Liz Nice: What would work be like if women were in charge? 

Having spent much of my career in the still largely male-dominated world of newspapers, I have often wondered this. 

On Wednesday, at the Inspire Inclusion event at Milsoms Kesgrave Hall to mark International Women’s Day, I got a glimpse. 

The room was full of high achieving women (Image: Charlotte Bond)

The room was full of high achieving women if you count having an important job or running your own business as a high achievement. 

Most of the women I spoke to did not think of themselves that way though. Boasting and back slapping were definitely not on the menu – in fact we had to be reminded that ‘it’s not bragging if it’s based on facts.’ 

It seemed to me that the overall tone was about opening doors for other women that you yourself feel extremely fortunate to have been able to walk through yourself. You probably had to bash that damned door down, to be honest, and want to make sure you leave your foot wedged in the crack so that others can follow.  

Debbie Lewis (Image: Charlotte Bond)We heard from Debbie Lewis, NatWest Entreprise regional ecosystem manager – quite the title but actually it stands for someone doing everything within their power to help under-represented women get their new businesses off the ground; to have the tools they need to able to move the usual obstacles like the naysayers and the self doubt out of their way.  

“We grew up being told that little girls should be seen and not heard,” she said, a memo we all got which Debbie, like everyone else in the room, had had to learn to ignore.  

Melissa Dark, Gina Long, Ann Osborn, Lungile Bushell, Jeanette Dennis, Heidi Franklin (Image: Newsquest)

A panel of speakers were interviewed by NatWest Enterprise local enterprise manager Heidi Franklin. It included charity campaigner Gina Long, MBE, Lungile Bushell, author of the Journey of Healing blog and mother of celebrated musician, Nandi, Melissa Dark, MBE, Casualty Bureau Manager and Disaster Victim Identification Coordinator from the City of London police, lawyer and farmer Jeanette Dennis from Ashtons LLP and Ann Osborn, CEO of the Rural Coffee Caravan.  

As they told their stories, every one of them inspirational to the women present, their eyes would often fill with tears, or a stab of rage would spring to the surface. No one in the audience batted an eyelid, felt uncomfortable, rolled their eyes or thought ‘she must have PMT.’ We’re women. Emotion is normal, shows our passion for what we do and our periodic irritations at how hard we’ve had to fight to get it.  

For once, in this room, we did not have to suppress a thing. 

The speakers went down very well indeed (Image: Charlotte Bond)

Author and motivational speaker, Ife Thomas, gave a moving speech about her gritty journey to a career in dance before her cruciate ligament snapped and she had to find another path in life. 

Ife Thomas brought the house down with her inspirational speech (Image: Charlotte Bond)Her injury had happened during what she called ‘the biggest audition of my life’. 

“I looked up from the floor and literally saw them crossing out my name from the list,” she said. As she described how she got back up again and ended up being invited back to speak at her prestigious dance school, the Urdang Academy, where her esteemed dance teacher stepped forward to tell her, “We are so proud of you”, you could have heard a pin drop.  

Then Faye Greaves from The Traitors TV series was interviewed on stage by Gina Long.  

Liz Nice, EADT editor, with Faye Greaves (Image: Charlotte Bond)

Faye, from Ipswich but now living near Bury, was warm, funny and heartbreaking as she spoke of overcoming many challenges in her childhood to work with children with behavioural issues. 

She joked that it was a shame she wasn’t on stage to talk about her 30-year career in education rather than her brief appearance on the telly! A room full of women for whom being pigeon-holed and under-estimated was not exactly an unusual occurrence nodded their heads as one and cheered when she described her proudest moment in life as ‘getting a first in my degree.’ 

So many other moments of the day resonated too.  

Gina Long, Faye Greaves and Heidi Franklin (Image: Charlotte Bond)

Lungile Bushell talking about motherhood and the challenges of juggling parenthood with forging her own path and making sure that both her children find their way. 

Ann Osborn thinking, aged 50, that as ‘just a mother of four’ she had nothing much to offer the world of work and then being told that motherhood actually prepares you for pretty much anything. 

And Melissa Dark and Jeanette Dennis talking about the ‘male allies’ and champions who had been so pivotal to helping them on their way. 

Liz Nice and Robert Baxter - 'the man' (Image: Liz Nice)

While all of this was going on, I spotted that there actually was a man in the room on a nearby table.  

Robert Baxter, managing director of one of the day’s sponsors, Chassis Cab, told me he had come along to support his female staff and that, as the father of three daughters, he wanted to learn more about how to make trucking a more appealing career for women. 

“I want to open doors,” he said. “Women bring a new perspective and in my experience are better organised and more willing to try new things. My office manager has just taken us ‘paperless’ for example. We wouldn't have thought of it if she hadn’t spoken up.’ 

Making the world of work a place where everyone can equally thrive requires more men like Robert. I asked him how he felt being one of only three men in the room. 

“A bit exposed,” he said. “Self-conscious. Out of my comfort zone. Like everyone is looking at me.” 

“Ah,” I said. “So now you know.”