"It's supposed to be hard, if it wasn't hard everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great" - A League of Their Own. This reminds us that the challenges we face are nearly always worth it. And often the ones that are the toughest are when we achieve the most (or learn the most). 

Knowing your limits, setting boundaries, and not being scared to say “No.” It’s about believing in yourself and being confident in your abilities, but knowing when to ask for help too!

I’m proud to have turned a passion into a career.  I was always ‘the organiser’.  Planning elaborate themed birthday parties, charity events, shows and social gatherings with friends and family.  When I was selecting university courses, Event Management wasn’t something our careers department spoke of and because of my aptitude for science I applied to study a BSc in Biological Science. After completing my degree, I considered training as a teacher because I loved learning so much, but a part-time job I had as a student opened my mind to the world of large-scale events, and I was hooked! I spent a year after university getting some experience, anywhere and everywhere I could, and then applied for an MSc in International Events and Festival Management in Edinburgh (what a city!!).  Since completing my Masters I have worked for music festivals, arts organisations, the UK’s largest Christmas Party company, and event venues.  I love using the experience I gained in all these roles and my creativity when I plan our events at Christies Direct. I am also extremely proud to be a working parent, raising 2 wonderful strong-willed daughters who are compassionate, confident, and outspoken.

I think that showing that there are already women in these positions, albeit in the minority, goes a long way to showing young girls that there’s a future for them in these fields if that’s what they want to pursue. There’s so much choice out there that it can be overwhelming to make such final decisions about your future when you’re young and if girls aren’t aware that these options are available, how are they going to choose them? It needs to be clear that, not only are these viable career options for young women, but that these fields would greatly benefit from a broader, more diverse expertise, expertise that they can bring.

What powerful woman do you admire, or do you have a quote that inspires you? There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group, there is less competition there. Indira Gandhi

Be yourself – you are allowed to have a personality. Be professional when it is required but people buy into people so it's important that you are authentic. Ask for help – no one is good at everything. It is okay to acknowledge when you need help, then educate yourself on how to it better next time Do not sell yourself short – you are just as worthy and important as anyone else.

If you have a dream/an idea don’t be afraid to chase and work on it, but also don’t be afraid of ‘failure’, learning about yourself is part of the journey and you will be surprised and proud of what you learn about yourself on the way. A quote from Richelle E. Goodrich: “Many times what we perceive as an error or failure is actually a gift. And eventually we find that lessons learned from discouraging experience prove to be of great worth.”

Being resilient and confident in my ability.

“What’s for you won’t pass you by” – Sarah Wilson

The biggest lesson is always to be independent and fearless. They’ve also taught me to be bold and to always be myself, no matter how different that is.

To me, a strong woman is someone who is determined and tries her best but asks for help if needed

Apart from the obvious women in my life such as my mum, my twin sister, and my aunts, Michelle Obama definitely! My favourite quote of hers is “We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own to do list!”

Just being me?! I am fairly good at problem solving and that’s probably my default if things go wrong, try and work together to fix it or come up with a creative solution around it. I also like to be efficient; inefficiency drives me mad; I like to go from A to B in the shortest route! So, whether it’s doing a wee job now or working on a project, I like to try and be as efficient as I can and get it done. I’m very inquisitive too. I remember we had to do something about our characteristics in Primary School when I was about 10 years old and having to list words that described me. My mum called me inquisitive. I had no idea what it meant, had never even heard the word before!! So, she had to explain it to me, and I honestly thought it was a bad thing then - it’s probably something that drove my mum mad, let’s be honest! That characteristic is still one I have today and love it or hate it, I still feel like I need to understand the bigger picture before I can make informed decisions or take action, and the best way I know how to do that, is by asking questions! Sometimes stupid, sometimes not but there’s no such thing as a stupid question, right?!

My biggest challenge coming to Christies Direct was that I was starting from scratch with no experience. The greatest reward is seeing myself progress as time goes on and picking up new skills constantly. Another thing I love about my job is seeing the finished results after a photoshoot.

To me, being a strong woman means not apologising for your accomplishments or downplaying your achievements as we are so often taught to do as women. It means believing in your own abilities, having confidence in yourself, and never giving up.

From the get-go when I decided to go to university and study Fashion Communication and Promotion I was met with negativity from my educators and peers thinking I would never make anything of my qualification and should stick to something more traditional. Despite this I stuck to what I wanted to do and had the greatest experience travelling to the likes of Berlin and New York and having the opportunity to work with well-known brands such as Boots, Fred Perry and Levis, working with a variety of people from different backgrounds and learning a collection of skills that weren’t just ‘fashion’ that helped me grow both professionally and personally regarding my confidence in myself. A few months after graduating I started working in the e-commerce team here at Christies Direct developing my skills and experiencing the industry, during my role the opportunity to apply for Brand Development Executive within the marketing team came up, and despite not having the most experience, my passion and university experiences pushed me to believe in myself and go for it as you never know unless you try and since getting the role, I have loved every moment of it so far! It really taught me to just go for it and trust my own abilities, and if I got a no at least I could learn from the experience for the future.

The first programmers were women – the human “computers” who performed complex calculations for the military during the second world war. Now women make up just 11% of software developers. Once in tech jobs, women are less likely than men to be promoted and more likely to switch industries. There are several practices to combat gender bias in the tech industry: anonymising CVs during the recruitment process, flexible working practices that support mothers and promoting more women to leadership positions. Gender bias begins to manifest itself from the formative years of children. Promoting more STEM education for girls will help shift the gender bias before it has to be unlearned as an adult.

Enthusiasm, determination, and maybe a little bit of craziness!

The biggest challenge is overcoming that imposter syndrome and the greatest reward is seeing your efforts translate to success and improvements. This can be in the figures or in the people you work with.

For me a lot of this gender bias begins at home. I did a placement for teaching in school during university and each day I was shocked at how little female participation there was in class. It’s not that the girls didn’t know the answers to the questions I was asking – there was something more, a stigma that if they answered, they’d be uncool. Since I was little, I have always been interested in fixing things. My dad is an engineer and my Grandad enjoyed fixing broken machinery. They never discouraged me from taking an interest. My parents never discouraged me if I wanted a Remote-Control Car, or a Telescope for Christmas. For me at home, I was never made feel like there was a gender bias – I was safe to enjoy whatever it was I liked doing. This made me more resilient to when I was the only girl studying Technology in high-school, or when I was applying for a job in which I was the only female employee. I don’t feel threatened by male colleagues – I am confident in my ability and I’m sure my colleagues respect my ability. Combating any idea of gender bias starts at home – if the TV is broken, don’t imply that it is only ‘Dad’ who can fix it. Encourage children early to enjoy STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). Breakdown the medias portrayal of these subjects before children are influenced by it. We need to empower our children and educate them as well. We want to raise women and men who are empowered and respect one another.

The advice I would give is, it’s okay to not know everything, it’s okay to ask questions or for help. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else, everyone works differently, but they all once had to start out just like you. You ae no less that anyone because of experience, and your ideas and opinions are just as valuable.

Is strong the right word? Strong in that I believe woman can do and have, what men do in the world of career, but, ABLE may be more suitable. I set out to be as able as my peers, not depending on my gender. Often, I use my parental experiences to show a strong leadership in situations. In some settings you will find I am the weakest of the group. Characters can display strengths and weaknesses differently; it’s using our integrity to know the difference.