Eggs, Empowerment, and the Indomitable Spirit: My International Women’s Day
I’m a firm believer in the power of my morning egg to predict the type of day I’m going to have and my International Women’s Day eggs were a great indicator of the day to come with this lovely pair ;-)
I was invited by Katherine Kershaw to Ocean Outdoor’s celebratory event in Manchester. The morning focused on the ‘indomitable spirit’ of women in the North, with an incredible lineup of speakers discussing everything from leadership and women in sport to breaking barriers in male-dominated fields.
Here are a few things that really stuck with me:
Girls are still not welcome in the world of sport: Yvonne O’Malley (Manchester City Council) and Lisa O’Keefe MBE, highlighted that women’s sport is ‘underinvested, not underperforming.’ It was absolutely horrifying to hear that girls as young as five already feel they don’t ‘belong’ in sport. With 1.3 million teenage girls dropping out, it’s clear how these early narratives limit their future capabilities.
Giving zero f***s what society says you can and can’t do, is a very good thing: Helen Tither and Dr. Monica Curran shared the history of the Manchester Corinthians, a legendary women's football team who defied FA bans in the 1950s and 1960s. Helen has made a documentary which launched last week and I was lucky enough to sit next to Monica (see selfie) who had spent her girlhood kicking a ball around her estate in Oldham and couldn’t understand why she couldn’t keep playing. She saw the media coverage of the Manchester Corinthians’ South American tour in 1060 and one letter and a trial later, she was in the team and her life was transformed. She spoke brilliantly about cultural constraints and how sticking the finger up to the patriarchy led her to fantastic opportunities and experiences.
Being a woman makes you better at your job: Rachel Fraser (Man Utd) and Nikki Sehgal (Media for All) tackled the workplace head-on. They reframed motherhood not as a hindrance, but as a fuel for professional ambition, and talked about how the female experience equips us with unique, invaluable skillsets that make us brilliant.
Sh*tting yourself before you do something scary is perfectly normal. Kathy Brooke delivered a seriously empowering session on handling stress and imposter syndrome. I’ll definitely be deploying her ART methodology (Acknowledge, Rationalise, and Tiny Task) next time I’m prepping for a big presentation - it’s not you, it’s your inner chimp that’s to blame.
That was my morning - learning, thinking and being inspired.
And that continued into the evening with our The Behaviours Agency FOLD dinner which brings together female leaders from our industry. FOLD was set up 3 years ago by our CEO Sue Benson and ECD Dorina D’Ambrisio who, as female agency founders, wanted to create a regular space for like-minded women to come together.
I love hearing about our shared experiences, supporting one another and building a strong and supportive community in the region. Indeed it was through our The Behaviours Agency FOLD community that I was introduced to Kath Kershaw, and ended up at Ocean Outdoor’s excellent event.
What a day. From learning and thinking to being genuinely inspired by the women around me, I left feeling energised, supported and motivated for another year of indomitability!
