected to on a regular basis and the direction the movement is heading. “If two thirds of women and one third of men believe it, things can change,” said Sunder Katwala from the Fabian Society. “Keep being visible,” said Dr Aisha Gill, senior lecturer in criminology at Roehampton University.

And that’s exactly what feminists are going to do. Nothing will change on its own. Whether it’s blogging or organising, talking in groups or protesting in public, feminists are going to do it – because if they don’t, no one else will.

As individuals, we need to find our own niches and campaign in whatever ways are appropriate.

And above all, we need to stick together; support, work and plan together. There is magic in a movement. I know, because I felt it.

Other blog posts about the event:
Birds on the Blog
Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things
We Mixed Our Drinks
Daily Feminist Action
At Home
Lib Service Online
Face to the World

Feminista photos

Photos © Kirsty McCall-Thornley
More here