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Four women working in the North East spoke to us about their career paths, challenges they’ve faced, and advice they’d give to other women in the workplace.  

Here, we pick out some highlights from our conversations with Anjana Raj (Social Value Lead with Sir Robert McAlpine), Helen Golightly (Chief Executive of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership), Jeni Smith, (Owner of NetKno) and Sandra Hope (Owner of Essential Thyme).

Working in construction, complementary health, networking and economic regeneration, Anjana, Sandra, Jeni and Helen definitely have knowledge to share in a wide range of career sectors. But no matter how varied their areas of work, their experiences just go to show that there are some common highs and lows they’ve all faced as women in the workplace.

Working in male-dominated environments

Helen and Anjana have worked in traditionally male-dominated roles, in town planning, IT and construction. They both said that, while this did present some challenges, they had each come up with strategies for overcoming these.

Anjana works in the construction industry and has developed ways of turning a potential challenge into an opportunity. “I totally understand the challenges of equality and unequal pay that women face in the workplace. Instead of shrinking back, I step forward to make that lasting impression by being both seen and heard,” she says.

Helen Golightly says: “When I was working in planning and in corporate scenarios, I was probably one of a few females in that environment at that time. I always felt it was important to demonstrate what strengths I brought to those teams and environments and what added value, as well as offering different views and perspectives.”

But things are changing. “Nowadays we work in much more diverse teams and partnerships which are naturally more inclusive and bring wider perspectives into everyday work scenarios,” she adds.

Different routes into a dream career

While Helen followed a fairly traditional route of university and further study, before working in a variety of public sector roles, both Jeni and Anjana said they’ve taken a ‘non-traditional’ route into the career they’re in now, and Sandra re-trained in complementary healthcare before launching her own business.

Jeni, who runs a business helping people get the most out of networking, wasn’t sure what she wanted to do when she left school and took some time out to travel. She studied business at university and then, like many people starting out in their career, started going to networking events. “Although it terrified the life out of me to begin with, I eventually just fell in love with it and I’ve kind of built my career around that,” said Jeni.

And Anjana now works for construction and engineering firm, Sir Robert McAlpine, but she studied computer science and started out working in IT, before moving into the employment and skills sector. “I had quite an uncommon entry route into the construction industry,” she says. “When I was working at Gateshead Council I met the project teams at Sir Robert McAlpine and I was offered a position to support their sustainability strategy as Regional Community Manager.”

A range of career highlights

Anjana, Helen, Jeni and Sandra picked out a range of experiences as their career highlights, including further study, awards and accolades, and seeing the impact their work has on people’s lives.

Jeni named studying for her PhD as one of the highlights of her career. “It’s something I always wanted to do, but I didn’t really know anyone that had done it and so it seemed very far-fetched.”

The impact their work has on others is also important to these women. “Seeing clients come in to my clinic that are suffering really badly with pain but they walk out of the room with a skip in their step and feel a lot better,” says Sandra.

Similarly, Helen says “What drives me is making a difference to people in their lives.” Helen received an OBE in 2021 and commented that, rather than the award itself being a highlight, she valued that fact that it made her reflect on what she and others have achieved together. “It made me look back and start to appreciate the amazing colleagues and teams I’ve worked with and how we all made a difference and what we’ve collectively achieved.”

For Anjana, it’s her work as a mentor that she picks out: “My proudest moment was when I won the Most Inspiring Mentor award at the national Inspire Awards. I’m really passionate about making a positive impact on others through mentorship, I think it’s really important.”

Overcoming self-doubt

A survey by Natwest shows that nearly two thirds (60%) of women have considered starting their own business but haven’t due to feelings commonly associated with imposter syndrome.

And Jeni and Sandra, who have both set up successful businesses, both cited imposter syndrome as a challenge they’d faced – and overcome.

“My biggest challenge is imposter syndrome and self-doubt. I suffer with dyslexia so I struggle with certain things, but it’s also given me the determination just to get on and do it,” said Sandra.

Jeni faced a similar hurdle. “My biggest challenge was my self-belief. I’ve overcome that by being kind to myself and investing in myself. I’ve put in time to explore the things I love to do and that’s been an absolute game-changer for me.”

Advice for others

So, what careers advice would these four women give to others?

Anjana believes work experience is important as it gives people a chance to see what different careers are really like and to dispel any misconceptions. She also adds: “Don’t fear failure, as this is what you learn from.” 

Similarly, Sandra advises taking time to digest information before jumping in to anything too quickly. But once you’ve taken that time, she says “Believe in yourself. If you’ve got a dream and a goal, go for it.”

When it comes to making your way in the workplace, Helen advises staying true to yourself.  “Be yourself. Don’t try to be somebody else, don’t try to be different. […] You need to treat everybody with respect, treat people how you would like to be treated. I also think it’s really important to showcase your ability through consistent high performance and hard work.”

And determination to reach a goal is also key. Jeni says: “If there’s something that you want to do just go for it. There’s always a way to achieve whatever you want to, you just have to want it hard enough and then just go out and make it happen.” 

Thank you to Anjana, Helen, Jeni and Sandra for sharing their stories. To watch their videos, click here.