Why are we looking for bright women to share their thoughts?
- Because we looked around us last year and realised that in our industry (media) women of our age were pretty thin on the ground.
– We thought it might be a kids thing but soon realised it wasn’t. Having kids is not the reason that only 3% of CEOs are women.
– Everyone thinks that legislation has made it easier for bright women to have great corporate careers, but it’s just not happening. In advertising, the number of women at board level has dropped from 16% 30 years ago to 13% now.
– So we set ourselves one task – to find where all the bright women are now. The ones that shone at school, at college, in the sports teams, and in all of those companies in their early 20s.
– We’re excited to find out more about what works for bright women today and what doesn’t, and build a community so that we can share and learn from each other.
That’s why we’ve put together a quick online survey. The information you give us is all completely confidential, so tell us about the paths you’ve chosen, take part by clicking on Our Survey on the right.
And if you want to discover what we find out, sign up for our e-newsletter, too.
wherethebrightwomenare
what do you think?
Once you get over 40, I think something happens. You start to realise that half your life is over – and that puts everything into perspective. My rule of thumb for life now is ‘do I enjoy what I am doing?’ and it used to be ‘is this what I should be doing?’. I am much more relaxed about what people think about me. Who cares. I like myself much more like this.
I have always felt it is about the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind. That hasn’t changed, but experience means you change how you travel. Setting out on my next 40 years is heavily influenced by the quality of the journey, not only the destination. Now I don’t want to just arrive, I ask it to be fun, caring and creating enough tales to tell sitting on the stoop at the end of the day.
you are so right!
The bright women are all out there but we are time starved as we juggle an even faster pace of life trying to live up to ridiculously high expecations of being the best mother, wife, employee/biz owner.
We need to pat ourselves on the back more often and celebrate our achievements and successes.
Whilst it is hugely disappointing that women are not represented more extensively at board level, could some of this be through female choice as well as male dominance?
As I have matured I’m not interested in the corporate career progression that consumed my 20s and early 30s – I have other goals that make me more fulfilled.
I love my work, I love my kids, I love my husband. Most of the time I love my life. Of course I’d love more time and round the clock domestic help but I’m beginning to practice what I’m calling the ‘GEM’ philosophy in the book I’m writing (“Good Enough Mother”) so I can free myself and other working mothers from the perfection trap. When we live by this we liberate ourselves to plough more time into the things that give us lasting satisfaction. The laundry basket doesn’t stay empty for long so let’s not worry about it – I’d rather engage my mind with my partner, my pals and my work.
Exactly to your point, Majella, so many women who have done the survey have found it fascinating that the goals that drove them in their 20s are less and less relevant at 40. Hannah Greenwood, executive coach from Cascad, calls this realignment of priorities ‘The three marriages’. Your marriage with your career, with your family and with yourself. If you nurture all three, you’ll feel more fulfilled. She coaches a lot of bright, achieving girls who have chased one of these ‘marriages’ relentlessly, for too long, and then find themselves stuck too far down an uninspiring path. As Jessica says, it’s all about ‘the things that give us lasting satisfaction.
The Three Marriages – now I like that one and it makes sense. In a good Marriage there is commitment, trust, respect, love, happiness, fun. Often in our Marriage with ourself we overlook these as we are so busy putting others such as our family or our boss/careers a higher priority. The result being we leave very little or no energy for us as we are in hot pursuit of one of the others.
My view of the position of women in their working environments is more bleak than it was (on the basis of 20+ years of industry experience and survey). I’m taking positive action, finding more time in the day (comes at the cost of leisure, sleep, housework, timewasting) for developing my own work, outside of office hours. It’s surprised me how reinvigorating this has been. For the first time in years, I feel hopeful, but I’ve no idea what the future will hold.
Yes it’s always great to meet like minds!
With two ‘children’ at university; one still at home; a four year old business to nurture; and recently diagnosed health issues to address…life past 40 is as busy as ever!
However the pace is definitely changing and the time for quality over quantity has arrived – the time for more discerning choices and more careful expenditure of the financial and energetic type
More is less!
and consequently..less is more!!
Hi ladies
Read about you in Grazia this week and just had to have a stickybeak. Am looking forward to the conversations…
http://giddayfromtheuk.blogspot.com/2011/07/chasing-rainbows-where-bright-women-are.html
Kym (Gidday from the UK)
Just read about you in a “mummy” magazine.. juggling all is hard and as a former City lawyer (who now has her own legal consultancy and two wee ones under 5), know that women self-flaggelate on a daily basis about doing it all. We need to give ourselves a break on occasion. Look forward to meeting dynamic women and the conversations.
Sharon
I love your approach – I have just discovered you thanks to Inge Woudstra. I work with Corporate Crossovers …women who have left corporate to set up their own businesses. I have just finished some research on why they leave corporate and it is fascinating, how the corporate values that they loved in their 20′s no longer resonate as they get older and have kids.
I’d love to read more of your findings.
Warmly,
Wendy