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Work Like a Woman: A Manifesto For Change

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When she first began working in television, no one knew she was living with a woman, and her then business partner, a gay man, advised her to keep quiet. “Lesbians aren’t that glamorous,” he said. “And you are.” She knew what he meant. “There is this aspirational hierarchy. White straight men are at the top. Gay men come quite high, too. Look how many there are on television. Gay women are right at the bottom. I remember that AA Gill [the late TV critic of the Sunday Times] knew, and he wrote a very hinting piece about me striding around and stuff.” As if she was Radclyffe Hall? “Yes, exactly.” She snorts. “Anyway, in the end, I just decided to be truthful. The truth is all that matters, so tell it.” Both womens' success can be attested to a combination of 'right-place, right-time', hard work, good sponsors/mentors, and so on. I'm happy they have both have had successful careers and I'm sure inspired many other women with their success. The couple lives in Primrose Hill, north London, and have recently bought a second home in the Slad Valley in Gloucestershire. In her book, she refers several times to her Catholic working-class roots – her mother was so devout she once genuflected in the aisle of a cinema by mistake – but she isn’t one of those people who likes to insist that, no, she has not really changed at all. In fact, she can hardly recognise the girl she once was. Beginning her retail career in John Lewis, Harrods and Topshop, she joined Harvey Nichols, progressing to the Board as Creative Director in 1989. She was credited with leading its transformation into a world renowned fashion store. In 1997 she launched her own agency, Yellowdoor (now called Portas) which has made its mark in the creative advertising landscape, producing category challenging campaigns and championing brand development for clients including Clarks, Louis Vuitton, Oasis, Swarovski, Dunhill, Boden, Thomas Pink, Patek Philippe and Westfield.

Work Like a Woman - Penguin Books UK

In January 2013 she re-launched her agency as Portas with a new offer reflecting today's retail landscape, and how consumers behave today. Inspired by her weekly ‘Shop!’ column in the Telegraph Magazine, Mary began her television career in 2007 when her efforts to rescue failing independent boutiques were documented by the BBC2 series Mary Queen of Shops. The show was nominated for two Royal Television Society Awards and a BAFTA.There is a lot of good in this book - the chapter where she shares her company’s culture statement could be useful, and in the end she offers tips for women in each decade of life (which isn’t necessarily super helpful in some cases, because it assumes a bit of a linear career progression). But I found it a bit frustrating that so very much of the book focused on accommodating childcare. I’d say maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of the book was really focused on this, as though this is the only issue that women face challenges with. And it obviously is a huge issue, but there wasn’t any recognition that one might need work balance for reasons other than caring for children or elderly parents. It seems to be a common world view, and I find it frustrating, as though other life pursuits or challenges don’t matter as much. But we’re half the workforce and only a third of its managers, directors and senior officials. That’s rubbish by anyone’s standards. The workplace is still working against us and, as much as I respect Sheryl Sandberg, who argued that women need to adapt their behaviour to better suit the status quo, I’m more of a Gloria Steinem fan. ‘It’s not about integrating into a not-so-good system,’ she said. ‘It’s about transforming it and making it better. If women have to acquire all the characteristics of a corporate world, it’s probably not worth it.’ Too right, Gloria. I don’t want to lean into a system that is entrenched in a working world that’s quite frankly dated, limited and controlling. It’s bloody well time it changed. Read this as part of a work book group - somebody said she thought Mary was a bit of a Janet Street Porter figure before she read the book - and if honest that’s what I thought. But let’s be clear here: women don’t get a free pass on all this. Alpha culture might have been put in place by men, but we’re also working alongside them and, in many cases, perpetuating the status quo. Really enjoyed reading this and recommending it to everyone. There aren't many books that can claim to change your life, but this one will. Clare Balding

Mary Portas: ‘It was a question of how do I want to work as a

It's about calling time on alpha culture and helping every one of us to be happier, more productive and collaborative. In a nutshell: Author Mary Portas details her career struggles rising through the ranks of department store marketing and shares her thoughts for ways to improve the workplace so it works better for all of us — men and women. Why I chose it: I’ve been working from home since moving to the UK for my partner’s job, but just started a new office gig this week. I figured I could both use a refresher on how offices work and thought this one on how they could be improved would be a good place to start. I wasn’t totally wrong, but I wasn’t right, either.Will I fit into the tribe? Then I find I don’t care. It’s taken me a long time not to care, to come to understand who I am and feel confident enough to look the way I do. I leave the house knowing that what I’m wearing is a reflection of me: colourful, confident and slightly flamboyant. This is my kind of outfit and I’m good at what I do and sure of what I’m talking about. I don’t need a suit to impress people or feel part of their tribe. Whilst I generally agree with most things she says, I'm more bothered with 80-90% of this book being her own story of a shopwindow decorator on path to business leadership. I did not (really) know Mary Portas before, so it may have startled me more than an English person would have been startled by it?

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