This week I spoke at a local schools 6th form careers evening on ‘The Glass Ceiling’.
So different was this, and so enthused was I to be asked to speak, I was even willing to give up one of my precious evenings vegetating in front of ‘The One Show’ with a glass of Pinot!
It saddens me that teenage girls still perceive their gender as a challenge to their careers. I thought we had moved on. My co-presenters were Julie, a senior Merseyside police officer and Esther, ex TV presenter and now forging a career in politics. All of our businesses were perceived to be male dominated, hence the invitation.
For our industry, the latest State of the Nation figures reports that nearly 60% of the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism workforce are women, yet only 6% are at director level. Perhaps there is more of a glass ceiling than I realised?
Off I trotted, with great thoughts of how I would inspire this group to aim high, ride the wings of success, become a Captain of Industry, maybe the moon….?
Now, I never had children, never got around to it. Having a family was item 6 on my ‘Life Agenda’, you know, the item just before AOB that you might get around to if time hasn’t overrun.
When I hit 40, I remembered that I had forgotten to do something.. That’s it! I had forgotten to have children!! Whoops, how did that happen? By that time, however, I was in a totally selfish groove and nothing; nothing was going to disrupt my carefully crafted, self centred, hedonistic lifestyle. The only children in my life were dogs; I adopted an Orwellian philosophy, ‘four legs good, two legs bad’.
Consequently, I have limited experience of teenagers and little concept of age. If I ran a pub, no-one would get served as they will all, to me, look under-age. I walk up to bemused 25 year olds to inform them that truanting is neither big nor clever!
When I look in the mirror, I do wonder who that other woman is in my bathroom, that woman who is forty-something, slightly wrinkly, a little saggy round the edges because that face don’t fit with my mental age, my attitude or my approach to life!
So it was a double whammy when I walked into that room of 6th formers – how young they all looked. How stunning, how self assured. How they have the excitement of their whole lives ahead of them…
Gosh, did I feel old, And very jealous. I’d quite like my life back again to give it another go please!
It was a great evening, inspired and driven by four 6th formers who worked so hard to make it a success. As we all know in our industry the smoothest, most professional events are always the ones that have thought and hard work behind them. This was one of them.
Later that evening as I sat in my garden, with the deferred glass of Pinot, cigarette hanging attractively from my bottom lip reminiscent of Andy Capp’s wife, I felt every year of my age.
And then, poisonously I thought, ‘Hah, but I bet they won’t be retiring in their 60’s!’
Let’s just hope I will be!
