Calling all pilots!!  I've always been focussed on pilots as women in a man's world.   Amy Johnson, inspiration to Baroness Prosser;   Nancy Bird (93) who died this year and bought her first flying lessons at 14;    Kirsty Moore first Red Arrows pilot.  Its time to interview some pilots for  women-in-the-air.   Jet  fighter pilots preferred, but several of my contacts know women pilots, or know someone who, knows someone who flies. Please, please, please put me in touch.

Once again I've been honoured to be invited to the Women of the Year Lunch.  I hope it won't be as harrowing as last year about the Congo.   But sometimes having the ear of Sarah Brown, gets you to the top. Women do it differently. It was Sarah Brown who took Michele Obama to a local Primary, an inspiring woman to inspire those becoming young women.  Now it's Sarah Brown who is involved in attempting to stop the extradition of the Pentagon Hacker so that he can be tried in a British court, and not spend 60 years in an American prison.   Autism and Aspergers is an interest of mine, part of how the brain works.

Back to top

Click here for more information.

Back to top 

Recently one of my most exciting meetings was to hear Emily Cummin, a young inventor, in her early twenties still at University.   The evening was about what makes an inventor, and we were lucky to be graced with the presence of two male dragons.  Not quite breathing fire, James Caan was adamant that the driving force for an entrepreneur was the desire to make money. He did however admit that he once took on a young woman, because of her obvious commitment and dedication. He liked the person behind the product.
 
Emily was on another level. Starting at 4 in her grandfathers shed, she made her first invention. 

More recently, and for which she won the award, she has invented a solar refrigerator, and had travelled around Africa giving it away!   So two extreme approaches to success.   I shall be interviewing Emily in September.   Click here for more information on Emily! 
 

Back to top 

Entering her room, she explains that she's lucky to have this room to herself. It's usually 4 lords sharing.   She has an amazing silk jacket patterned of many colours which sits well in front of the red curtains and the wallpaper, busy with the Lords' logo. Not one to fade into the background.  Friendly and welcoming, make yourself comfortable.   We can do this in half an hour; two intelligent women.
 
Once, in a previous interview, she mentioned that politics and the respect for the instituion, was "under her fingernails, like miners dust"; no matter how hard you scrub you can't get rid of it.  The respect in which she is held by both parties as Speaker is unprecedented.   She has a very clear moral compass, and the highest respect for the Institution of Parliament.
 
How did you get into politics?
I was an only child. My parents were not high fliers. They were local people in local groups, not even regional groups. I grew up hearing them talk. There was no seminal moment, I call it the inevitability of gradualness. I was a young socialist; I was in the league of youth. 
 
Who were your role models as a child?
I didn't have role models as a child, but as an adolescent, two very different role models: Judy Garland, and Elizabeth 1.  Absolutely different, but both hugely talented.   I loved the music, the concerts at Carnegie Hall and London Palladium, full of spirit and energy, the music was marvellous, and the meaning of the words, always clearly enunciated.
 

When did you first realise that women get different treatment?
It was 1974. I was a Member of Parliament. I went to buy a TV on hire purchase and put down 'single' on the form and was refused. They didn't know who I was!  There was a battle royal and they backed down, but it shouldn't have been necessary.
 
My colleagues in the House at selection conferences if they're married are asked "Who's gong to look after your husband, who's going to look after your children?"  They make huge sacrifices but the press only focus on the ones who fail or are driven out.
 
Having said that, I do like all the common courtesies extended to women and I notice if I don't get it.  I rarely travel on the underground,  but people always stand up for me, whether it's the grey hair or the wrinkles.
 
Advice to young women starting out
Look out girls, you're going to be knocked back!  Pick yourself up and get on with it.  Determination is hugely important and you can win through. Don't let any body put you down. No time for weeping.

Women should stick a toe in the water to see if its too hot, before committing to a Parliamentary life.

The press will focus on you being a woman, but you can use it to advantage. Women are more colourful.

When I fought a by-election , they thought I wasn't strong enough, but you can use the press to your advantage.

 

Read the full interview in our archive.

 

 

Back to top 

This is a quote from Baroness Boothroyd, some years ago when she was still in the chair. Never more relevant than today:

"If democracy were a traded commodity on the stock exchange, it would be showing losses right now and shareholders would be wondering whether to bail out. Sylvia Pankhurst never bailed out when the going got tough. She regarded democracy as women's heritage and right. Our forebears fought for it and we, as won, are still relatively new beneficiaries of it. That's why we are here, in Parliament and many other walks of life - still fighting, still overcoming obstacles to our rightful place in the world."

Well done Sylvia Pankhurst! She continues to inspire us. 

To read more of the Boothroyd Interview, see the Archive.

 

Back to top