16 | Tees Business
Leading lady: Sharon Lane was the
highest-ranked woman in our poll of the
most inspiring Tees businesspeople.
INSPIRING
BUSINESSWOMEN
By Dave Allan
Pondering why just three out of the top 30
most inspiring Tees businesspeople are women
“
I don’t remember being particularly
outnumbered on my MBA programme,
so I wonder what happened to all those
other female executives,” says Sharon Lane.
Sharon has been voted Teesside’s most
inspiring female business leader in Tees
Business polls for the last two years, but she
admits to being puzzled why only two of her
female peers joined her in this year’s top 30.
A former apprentice, Sharon is now
general manager of Skelton-based precision
engineering specialists, Tees Components.
Reflecting on statistics that indicate that
one in five UK business owners are women,
while around one in four board members
are women, Sharon furrows her brow as
she ponders the results of the 2017 Tees
Business poll, conducted among her fellow
local business leaders.
Why were there just three women in the
top 30? And is there reason for concern?
“I’m surprised the figure’s so low,”
admits the qualified mechanical engineer.
“Given the national figures for female
business owners and directors, it sounds
like there are perhaps some shy successful
businesswomen on Teesside that we don’t
know about.”
A tendency for female business leaders
to hide their light under a bushel is an issue
Allison Routledge, an investment executive
at FW Capital, takes seriously.
“Perhaps we’re not good enough
at promoting ourselves,” she told Tees
Business. “We just get on with the job in
hand.”
Ann Stonehouse, an accountant who
two years ago helped set up North East
Foundation for Women in Enterprise,
agrees. “I do think we are low key - even
our networking is low key. I know many
businesswomen but we are just juggling
too many things. I can only assume PR and
marketing is something that is often put on
the shelf.”
Ann’s point of ‘juggling’ the work-life
balance may be key, with many women, no
matter how successful or able, unwilling
to let their business ambitions supersede
their roles as mothers, especially while their
children are young.
Middlesbrough College principal and chief
executive Zoe Lewis was the only other
woman to join Sharon Lane in the top 10 of
the 2017 poll.
A mother of two children, aged nine
and ten, Zoe says: “I honestly don’t know
why more women don’t become leading
entrepreneurs or reach a high level in the
boardroom, as we see the same level of
ability and ambition in all of our students.
I often wonder if it’s associated with
childcare and flexibility, which often coincide
with a time of life when careers are really
developing.
“Many women who have children struggle
to find the right work-life balance and want
a more flexible type of working, which
employers often don’t consider as much for
senior roles.
“Generally, I think women consider
the impact of work on their families more
than men do. It certainly was something I
considered long and hard before applying to
be principal .
“I wanted to be sure I could be a good
mum and be there for my family without
compromising my work. I’m lucky to have
a large support network around me that
makes both possible but not everyone is
lucky enough to have that. I’m not sure men