74 | Tees Business
TEES TALK
Only three women made the top 30 in the annual Tees Business poll to discover Teesside’ s Most Inspiring Businesspeople. Is there a problem? Do you think there are enough female entrepreneurs and business leaders on Teesside? Does more need to be done? We asked poll winner Bill Scott and seven female businesswomen for their thoughts …
Sharon Lane, managing director, Tees Components“ I’ m surprised there are only three women who made the poll’ s top 30. Around one in five business owners are women, and around one in four board members, so it sounds like there are perhaps some successful but shy businesswomen on Teesside that we don’ t know about!
“ The reality is that if a young woman has a great business idea, considers founding a company but has no visible female role models, she is likely to be more than a little discouraged. So it’ s important that we continue to highlight women leaders in all sectors.”
Bill Scott, managing director, Wilton Engineering“ There’ s some phenomenal female business talent in our area. People who have heard me talk know I often speak about‘ girl power’ but I would love more female business leaders to grasp the nettle, to stand up and be counted.
“ More of them need to fly the flag by telling their story to inspire others – women and men – but my personal view is that companies that don’ t have any women on their board are missing out on what is often a different mindset.”
Amanda Skelton, chief executive, Redcar & Cleveland Council“ Long-term this issue can only be addressed by building the self-confidence and career aspirations of girls at school. Academically, girls are doing well, but it’ s important that they do not rule themselves out of career options which have traditionally been considered the domain of men, and that they are encouraged to channel their natural creativity into entrepreneurship.
“ It’ s also important that the Tees Valley continues to diversify the local economy and values the vital contribution of service and creative industries where women excel.”
Susan Theobald, market leader, Barclays Middlesbrough“ I’ m lucky enough to meet fantastic business leaders, both men and women, from across the region, and the figures do surprise me. I can only think that Teesside has been built on heavy industries such as chemicals and steel, which traditionally- with exceptions – were maledominated industries.
“ The decline of these industries, I believe, is giving women more and more opportunities to showcase leadership skills across new sectors, such as digital, as well as more‘ traditional’ sectors, such as manufacturing and engineering.”
Kirsten Donkin, PR and communications manager, PD Ports“ In the logistics industry, which for generations has been heavily male-dominated, we’ re seeing an increasing number of females being recruited into a number of roles including senior management positions.
“ One of the key priorities for the region’ s businesses has to be aimed at offering greater insight into a variety of sectors and to showcase the career opportunities that would encourage more females into roles that they may have pre-conceived ideas are geared towards their male counterparts.”
Allison Routledge, investment executive, FW Capital“ It is very disappointing that only three of those voted Teesside’ s 30 most inspiring business people are women. We have a wealth of great women in business in Teesside, often the unsung heroes of businesses.
“ Perhaps we’ re not good enough at promoting ourselves... we just get on with the job in hand. In 36 years working in a professional organisation, I’ ve seen a gradual but not sufficiently significant increase in middle and top-tier women.
“ We have different skills to bring to the table that are often overlooked- often higher emotional intelligence, which is becoming increasingly important in business.”
Karen Eve, centre manager, Castlegate Shopping Centre“ I think there are many female business leaders and entrepreneurs in Teesside but our region is predominantly recognised for its industrial heritage. As such, the engineering, petrochemical and manufacturing industries continue to have a big profile.
“ The nature of these industries means that they attract a larger percentage of male employees. That said, other sectors such as law, education, training, marketing and housing all have high-profile women in the driving seat.”
Mel Thompson, managing director, KMS Partners“ Typically, women do tend to downplay their achievements and concentrate on the things that can be improved, rather than celebrating their successes.
“ We need to consciously encourage women in business to share their experiences and successes, perhaps using the three nominated females in the Tees Business poll as a platform to do this.
“ I’ m a huge supporter of encouraging our young women to believe they can achieve their career goals and aspirations and not be shy about sharing their success.”