2013-05-18T19:25:55-04:00 Olga Crosse http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/index.php?author=olga-crosse Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Olga Crosse Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1718080 2012-07-31T06:22:24-04:00 2012-09-30T05:12:04-04:00

Olga Crosse http://www.huffingtonpost.com/olga-crosse/
Firstly, what I do know is the current job creation schemes are not working. The main problem being, the providers of these schemes having been awarded mutli million pound contracts to get people back to work they have no idea at ground level what that actually means.

How the process generally works is like this. Some mandarin on a platinum final salary pension within Central Government is tasked with getting people back to work. This person (who is also very bright) will have come from a firmly middle class background, university educated (nothing wrong with that!), now living in nappy valley somewhere in the capital or is commuting from Surrey (again nothing wrong with that).

This person is fully versed in the concept of unemployment and will have had many meetings and round table discussions on the subject and could probably write an excellent document on the topic, but practically the closest they will ever have come to unemployment or the unemployed will be passing the local Job Centre on Guildford High St very quickly, whilst shopping in Waitrose on a Saturday.

Therein lies part of the problem, they are fantastic at the theory but have no sense of the practicalities and problems associated with unemployment. So this person appoints a working group who decide to invite organisations to tender. Many meetings are held, much organic and fair trade coffee and biscuits are eaten in the process and many an earnest discussion is held.

Organisations submitting tenders comprise of groups of consultants hired at great expense to put together a fancy Powerpoint presentation resplendent with graphics on the subject to wow the mandarin from Surrey. Mandarin (who is no match for these smart foxes) is suitably wowed by all but in particular one organisation (usually decided well before the process begins) gives the prized cash cow away (these contracts are considered very easy money, given the vast amounts involved and lack of accountability on the part of the Civil Service). Its really easy to fudge the figures on the monthly Service Level report designed in equal measure to impress and fool the hapless manadarin into thinking unemployment as we know it will soon be at an end.

The winning contractor hires even more consultants (usually ex Big 4) on about £1k a day to design how the contract 'will look', not really what it 'will do'! Again no clue about the unemployed or of unemployment at a real level. These consultants, after putting the finishing touches on some fancy graphs and tables, then sub contract the actual delivery of the project to even more companies and this is where the rot really starts.

This is the level at which the real money can be made, by squeezing the bottom line, these sub contractors tend to hire out of work trainers on a poor rate to deliver sub standard training at the job centre, so the less they spend on the project the more they earn. As far as the mandarin and consultants are concerned, once the unemployed show up, attend a c.v. and interview skills workshop, there should be no stopping them finding themselves work. Except we all know its not as simple as that.

So who suffers? Well the people who desperately need it the most thats who. They get a c.v. workshop and interview skills day from a disinterested, underpaid trainer, a few Powerpoint handouts and are none the wiser at the end of the day on how to actually find a job, and the cycle continues.

Its then left to 'not for profit' agencies, youth groups and unpaid volunteers to pick up the pieces for free.

If it was up to me, I would insist that the contracts are awarded to much smaller agencies, decided at local level, on the ground by the people who know what is needed and the ones who matter. I would insist on smaller groups and intense follow up and a much more personal service - a total wrap around service that may even have to deal with teaching someone to read and write, sort out their criminal convictions, give them confidence, steer them towards relevant work, retrain them, show someone cares. It might cost a bit more, but it does work and in the long run billions are saved in social security costs, and benefits.

Keep the provision, small, relevant and tight and make sure those responsible from the outset know what they are doing. Spend to save and society on the whole will benefit and not just the contractors and consultants.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1715949 2012-07-30T04:42:17-04:00 2012-09-28T05:12:10-04:00

Olga Crosse http://www.huffingtonpost.com/olga-crosse/
Now here's a thing, I really really liked it and I thought Danny Boyle did a great job of putting together the greatest variety show on earth. Never mind it was a bit bats, a bit mad and a few Midwesterners from Milwaukie and Mitt Romney had no idea what the hell was going on, but that's what made it great. Credit where credit is due.

Something struck me though yesterday when I was thinking about it, I think we actually have the answer to a lot of our problems staring right in the face in the form of Mr Danny Boyle or at least someone like him. Let me explain. Danny managed to put on a spectacle that is about as far away from the mandarins, men in grey suits, unimaginative, fearful, scary, out of touch people who govern us and administer us.

Somehow Danny managed to escape their influence and even got the Queen in on the act - no mean feat that. Now if this was actually left to the Department of Fun (ahem Sport) to organise, they would still be discussing the terms of reference to the many meetings held to discuss how to hold meetings and the Olympics would have been and gone and on its way to Brazil by now. In fact that's probably what they are still doing not realising the thing is in full swing a mile down the road.

Can you imagine what the man would do if he got his hands on the Treasury, this is a man with a keen sense of what the common person wants, is used to seeing things written down and turning a vision into something tangible and enjoyable that people will pay good money to watch. He is a proven leader, knows what he is doing and is good at it. He has form in managing large scale budgets, employing people, working to deadlines, making pots and pots of money, inspiring, motivating people to get the best out of them . Bearing in mind most of the 'actors' were actually volunteers doing it for free in their own time. He inhabits the real world, knows how to do a real job, and has won a load of awards on the back of it. He also, given his working class background probably knows a thing or two about struggle, hard graft, against a backdrop of lack of opportunity and privilege. I reckon he would give it a right good shot to be honest.

In fact that is partly where a lot of our current problems stem from, we are all at the mercy of people who have no idea of the real problems we are all facing, in terms of financial hardships, lack of opportunity, poor education, being battered from all sides, uncertain futures, unemployment, no hope of ever owning our own homes, fearful about growing old as we cannot afford to be old and infirm given the state of everything. We have crooks 'managing' our money, doing their best to embezzle it out of us, working for money launderers fiddling interest rates and charging us fortunes for being £5 overdrawn, leaders who couldn't care less too busy chatting about hell knows what whilst on European breaks at our expense, literally while Rome, Madrid, Athens, Dublin etc actually burn. None of them have a clue and its frightening, in fact name one that has ever had a job outside of a think tank! Its hard isn't it?

We need leaders like Danny now more than ever before, wouldn't it be brilliant if that is what the Olympics legacy actually became, a lesson in how to create from nothing (ok a right few billions), by sheer doggedness (he actually got the Queen to star in the show!), talent, professionalism, determination, hard work, and creativity.

Wouldn't it be fantastic if that inspires scores of people from all kinds of backgrounds to persevere to be the best they can be for the benefit of all of us, who actually know what they are doing and are sensible in coming up with ways of getting us out of the mess we are in. Hell I think its even got me going. Instead of this thing furthering Sebastian Coe's career, let it further Danny's whose future on the back of Friday night is well assured.

I for one do not begrudge him that.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1674260 2012-07-24T09:32:45-04:00 2012-09-23T05:12:09-04:00

Olga Crosse http://www.huffingtonpost.com/olga-crosse/
However on my way to work one morning, I changed my mind having picked up a letter addressed to me from London Underground advising me that in a few weeks time I will be unable to use my normal tube entrance at Earls Court to get to work, I should expect to wait at least 1 hour before being allowed to actually board the platform and allow for 1 hour 30 minutes at least to leave the station should I actually want to go home in the evening. All this because a bunch of women in tight shorts and even tighter vests want to titillate men (and maybe women) in the name of sport at Earls Court. I needed to get this Olympic thing off my chest for once and for all, so here goes.

So what does the Olympics mean to me and my friends, in a word absolutely nothing, except extreme inconvenience, loss of income and a complete lack of interest in anything to do with promoting the insufferable Sebastian Coe's career on the world stage, which after all is what this entire debacle is all about, NOT as we are asked to believe about promoting sport and providing much needed sports facilities in poor inner city areas. Greatest sporting event my a***!

Already disillusioned with the interminable recession, being ripped off and laughed at by bankers and M's and our phone-calls listened to by bored journalists, we normal Londoners (yes there are some of us left) are doing our best to keep going, have to put up with this sporting folly which we cannot afford to go to even if we managed to secure tickets, which the majority of us have not. Instead we'll be subjected to wall to wall coverage of the aforementioned Seb Coe, Tessa Jowell, MP's, celebrities, minor royals, Pippa Middleton and like minded hangers on who definitely have not paid a penny to attend the games, myself and fellow cash strapped Londoners have already paid for from our Council taxes, rates etc.

Never have we felt so disconnected and disillusioned by an event and more dangerously from the people who govern us. In April I was in Paris and a taxi driver actually started laughing when he mentioned the Olympics to me, he told me Parisians were delighted that London won the games so they did not have to be bothered by it - schadenfreude or what. We are actually being laughed at for letting Seb loose to host his series of sports days across London in the first place. If he wants to host a sports day let him do it in his own house at his own expense. I'm not usually in the habit of paying for things that I am not allowed to go to and I'll wager neither are you, so why are we putting up with this now!

I tried to leave the city I love while the games were on, but I need to work, if I do not work I do not earn. No-one I know is going or wants to, one person I know got coveted tickets to the opening ceremony at great expense and handed them back when he discovered he needed to be at the venue by 8.30 in the morning for an event that starts at 8 and could not bring in any food or drink to keep him going. I bet Prince William et al won't be subjected to that treatment and they get in for free! Reminds me of a modern day Versailles, with the proletariat locked out and the hoi polloi laughing from within and eating cake and look how that turned out!

So my advice to our esteemed leaders, movers, fraudsters and shakers (take your pick they are all the same), the next time you have a bright idea to host a sports day/week/fortnight at others expense, have it at Windsor, Qatar, the grounds at Eton, Chequers, Seb Coe's house, Chipping Norton, Balmoral, Dubai, or Highgrove (where lets face it they have the space and the money and the time to organise it), think of the rest of us for once instead of yourselves and leave us to get on with our lives in peace in the world's greatest city.

Remember that's what we pay you for!]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1499735 2012-05-08T13:28:04-04:00 2012-07-08T05:12:08-04:00

Olga Crosse http://www.huffingtonpost.com/olga-crosse/
I then put my potentially lethal lipstick in a plastic bag, got ordered about like a schoolgirl at passport control for not standing in the X at the right angle, undressed at customs, walked through the scanner, the usual alarm bleeps (causing much excitement at UK Border Control), its nothing too major really just the underwire in my bra setting it off. Funny given its mens underpants that can actually cause the serious death and destruction but they were passing through at a rate of knots, maybe they weren't wearing any!!!........

After being subjected to a good mauling and some mildly inappropriate touching with a bleeper device thing by a female member of the UK Border Agency (ahem), she adds insult to injury for suggesting that its my hip replacement setting the alarm off......she seems very put out when I advise her that I actually do not have a hip replacement and starts a bizarre argument with me for daring to suggest my hips, ample as they are, are in fact all my own. I am half minded to just go along with it and confess to having the damn thing, because I seem to being causing a major security alert for simply wearing the wrong bra and not having a mechanical hip when all I really want to do is board my flight and go home!

After one more quick maul and pat down, my bra and perceived metal hip is no longer considered a security threat and I am sent on my way with a withering look and a fashion suggestion about wearing the right kind of bra in future. Its interesting to note that none of the men in the queue were poked and prodded in their private parts or offered any sartorial tips despite two bombs recently being found in men's underpants that could actually bring down a plane. To the best of my knowledge no bombs have ever been found in a bra - underwired or not!

So this is what it comes to .........being a single woman of a certain age......not only now at airports do you have to suffer the ignominy of getting mauled and molested you also have to put up with insults about hips you don't have and admonished for wearing the wrong bra.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1473845 2012-05-04T08:20:06-04:00 2012-07-04T05:12:04-04:00

Olga Crosse http://www.huffingtonpost.com/olga-crosse/ Moneyball, a true story about Oakland baseball team's manager Billy Beane starring Brad Pitt. About two minutes into it instead of focusing on the delectable Brad, I was actually oddly gripped by the theme of the story, which goes like this.

In 2005 Billy/Brad managed a so-so baseball team the Oakland Athletics. He is told by the owner there is no money to buy in talent, but he will still need to stay in the top league right up there with the Boston Red Sox and New York Knicks. So Billy/Brad goes off, a bit annoyed wondering what the hell he is going to do, with no money. He is left with the cast offs, runts of the litter, players other clubs do not want including older players, players who pitched in a different way, who were overweight, were injured and couldn't play their normal position. Billy/Brad then meets this statistician who turns the conventional way of picking and playing a baseball team (which included rating players girlfriends level of attractiveness -- attractive girlfriend = confident player!) on its head. Oakland was forced by monetary constraints to pick players from the available pool based on characteristics that others dismiss but who show potential in other areas. Malcolm Gladwell calls them Outsiders.

Billy/Brad with his bunch of has-beens and misfits team went on to win 20 straight wins in 2005 against all those major league clubs who had sneered at his unconventional approach. Those very same clubs who laughed at him now adopt those very same methods themselves in an attempt to emulate his historic success. Spotting potential in sport has now become the norm.

This got me seriously thinking, how many of us in everyday life particularly in our careers are either overlooked, cast off or overlook other people because they do not exactly fit the exact mold or 'type' that we are lead to believe breeds traditional success? How much potential have we all let slip through our fingers, that if spotted, could in the right situation go on to help the organization, team or club to great things.

It turns out that most people are afraid of Outsiders because they turn conventional thinking on its head and challenge the norms of thinking, which most organizations and lets face it most people fail to understand and are a little bit afraid of. The thing about Outsiders though is (according to David Brooks in his book The Social Animal) they are like orchids, if not nurtured they will die and quickly. In organizations -- they under-perform, fail and either leave or are fired, however, if orchids are nurtured and protected in the right environments, they will flourish and often lead to flashes and bursts of genius which can greatly benefit an organization. How many orchids did Fred Goodwin or Dick Fuld ignore or fired and look how well that fared because they surrounded themselves by people too afraid to challenge them. In Oaklands case the orchids/Outsiders were allowed to flourish purely because the manager had no choice.

It's my experience that as a whole we are all really bad at spotting and nurturing potential, often because we are bad managers, are managed badly, are prejudiced and afraid to think of something different. A recent survey conducted by Penna, Henley Business School and the Chartered Management Institute found that over 50 percent of staff in the UK find their managers ineffective and not up to the job and over 43 percent of managers find their own managers ineffective! That's a lot of dying orchids!

I look at the ageism and sexism that is rife throughout organizational culture. I look at all those minorities in mundane menial jobs, I look at people who are overweight who are ignored and sneered at, some who are simply the born female or gay, who did not get that public school education, who are creative and that bit quirky, that today's managers could no more spot or nurture if that ball hit them square in the face.

Think of all that diversity, potential ideas and profit going to waste, due to our fear of people who will rock the boat, challenge conventional thinking because they do not conform or fit in. Steve Jobs or Richard Branson would never get a look in these days and that's a real shame.

By 2017, the research suggests that the UK will need more than 2 million additional managers (I know that seems strange in the current economic climate), given that 50 percent currently are deemed ineffective that is potentially a lot of orchids that will be left to wilt and die by sheer incompetence and fear.

Sometimes its better to take a leap of faith, become a chancer an Outsider even, stop looking at what you have, but instead look left at what you might potentially have. Instead of firing a struggling employee, or worse ignoring one, look beyond and see whats really there, even if its not in their chosen field, that could well lead your organization to its very own Moneyball and 20 consecutive home runs!]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1179299 2012-01-02T07:22:14-05:00 2012-03-03T05:12:01-05:00

Olga Crosse http://www.huffingtonpost.com/olga-crosse/ Mildred Pierce - a recent US import starring Kate Winslet. This tale reminded me of The Great Gatsby - both stories have a similar tale to tell of social snobbery, class exclusion and trying to be something you are not, and not possessing the courage to ever feel good enough.

Mildred tells the story of an enterprising middle class lady during the Great Depression when faced with a cheating, bankrupt husband, two children to feed ,augmented the family coffers by baking cakes and waitressing, then opening a very successful restaurant. She took up with a 'wealthy' playboy who turned out not to be nothing more than a well spoken waster, looking down his nose at her while she funded the polo playing and the mansion with the proceeds of the restaurant. To compound matters Mildred reared a horrible, snobby, ingrate of a daughter who was ashamed of her mothers hard work, ran off with the playboy and contributed to Mildred losing all her hard earned cash. The crux of it is that Mildred never felt good enough.

For reasons even I fail to comprehend, I, like Mildred fell in with a rather posh crowd years ago. In the giddy excitement and gratefulness of being 'accepted' into this gang, I, to coin the phrase 'lost the use of myself'. I finally thought after all the years of being an outsider that I was now in!

All sense of achievement and pride went out the window as I failed to notice, like Mildred, I was actually being looked upon, by guys with red noses who are usually something in property, or wannabe nightclub owners and their tiny blonde girlfriends who claim to 'do' something in PR or fashion. I, like Mildred was the one buying the drinks! Not once did I give myself credit for actually putting myself through university, working hard and spending my own money, instead I was adulating these cretins who were freeloading and ripping through fortunes they had no input in making. What is it about all of us, perfectly well educated, doing well in this world without connections, privilege and a sense of entitlement that makes us go giddy when faced with a posh accent from a person who probably hasn't two brain cells to rub together.

I found it took effort to turn yourself into something you are not. I once had a friend who 'landed' a catch and she changed overnight. Such was the strain of keeping up appearances she ended up with no friends, on anti depressants with a husband she realised she didn't like and a self she didn't recognise. In the words of Dr Seuss 'Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind'.

I finally came to my senses one day when speaking to one of these princelings on the phone, being all pretentious (me) trying to impress (me again), when the rude sod yawned, yes yawned, mid sentence mid pitch. I thought to myself has my insecurity and complexes and all I've worked hard to achieve come to this, me trying to impress some ill bred moron with no manners . So I stopped there and then and you know what not one of them noticed or cared. I was reminded of a line in The Great Gatsby ' They were careless people..they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money of their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together and let other people clean up the mess they had made'. I crawled back to my friends- the ones I grew up with, who stuck by me through thick and thin, good and bad times, who thankfully laughed, forgave me, bought me a drink and have continue to do so despite that transgression.

The moral of this story is simple, no matter how hard you try, like Mildred, you will rarely be fully accepted if you ever attempt the hazardous climb up the supposed social ladder. Its fraught with perils and pitfalls. As the immortal philosopher Chanakya said 'Never make friends with people who are above or below you in status. Such friendships will never give you happiness'.

You will definitely not be accepted for what you definitely are. Part of you , like my ex friend has to be sacrificed and that's usually the best part and definitely no basis for a friendship. Never lose sight of who you are, do your best, succeed at what you do and avoid like the plague anyone that remotely triggers an aitch, an accent change, yawns halfway through in a phonecall - oh and who claims to own half of a shire!]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.1160585 2011-12-20T11:52:46-05:00 2012-02-19T05:12:01-05:00

Olga Crosse http://www.huffingtonpost.com/olga-crosse/
It all started with a well known British actress last week on Saturday Kitchen, the day after I saw a picture of a well known European First Lady (both back in the day renowned beauties, sadly those days are no more), the former has taken on the appearance of a pumped up bicycle tyre and the latter now looks like my friend's cat Coco after a good meal of Whiskas and a stretch in the sun. Its not just the female celebrities, who followed Strictly this year? Mmmmm...I rest my case! Definitely not what nature intended!

Take friend of mine who, like me always thought she would have a good overhaul when the time came - until that is, she actually went to work for a well known plastic surgery clinic. She describes her first management meeting as something out of a very strange sci fi movie - everyone was waxy, wide eyed, expressionless and frozen. Far from looking better, they all looked eerily exactly the same.

If you want to see for yourself and are in London for the day, I recommend as part of the tourist trail taking a walk down Harley St Central London where you will find pouring furtively out of anonymous looking Georgian houses women (and some men) of all ages looking similar - with bleached, smooth, creepy doll like features, wide eyes and lips that should carry a health warning. I've seen animated cartoons look more realistic. Think Joan Rivers who is about 178 but is honest about it and parodies herself. Far from looking younger these women well, look like Joan. I'm not sure that's quite the look they had in mind.

What drives people to pay to get themselves into that state, have we become that shallow and insecure? Now I wager these are the very people that could tell you to the ingredient the exact component and calorie content of every morsel they put in their mouths and wouldn't dream of eating anything non organic, genetically modified or unethically reared, but yet I could guarantee they would struggle to tell you whats in that syringe they inject into their faces every three months - if they could move their lips to ask. Not even nether regions are safe!

The surprise in all this is in the main plastic surgery Dr's tend not to be much of an advertisement for their craft. Talk about not practising what you preach or in this case what you scalp. Yet there they are hovering about like some ancient knight waving a syringe about offering the holy grail that is the fountain of youth. The original grail has yet to be found so I am not holding out much hope for this one anytime soon!

It doesn't just end with the first slice or pump, the 'revision' rate i.e. the rate at which these procedures goes wrong is a very scary 30%, so if you allow some surgeon to mess about with your boobs, face or other more intimate parts you stand a very good chance of ending up back where you started trying to get the whole thing rectified not to mention looking worse, sorer and a lot poorer than before. Its also highly addictive once you start and you are actively encouraged to add to the shopping cart. So you might go in for a smooth forehead but come out looking like Joan, a good 20 procedures down not to mention 20 grand.

Now before I go any further, I am not suggesting it's the plastic surgery industry's fault- it isn't, they are providing a service and giving into demand. In genuine cases of disfigurement and skin disorders it's a very valuable and essential branch of medicine. However, when it comes to tinkering with perfectly normal faces and bodies I feel a little saddened and wonder where does it stop!

So instead of indulging this year in a spot of facial grouting, burning, sand blasting the upper layers of your face, injecting a fatal poison to your forehead and eyes, and getting plastic sacs full of chemical solution into your chest, invest instead in a holiday, or a pair of shoes, pay down your credit card, save, buy groceries, get a new bathroom fitted, whatever, but just don't mess with your face or body because once that genie is out of that bottle (or syringe) you can never put it back. ]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.1153863 2011-12-16T19:00:00-05:00 2012-02-15T05:12:01-05:00

Olga Crosse http://www.huffingtonpost.com/olga-crosse/ Up in the Air. Its not my choice, there are a million and one other things I would prefer to be doing than ruining people's lives but I also have a living to earn and will put up with it until something else comes along.

One thing that struck me coming home from work yesterday after 'consulting' on pay cuts, with my heart in my boots after destroying yet another person's life (a woman), was that very rarely these days do I deliver those dreadful messages to males.

It then occurred to me that even though the banking crisis and subsequent recession was largely caused by men, it is actually women who are bearing the brunt of it. This is very much a woman's recession - a Shecession.

The harsh fact is that most of the people I have to make redundant, cut their hours or their salaries are women. I then got to thinking about my friends who have been and continue to be affected by this recession and was quite shocked when I realised that not one single one of my male friends has lost his job, had a salary cut or any form of negative payback due to this current economic climate - only my female friends!

I carried out a bit of a straw poll amongst my friends and none of them (male and female) could think of a single man who has lost his job or taken a salary cut either but they could name plenty of women. The last redundancy programme I carried out, one male was made redundant as opposed to five females in the same company. The forthcoming public sector cuts will heap even more misery on women as they are disproportionately affected by the cuts in that it will concentrate on lower and middle management grades i.e. EO and below. I am well placed to know this I carried out cuts there also!

"What is going on?" I asked myself, "women are as well qualified and hard working as their male counterparts?" The baby argument is defunct as most of my friends and I are single, in our late 30s and 40s and childless but yet we are paying the price in terms of this recession.

One reason could be is that women continue to be in much lesser paid jobs and status than their male counterparts. Another reason which could be closer to the truth than anyone realises, usually the harsh decision to cut costs are carried out by men and in my experience they are very reluctant to slash their own and other males especially the more senior they get. Men have very little respect for people who they perceive have lesser status roles than they have i.e. women.

Men love status and are status driven. Considering women are locked out of most boardrooms and Senior Management roles, we are not even given a voice much less a chance. As there is a very strong reinforced glass ceiling in operation it stands to reason that those at the bottom and middle i.e. women will bear the brunt of cuts more and we are. Again the results of my little poll bore this out and confirmed my own experiences, very few male bosses or managers have lost their jobs or suffered any adverse effects despite being responsible for making the cuts.

When you hold a senior position, you are very far removed from the reality of your employee's lives and struggles. Its easy slash a person's pay by 10% when they are on 100k but it very rarely happens (more men than women usually earn that much), it is even easier to slash a person's pay by 10% when they are on 20k, (after all its 'only' 2k), but the impact is that much greater and, you guessed it, it is usually women who suffer when those sorts of decisions are taken as we usually are on lower salaries.

The brutal irony is though that most HR departments are populated by women and they are the ones who have to carry out these terrible messages before switching off the final light switch themselves. Talk about shooting the messengers.

Those in the higher echelons (men) playing God with people's lives never deliver those messages themselves preferring usually to send out a heartfelt group email about how it affects us all, pulling together etc, before trousering the massive bonuses they give themselves and their mates for making the cuts in the first place without a bye or a leave of the human impact it will have. You see very little scientific thought goes into these things really, despite what these captains of industry would lead you to believe.

Now I am no feminist man-hater, quite the opposite. Many of us foolishly chased the dragon of a well paid and satisfying career. Instead we (females) find ourselves working in lower paid and status jobs, struggling with increasing job insecurity having believed the ridiculous notion that we could have it all. Well I've news for you - we haven't and right now even those lowly paid jobs are hanging in the balance, our voices remain silent and unheard.

This has well and truly become a Shecession. ]]>