Thoughts from Lucy Parish, our CEO, on International Women's Day 2024
"Six years ago, I took a leap of faith and joined The Feed. It turned out to be the best thing I ever did, for lots of reasons, but in particular because of the wonderful women I have met.
I have worked alongside the most incredible and empowering women, and I have learned so much from them - things that have changed my outlook on life and the way that I go about my work. I have never before felt so included.
One of the things I learned from them, was a name, and coping mechanisms for something that I had dealt with for many years - ‘Imposter Syndrome’ The feeling that I wasn’t good enough, or wasn’t worthy, of being included or possible of really succeeding in my career.
In 2020, recognising that women face very different challenges to men, we launched Bloom, a project for women to help them to identify their strengths and learn to speak about them with confidence. In the early days, I spoke with one of the women, and she told me that she didn’t feel ‘capable’ of getting a job and was full of self-doubt. I shared with her that I feel like that too, more or less every day. She looked shocked and said ‘but you’re so successful!’ and we spoke about imposter syndrome and hearing that she wasn’t the only woman to feel how she was feeling, it spurred her on to consider employment.
Since then, over 100 women have been through our Bloom project. One women said ‘the main thing that I gained from it was the belief that I am a capable person. The mentoring I received encouraged me to use my own initiative and trust myself. This renewed confidence gave me the motivation and courage to look for employment again, and I now have a creative job that I love, in an environment where my knowledge and expertise is seen as valuable'.
Women, women of colour, especially black women, as well as the LGBTQ community, are most likely to experience Imposter Syndrome, which given years of systemic oppression is hardly surprising.
Being included and valued as a woman was vital for me to find my self-belief and this #IWD24 we want to #inspireinclusion by ensuring that the needs, interests and aspirations of women and girls are valued and included.
When women aren't present, we must ask: "If not, why not?"
When women are discriminated against, we must call out poor practice.
When the treatment of women is not equitable, we must take action.
And we must do this each time, every time."
