“Ugly, stark & unacceptable”: What can be done to stop sexual harassment in the City?
This the verdict of Lloyd’s CEO John Neale on an independent report highlighting persistent sexual harassment across the world’s oldest insurance market. This follows hot on the heels of investment bank BNP Paribas losing a high profile sexual...
Because you’re worth it! – How to ask for a pay rise
Talking about money is a taboo subject, especially amongst women in the workplace it would seem. Recently Averil, along with other inspirational contributors, talked to Elle UK about navigating the waters when it came to the thorny issue of negotiating a pay rise....
Should You Discuss How Much You Earn With Friends?
Talking about salary can be seen as a taboo in some societies. However as friends play an important role in our life, can discussing salary with them be beneficial in the long run? Averil expresses her point of view on salary talks but also emphasizes the implications...
Choosing an executive coach for women
I believe all senior women should have executive coaches. They have complex lives and are still likely to be so in the minority at the highest levels that a trusted relationship is essential. Yet women take up developmental opportunities less than men – often because...
Women in the press . . .
Only last week I brought to the office an article written in the ‘80s about serious work with stressed execs in the public sector. My colleague and I were referred to as ‘executive sweets’. How attractive we were mattered more than our professionalism. The editor of...
Bringing in the bacon and bringing up baby
I answered the home phone and was asked if the caller could speak to the main breadwinner. I expressed some irritation and declined the conversation. Partly I wasn’t entirely sure who was and I certainly wasn’t content to hand over to my husband, if I worked it out to...
Selfies: love ‘em or hate ‘em?
We take 100m of them every day. Why? Self-expression can explain part of the trend, but is there something more complex at play? Dig deeper by listening to Averil Leimon’s insights.
Political correctness v. unconscious bias
In the increasingly fractious debate of what constitutes acceptable public speech, organisation err towards bland caution, for fear of unleashing a twitter storm damageable to their reputation. Yet the same organisations routinely reinforce the use of expressions that...
Mind the Gap: Why is a job worth less when a woman is doing it? Supporting Equal Pay Day 2016
Today, 10th November, is the day women stop getting paid. For the rest of the year – 51 days – women effectively work for free, all because of a gender pay gap which has lingered on long after the Equal Pay Act was introduced in the UK in 1970. The average...
Halloween Special… What is it about scary women?
A while ago I was asked to speak on Business Breakfast about a report that stated that women were more stressed when working for a female boss than a male boss. When I arrived, I wondered why pictures of wasps were projected on the studio walls. The interviewer’s...