Embedded Files
Join our Collaboration Community
In February 2023, the FTSE 350 met the 40% voluntary target for Women on Boards making it the highest level of women within the highest ranks in UK business achieved to date, and a second place on the international stage. This is fantastic news and highlights how there has been an appreciable change to business culture and the removal of barriers to women reaching the upper echelons of their organisations. Over and above the proven advantages created by diverse leadership, women aspiring to executive or non-executive roles are climbing the ranks and becoming role models for more junior women with similar ambitions. While such progress should be celebrated, the hard work to maintain such levels is real and ongoing. As WiHTL & Diversity in Retail Founder, Tea Colaianni , said in the latest FTSE Women Leaders Review which reported on the latest figures: “Broadening the scope from representation of women at board level to wider leadership roles across listed companies and the recent inclusion of the largest 50 private companies has helped organisations channel their efforts on building robust diverse talent pipelines and invest in innovative practices and policies. However, much remains to be done to create truly inclusive working environments where everybody feels welcome, where women do not feel they have to choose between having a family or a career and where we no longer need to have external scrutiny to appoint talented women to senior leadership roles. Organisations can benefit hugely from learning from those that are leading the way and collaborating with others to make lasting change happen.”
The WiHTL & DiR Collaboration Community has the privilege of engaging with many such inspiring senior women who are leading the way. Some of the most inspirational moments within the webinars, interviews and programmes WiHTL & DiR produce are the personal career stories of speakers and guests. Hearing lived experiences and advice from role models and leaders helps remove barriers which may hold ambitious employees back, and helps to increase their motivation and resilience. Feedback we receive fully reflects this and such storytelling very much supports the concepts of inclusion and belonging through hearing about – and resonating with – the real-life challenges and successes of diverse leaders.
With this in mind, we have spoken to senior women from member organisations in the HTL and Retail sectors to learn and understand how their careers evolved and the challenges and learning which have shaped their success. We are grateful to each for their participation, inspirational accounts and ongoing support to the WiHTL and DiR Collaboration Communities.
Thank you to: Helen Charlesworth - MD, Stonegate Pub Company
(Image shows a photo of Helen Charlesworth)
Reflecting back on your career, can you describe some of the defining moments which helped shape your role as a senior leader?
Being appointed as Area Manager (at Comet) was a pivotal moment in my career and life. I was the youngest Area Manager and the only female, and I was not only making the significant step from running one business to managing an area, as part of the role I had to leave my home with my supportive parents and move alone to a new city. Unfortunately, my manager wasn’t supportive of me, my career, or my colleagues, but this actually motivated me; I wanted his job as I knew his behaviour was not only unacceptable, but it would also not drive high performance. I believed I could do a much better job in motivating and supporting the people who worked for and with me, and that I, and they, could be successful.
Has the focus on EDI in recent years facilitated your and (other women's) efforts to break through the glass ceiling and in what way?
EDI is not a new focus for me personally, throughout my career I have been passionate about it and taken a lead on the EDI agenda in the businesses I have worked in. I am committed to creating a culture and environment where everyone can be “themselves and more of themselves”, not just because it is the right thing to do, but also because I believe it is key to developing high performing teams. I want to “lower the ladder” to create a more equal world where people are empowered to be their best by being themselves, whether that is my team or my children. One of the best things about hospitality is the diversity of our customers, and we need diverse teams to serve them. When I talk about diversity it is in the broadest sense of the word, including diversity of thought and experience. I believe that with inspiring leadership, diverse teams can deliver exceptional performance.
What has helped you the most in achieving what you have in your career and who has been your greatest ally?
My wonderful parents, brother and my amazing husband. No one should underestimate the importance of support from home in enabling you to be the leader you want to be. And now, my 8 year old twin boys are part of my support team, they even send me good luck videos when I am away and know I have an important day ahead!
What advice can you give to women who are trying to create a fulfilling work/life balance?
I wish them the very best of luck! I don’t know if any gender has the perfect answers to work life balance, but I try to think of it as just balance, understanding what you, as well as others, need and being resilient with the rough and smooth.
Do you have a favourite/inspirational success story of women (or you) forging their (your) way in the workplace?
I have many stories of people, especially women, whom I have mentored, many of them frustrated with the lack of speed in their career progression. My advice is always this; no one can give you self-belief other than you, you have to find it, unlock it, and then hold the key very tightly. You are who you are, so be proud of yourself.
What would you like to see happening in the EDI space in the years to come?
EDI needs to be taken seriously by everyone, and the goal must be to evolve EDI from a focus to what we do every day, in effect we become unconsciously competent. I do have concerns that while it is an agenda item it is seen as a task or a “nice to do”, but in reality, it is a “must do”. The generations to come need us to help them grow and give them opportunities, and to do that we need to be the ones to break the bias.
To close:
When we read accounts given by senior women, there are common threads which are clearly evident. While ambition and drive are given attributes to anyone who reaches senior leadership, there are experiences which can can be hooked onto three key qualities: an openness to learning; the flexibility to course-correct when a situation demands and the underlying architect for all success: persistence.
In 2023, women leaders who have made it to executive level and above have worked and experienced a unique transitional moment in corporate/business life. From the beginning of their careers to the current day, there has been a sizable shift in the balance between men and women at the top of organisational hierarchies, from being strongly men-dominant through the gradual turning of the dial to where we now see 40% of women on Boards (UK). Women currently at the helm of their organisations have been the changemakers, the figureheads and the role models to which more junior women can both thank and emulate on an easier path in their own careers. As senior women leaders at the peak of their own career success, they now have the influence – and continue to have the desire and motivation – to make positive change looking into the future in all aspects of equity, diversity and inclusion.
HELPING SENIOR WOMEN LEADERS REACH NON-EXEC CAREERS
WiHTL & Diversity in Retail have created a leadership development programme specifically designed and created to enhance senior women’s career paths towards NED roles. The Women NED Programme prepares and guides senior women leaders within the Hospitality, Travel, Leisure and Retail sectors and supports them in understanding the skills required. The programme is open to WiHTL & DiR members to attend. It will help delegates to:
Add strategic value in the boardroom
Discover practical strategies
Improve networking
Raise professional profile
Find and secure the right role
Report abuse