We talked to some of our directors to learn about their experiences of being a woman in a leadership role. Here, we introduce them and ask a few questions.
Clare Maltby (left), Di Gornall (centre) and Christine Boston (right) are all women in leadership roles at GTV视频.
Clare Maltby is our Director of the Midlands and East of England.
She has a wealth of experience in strategy, partnership working, team leadership and project management across central government, parliament and the third sector.
Clare鈥檚 role allows her to bring together her longstanding interests in the environment and transport policy.
Di Gornall is our Director of Fundraising and Supporter Engagement.
Her background in both the private and third sector includes 20 years of experience in leadership roles.
Di鈥檚 passion is in managing and developing staff to deliver at the very highest level.
Christine Boston is our Director of GTV视频 Cymru.
She leads on strategy and operations for Wales with a view to achieving happier lives and healthier places for everyone.
With a background in policy and community transport, Christine sits on the Welsh Government's Transport Performance Board and chairs the Wales Active Travel Board's inclusion sub-group.
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Who were your role models as you progressed into a leadership role?
For Clare, her young manager during her time in the Civil Service was an inspiration:
鈥淪he was open and approachable with a brilliant warmth.
鈥淪he was also very fair, enthusiastic and driven, and that combination really appealed to me.鈥
In her first role, Di secured a position working for the FI Group, a software company founded by the business pioneer and philanthropist Dame Stephanie Shirley:
鈥淩ight from the beginning of my tenure, I was conscious that I was standing on the shoulders of giants.鈥
Dame Stephanie had experienced sexism in the workplace and strove to create job opportunities for women, particularly those with dependents.
She even began signing off company letters as Steve rather than Stephanie, as up until that point she was not being responded to.
Christine felt similarly lucky in her early career to work with some of the most senior women in Wales:
鈥淚鈥檝e worked with some fantastic Chief Executives who I really admire and I鈥檝e tried to take my favourite things about all of these women and incorporate them into my own style.
鈥淲hen I think about leaders of the world, Jacinda Ardern sets a great example because she always seems authentic, sincere and able to connect with people on a human level.鈥
Did you always aspire to become a leader?
For Clare and Christine, their routes to leadership were never planned.
Clare鈥檚 interest in how organisations are run and how decisions are made grew as she progressed in her career:
鈥淚 developed a stronger sense of wanting to influence how things are done.
鈥淚 enjoy joining up the dots and I am interested in the human question of how to motivate people and set teams up to meet their aims.鈥
Christine took a long time to recognise in herself the leadership qualities she has always displayed:
鈥淪ince I was very young, I have had the courage to stand up for what I believe in, even if it isn鈥檛 popular and I have brought about change because of that.鈥
For Di though, leadership always felt like a natural path to follow.
In school, she had visions of becoming a chef and heading up a bustling restaurant kitchen:
鈥淚 intended to study at Birmingham鈥檚 College of Food, a choice driven by my love of cooking rather than any intention to become a leader.鈥
But in spite of her dyslexia, Di gained good academic results and stayed on at school, eventually going to university.
It was the experiences and inspiration of her first job out of university that cemented her early aspirations of becoming a leader.
Christine points out that society unfairly labels young girls who exhibit leadership skills as 'bossy'.
What barriers or challenges have you faced as a woman in a leadership role?
Christine has experienced many barriers to progression as a woman, one being society鈥檚 expectation of motherhood:
鈥淐oming back from maternity leave into a senior role was tough but made easier by shared parental leave, which meant my husband could take over the primary care role while I went back to work.鈥
For Di, a strong case of impostor syndrome has been a setback in her career:
鈥淭hroughout much of my career, I鈥檝e questioned myself: How is it I am sitting at this table with these leaders? How is it that people trust me to do this role?
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a long road to hush those negative voices but in the main, they are under control now.鈥
Clare鈥檚 career path through the transport sector exposed her to daily sexism in the workplace:
鈥淭he transport sector was even more male-dominated in my early career.
鈥淔rom being mistaken for the tea lady or the note taker, (when I had actually authored the report being discussed at the meeting) to being largely ignored at networking events.
鈥淚 very often walked into meeting rooms full of middle-aged white men, who all knew each other going back years.
鈥淏eing young and female, I had a strong experience that being in the room doesn鈥檛 equal being welcomed or included.鈥
This is something though that Clare believes has diminished somewhat as she鈥檚 progressed in her career. She says:
鈥淚t's a bit hard to unravel how much is because attitudes have changed over the last twenty years and how much is because my position of influence has grown with seniority.
鈥淚 think being in a leadership role makes it easier to call things out and counter some of the bias that might otherwise be experienced.鈥
What鈥檚 been your experience of being a leader at GTV视频?
Di believes the positive working environment and commitment of her fellow colleagues has helped her in her first year at GTV视频:
鈥淚'm grateful to have so many other inspirational leaders by my side as I grow in my own leadership role.鈥
Christine agrees, while Clare goes on to talk about the effort at GTV视频 to create an inclusive place to work:
鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel I have experienced much exclusion or sexism here towards me personally.
鈥淚 admire the conscious effort that is going into making us a charity for everyone.
鈥淲e have a lot of work to do but it is encouraging to see that the commitment to be more inclusive is genuine.鈥
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What changes would you like to see to make the journey to leadership easier for more women and young girls?
Both Di and Christine agree that the impact of our day-to-day language cannot be underestimated, with Christine explaining:
鈥淟et鈥檚 stop labelling girls as 'difficult' or 'bossy' whilst celebrating boys for displaying the same traits.
鈥淲e need to recognise leadership skills in women and girls.
鈥淚鈥檇 like for girls to know that they too can be superheroes and do absolutely anything they want to do.
鈥淪ociety places so many more limits on girls than they do boys and I鈥檇 really like that to stop so they can reach their potential as they deserve.鈥
Clare thinks the approach to job sharing that GTV视频 has taken is one that would benefit women in all industries and at all career levels:
鈥淲hen I first joined GTV视频 as Head of Delivery, the post was advertised as a full-time role but I only wanted to work part-time as I had young children.
鈥淕TV视频 were open to me taking the role on a job-share basis.
鈥淚 think I was one of the first to hold a job-share position at a senior level in GTV视频 and I am really pleased that GTV视频 has recently committed to opening all our roles to job-share candidates as the default.
鈥淔or people who have caring responsibilities, having an option to work flexible hours is really important in avoiding a hiatus in career progression.
鈥淔or GTV视频, it means we can attract and retain the best colleagues.鈥
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