If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
This is a question that has often crossed my mind, because, over the years, I've met and worked with so many capable and inspiring females. I'm certain there are lots of women want to be on boards but somehow their talents have yet to be firmly recognised.
I've often been told 'aren't you a little overdressed?' and I wonder why it would matter. As Oscar Wilde said: "You can't be overdressed or overeducated". I think we live in a world of baggy jeans, ill-fitting dresses and horrible old t-shirts. I don't understand why someone wouldn't want to make an effort when they go out.
The nuptials are impending and soon I must choose a moniker. Or not. My fiance and I are in the middle of 'Simpson VS Froude: The 2012 surname showdown' ahead of our wedding this July.
Did I miss the collective time-travel mission back to the 1950s this week? I only ask because a glance at a choice selection of headlines from the past seven days certainly suggests so. Either that, or someone (a man, presumably) decided it was time to sweep all the advancements women have made over the past few decades under the proverbial carpet. (Swept by a woman in a gingham pinny and rollers, I sure hope.)
Can women's working lives be made any easier? Should they be? Perhaps these are the wrong questions. Getting a job doesn't seem to be the problem; the issue is the emotional juggling act women have to perform. We men remain largely passive observers to this dilemma, wanting to help but often not knowing how.
I'm finally fully embracing the idea but very soon I turn 39. All through my thirties I thought I was bobbing along fancy-free and young at heart. Now the reality has hit that I'm one step away from 40. Cue sirens and red flashing lights.
I believe that one of the main reasons for the shortage of women in IT is due to the lack of female role models in the industry - what if Steve Jobs had been a woman?
We can thank D.H. Lawrence and Penguin for not only the having the confidence to publish Lady Chatterley's Lover but for fighting the battle to prevent this book from being banned. So why are we still embarrassed to be seen reading novels that are, shall we say, risqué?! And why, are we defining such novels as 'risqué' when in fact sex is perfectly natural?
In 2009 I was asked to be one of the Orange Prize for Fiction judges. I loved it. Although my boyfriend groaned every time I opened another book, I revelled in it.
I urge banks to work to ensure women have access and support to be able to obtain finance. I call on the G20 leaders to create the environment where women receive the support they deserve and require in order to continue to build on their contribution to the global economy.
Today, the Government relaunches its Start4Life (little sister of the Change4Life) campaign to help mothers-to-be have healthier pregnancies. And it is definitely 'mothers' they're out to educate.
In the 1940s, The Daily Mirror asked for contributors for an article entitled: 'What Women Fear Most'. Here is my list (I am aware I am a little late ...
At a women's shelter I saw some of the consequences of Afghanistan's ingrained patriarchy. I talked to a teenage girl married off to a 70-year-old man who then suffered sustained beatings at the hands of the man's family. I also heard from a young widow who explained how she'd escaped her father-in-law who wanted to force her into marriage after her first husband had died.
We women have to employ a stealth approach to using humour in the boardroom, on public platforms and to build our relationships with friends and families. When we group together in tribes, professional networks, social or family groups, we are funny - gobsmackingly, hilariously funny, funny, funny.
Levi's Paris Flagship Store Launch | A Conversation With Levi's' Anit Van Eynde and Lise Van Aisenoy
had the good fortune to speak briefly with Lise Van Aisenoy - Women's Merchandising & Design Director, Anit Van Eynde - Senior Director for Marketing and Marie-Helene Azar, Senior Manager of Media Relations about Levi's' heritage, it's vintage collection and Levi's and women! Here is what they had to say:
Dieting while pregnant will mean you're ultimately up against survival and biological drives that can override conscious decision making. Trying to 'hold off' eating in the long term is a bit like trying to hold your breath.
