For those who have subscribed to my newsletter, you'll have seen that I announced that I would be doing a new blog series. If you haven't subscribed, then you should do it immediately. 

Anyway, the series is multi-layered. On one level, it's to highlight female freelancers and women who run their own businesses. On another level, it will showcase the work that women in male-dominated industries do. Then, the deepest level will delve into the challenges faced by women in the workplace and how their experiences may differ from those of their male peers. 

Personal Experience: From University to Office

From my own experience, there can be a difference in the way women are treated, both as freelancers and as team members. When I was getting my M.Phil in Gender and Women's Studies, I focused on English and History. Most of my modules were taught by male academics, only one of whom commented on the irony of teaching women's experiences to a group of women. 

One of the senior academics had also been suspended - on full pay - from his teaching position about 10 years previously due to allegations against him by a female student. The history department was joked about as being 'a boys club'. There were so few women in the department that many of us felt completely disillusioned as to our potential career prospects. 

After graduating, I worked in The Office of Public Works (OPW) and while the staff ratio seemed fairly balanced, the Commissioners were all men. They still are. In fact, all senior management in the OPW are men. Some of this can be chalked down to the age of the organisation and that it has taken some time to be brought into the new age. However, if we look at even the most progressive companies, small and large, there is a common thread: senior management are male. Sometimes it's because the men are the founders of the company, sometimes it's something else at play. 

The Future Is Female

I want to use my small platform as a way to highlight the wonderful work being done by wonderful women. That's why I reached out to my network of women to ask them to participate in this series. The main goal I had was to promote women and the work they do, while also trying to understand the gaps at senior management level. I'll take all the answers and put my M.Phil to the test and (hopefully) create a longer paper on the ways in which women are spoken to and treated differently in the workforce. Maybe even do some discourse analysis on the answers! 

Ultimately, I want to show that women are out there, achieving things, running events, companies and communicating effectively with people.  One of the things that I struggle with, as a woman and a freelancer, is the notion that promoting myself is ‘annoying’ or ‘spammy’. It’s something that a lot of freelancers and a lot of women struggle to do, because of perceptions of our behaviour. However, if I don't achieve anything else, then at least I've used the blog to highlight some fantastic women.

If you're interested in contributing or have a woman that you think might be interested, then get in touch with me.