18 women in business Celebrate • Encourage • Inspire
The Women in Business motto above carries echoes of the Olympic Games – Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger). However, rather than promoting physical qualities, it focuses on the goals of the Women in Business initiative, writes Matt Noble Wright of The Business Magazine
To celebrate the launch of this year’s Women in Business Awards, almost 100 guests gathered last month at Blake Morgan’s Eastleigh offices for drinks, canapés, presentations and Q&A sessions from previous winners.
The evening began with previous Women in Business category winners discussing what winning meant to them and sharing their views on gender equality in today’s workplace.
Later in the evening, a panel of influential businesswomen continued this equality debate, while putting forward their own perspectives on a wide range of topics, from how to develop an inclusive culture through to sharing their own, personal career experiences.
Role models share their journeys
According to D’Abrio, the situation is different on the ground floor in retail with a gender split of roughly 50:50, although in her experience, the higher up you go “the more men you encounter in senior roles”.
The issue of parenting was also raised here, in that it takes two people to make a baby, but when it comes to parenting, the burden usually falls far more heavily on the woman.
Sponsors share their reasons for backing Women in Business Jagdeep Rai
Following an enthusiastic Q&A session between D’Abrio, Peterkin and the audience, it was the turn of the sponsors to take to the stage with a few words on why they considered Women in Business to be such an important initiative.
Annette D’Abrio and Victoria Peterkin
The first part of the evening featured a panel discussion chaired by Tamsin Napier-Munn of The Business Magazine, and featured two winners from the Women in Business 2015 Awards: Victoria Peterkin of Daisy Nursery, Woman of the Year, SME, and Annette D’Abrio of Ceuta Healthcare, Woman of the Year, Large Business.
D’Abrio said: “I’ve definitely changed over the past 20 years – I’ve become a lot more assertive, and aggressive ... but in a nice way.”
The need for women to push themselves forward was a recurring theme throughout the evening, with Peterkin endorsing this sentiment: “I agree with Annette – I’ve always wanted people to like me, but have had to realise over time that not everybody is as passionate as me.”
Winning the award was a huge validation for D’Abrio, who said: “It’s great for morale in the business, but it’s also a great tick in the box for our suppliers – tangible evidence that they were right to trust and work with us in the first place.”
For Peterkin, it helped her to connect with her customers on a more personal level. She said: “A lot of our mums run their own businesses, so it was lovely to talk to them about the award on the steps and demonstrate how a passion can also become a business.”
The issue of gender diversity was also discussed at length. In a nursery business such as Peterkin’s it perhaps wasn’t so surprising that of the 55 employees only two were male – one in finance, one in maintenance. However, at senior level, most of the businesses and suppliers she meets continue to be male-dominated.
businessmag.co.uk
When Jagdeep Rai of Barclays started out in banking 20 years ago, it wasn’t uncommon for her to hear: “Gosh you don’t look like a banker”. This demonstrates how far gender equality has come, she said, however her recent research report, commissioned by Barclays and the Centre for Entrepreneurs, shows there is still a long way to go.
Kath Shimmin of Blake Morgan commented on the shortage of women in senior roles, saying: “According to the latest edition of the Law Society Gazette, women now account for over 50% of the legal profession. However, this gender split does not extend to female partners.”
Rhys Meale of Taylor Made Computer Solutions said that when the company was formed, the founders planned to have a 50:50 male:female workforce. However, attracting the right women technical and engineering talent is a real challenge. He explained that this is the reason behind the company’s sponsorship of the Women in Business awards, and its involvement in the initiative.
Rhys Meale
Kath Shimmin
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH COAST – JUNE 2016
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