Dynamic Business Magazine - issue 27

Never interrupt someone doing something you said couldn’t be done Amelia Earhart, pilot

EXCLUSIVE

Help To Grow: Management

The first graduates who took advantage of Dynamic’s exclusive offer have received their certificates. Female readers can sign up for the University of Brighton’s Help To Grow course – FREE OF CHARGE.

(Normally £750)

12.4%

The percentage of Indian female commercial pilots – the highest in the world, compared to 5.1% globally

REGULARS

News

6 Upfront: The top international news stories involving women in business

20 In The Right Direction: Good news stories from around the world

Spotlight

22 Highlighting two female business leaders who ought to get more recognition that they currently receive

Health & Wellbeing

24 Tanya Borowski reveals the secret to cruciferous vegetables’ superfoods status

Further reading

26 Yvonne Guérineau helps business leaders to strengthen interpersonal office relationships

Art Scene

28 Celebrating the works of Adela Powell

Girl Torque

32 Fiona Shafer reveals a disturbingly common pattern –being patronised by car salesmen

What’s On

34 A brief snapshot of art and culture cross Sussex and Surrey

Dame Alison Rose

Dame Alison Rose, author of the seminal report which bears her name, has resigned as CEO of NatWest after her public declaration of Nigel Farage’s banking status

CONTACTS

PUBLISHER: Maarten Hoffmann maarten@platinummediagroup.co.uk

EDITOR: Tess de Klerk tess@platinummediagroup.co.uk

MOTORING EDITOR: Fiona Shafer fionas@platinummediagroup.co.uk

COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR: Lesley Alcock lesley@platinummediagroup.co.uk

EVENTS DIRECTOR: Fiona Graves fiona@platinummediagroup.co.uk

EVENTS MANAGER: Žaneta Bealing zaneta@platinummediagroup.co.uk

HEAD OF DESIGN: Michelle Shakesby design@platinummediagroup.co.uk

SUB EDITOR: Alan Wares alan@platinummediagroup.co.uk

WWW.PLATINUMMEDIAGROUP.CO.UK

Don’t hold back because you think it’s unladylike. We shouldn’t be shamed out of our anger. We should be using it

Jessica Valenti, writer

Financial advice, built around you.

• Personal finance advice

• Retirement planning

• Business support

• Generational planning

• Tax year-end advice

I’m proud to represent both male and female clients. And, while it goes without saying that both can experience the same stressors, there’s no avoiding the fact that women face several unique challenges.

My 20 years’ experience has shown that women can therefore greatly benefit from highly personalised financial advice, which takes these challenges into account. This is why I’m so passionate about empowering women with the confidence and tools to help them achieve their long-term financial goals.

So, whatever your financial journey so far, let me give you the guidance, support, and stability to help you plan a happy and financially secure life.

EDITOR’S NOTE

It is a pleasure to welcome you to the August edition of Dynamic. is month’s big story looks at the remarkable founder of Bumble, Whitney Wolfe Herd. Whitney created a much needed, more empowered space for women in the dating world – thank you, Whitney!

Closer to home, we read about Dame Alison Rose, former CEO of NatWest, who had done so much to assist women in business. Her career had been exemplary up until the point of her unguarded chat which led to her resignation. Personally, I have to wonder if she was held to a higher standard than some of her male counterparts had in the past? After all, there have been many a foot put wrong by male banking bosses who didn’t lose their jobs –Ross McEwan, anyone?

Juliet Turnbull from 2to3days tells us what is needed to make the o ce environment work for us, while we hear from the rst graduates of the fantastic University of Brighton Help to Grow management course, with all female places being sponsored by Dynamic, ensuring that the course was free of charge. Keep applying as there are still paces available for later in the year.

Amongst our regular features, Spotlight continues our theme of amazing women, while I share with you all about my recent trip to Lesvos in our travel section – and don’t miss the beautiful pieces from Kellie’s gallery in our Art section.

We hope that you enjoy this month’s Dynamic Magazine, and, as always, let me know of any topic that you would like covered in our pages. Spotlight is where we get the opportunity to shine a light on someone –so let me know where you would like to see it shine.

WOMEN OUTSIDE LONDON MISS OUT ON INVESTMENT

In a move on a subject constantly reported in Dynamic, the venture capital industry has come under fire from MPs for its ‘unacceptable failure’ to invest in businesses located outside London or south-east England, or those run by women and ethnic minorities.

With data that surprises no-one, enterprises founded exclusively by women received just 2% of all venture capital funding last year. That figure was even smaller for investment going to companies led by black or other minority ethnic executives.

Parliament’s cross-party Treasury committee criticised the unfair allocation of funding revealed by the diversity statistics, and is urging the sector to implement rapid change, while calling on the government to intervene, as well as offer greater transparency into reporting this data.

UPFRONT

ALL THE LATEST BULLETINS FROM THE WORLD OF BUSINESS

WOMEN LEAVE MEN TO UNDERTAKE DOMESTIC FINANCES

Around a third of US women in heterosexual relationships earn more income than their spouse, yet only half of those women breadwinners say they take the lead on financial responsibilities, according to study carried out in 2022 by investment banking company, UBS. The survey of 1,400 women investors across all ages who were very comfortably off found that less than half of women said they preferred being the primary earner (compared to 87% of male primary earners), and 48% of women breadwinners feel that financial decision-making is less natural for them compared to men. Respondents also said that friends and family often assume that men are the primary earners, with half of those women pointing out they have never corrected them.

FIRST FEMALE GAFFER IN MEN’S GAME

League Two club Forest Green Rovers has appointed the first woman to lead a professional men’s football side. Hannah Dingley will take the position as caretaker head coach, after joining the club as a coach four years ago. She remains the only woman in charge of men’s English Football League Academy. During her tenure at the club, Ms Dingley has also initiated the launch of the FGR Girls Academy in 2021, which develops female players. Dale Vince, chairman, Forest Green Rovers, commented: “Hannah was the natural choice to be first-team interim Head Coach - she’s done a fantastic job leading our Academy and is well aligned with the values of the club.”

■ Whilst a commonly used phrase in football, ‘Gaffer’ would be an odd choice of address for Hannah Dingley. The word is a contraction of ‘godfather’ or ‘grandfather’, and used to denote seniority or respect.

❛ ❛ A girl should not expect special privileges because of her sex but neither should she adjust to prejudice and discrimination

Betty Friedan

MOST POPULAR EMPLOYEE DEMANDS

WOMEN RELUCTANT TO ENTER BUSINESS AWARDS

Despite record numbers of female entrepreneurs starting a business in the UK last year, the number of women applying to business awards is still less than half the number of men. Using the unique data unearthed by startups.co.uk from the past three years, the results paint a depressing picture when it comes to business awards. Businesses with a female founder make up, on average, 23.5% of business award applications. That’s less than half the number of male founder applicants (60%).

The research suggests that confidence, not lack of opportunity, is the biggest barrier to female entrepreneur victory. This is something Platinum Media Group, through not just the Dynamic Business Awards, but its regional awards as well, is seeking to address.

The most popular workplace demand from employees globally is remote working. With just under two million annual searches, it would appear that workers value flexibility in their workplace above other factors.

Carrying on the trend of work flexibility, is work-life balance. This year, employees value a workplace that offers work-life balance.

CSR comes in at third. The number of searches highlights that employees want employers who align with their values and ethics.

AUSTRIA WIELDS MOST FEMALE POWER

Research from William Russell, an international insurance provider, reveals the countries with the highest percentage of female representation across business and government.

Austria leads the way. It has had three female heads of state and government, while 34.6% of the country’s board members (on listed companies) are women. It also has 40.4% of parliamentary seats occupied by women.

In second place is the UK, which has had three female prime ministers, has a 37.8% share of women on business boards, and 34.5% of the MPs in the House of Commons are women. Argentina is in third, which has 44.8% female membership in its lower house, the Chamber of Deputies. Argentina has also had two female presidents.

I raise up my voice – not so I can shout but so that those without a voice can be heard… We cannot succeed when half of us are held back

Malala Yousafzai

Girls are capable of doing everything men are capable of doing. Sometimes they have more imagination than men

Katherine Johnson

My ambition comes from abusive relationships. I engineered an ecosystem of healthy male relationships in my life

Whitney Wolfe Herd

HERDmentality

For most women looking to date, the real world is a scary enough place. Online dating is not much better and, to many, offers little respite. Trolls - male and female - are emboldened by their notional anonymity. Verbal, emotional, misogynistic, racial abuse – and this is across all social media platforms - are rife, with little thought given to the targets of those trolls.

In order to partially counter-act this, why not give women the power on dating sites and apps? Let them make the first move. Imagine setting one of the most powerful dating sites up to do just that, and still be on the receiving end of pathetic, vile hatred.

Whitney Wolfe Herd founded Bumble Inc. – against a backdrop of unwanted, bullying behaviour that had been foisted upon her, professionally and personally – in an attempt to regulate and re-balance online behaviour. In so doing, it made her the youngest self-made billionaire in American corporate history. Dynamic takes up the story.

W

hitney Wolfe was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on July 5th 1989. Her parents are of mixed religion; her mother is a Catholic, her father Jewish. She attended Southern Methodist University in New Mexico, where she majored in International Studies.

She has considered herself a feminist from an early age, telling  e Times that she disliked how Utah’s dating culture was dominated by men — women were expected to wait for them to make the rst move.

EARLY BUSINESS

She started life in commerce at a fairly early age. At the age of 20, she started a business selling bamboo tote bags to bene t areas a ected by the 2010 Deepwater BP oil spill which had ravaged the ecology in the Gulf of Mexico and its adjacent shorelines.

Wolfe Herd also partnered with celebrity stylist Patrick Aufdenkamp to launch the non-pro t organisation called the “Help Us Project”. ese bags received national press after in uential celebrities were photographed with them. Soon after, she introduced a second business with Aufdenkamp called Tender Heart, a clothing line dedicated to raising awareness around human tra cking and fair trade. After graduating, Wolfe Herd traveled to Southeast Asia where she worked with orphanages.

A TECH CAREER STARTS

In 2012, aged 22, Wolfe - as she still was then – joined the startup Cardify in West Hollywood, California, a project led by Sean Rad. e project was later abandoned, but she co-founded, along with Rad and Justin Mateen, the development team for the dating app Tinder (previously known as MatchBox) with Rad and Chris Gulczynski.

Wolfe became vice president of marketing for Tinder.

e name of the app was her idea, inspired by the notion of tinder, when lit, sparks into a ame – the appropriate allegory for a new relationship.

However, despite the company’s growth and success, Wolfe resigned from Tinder in April 2014 due to growing tensions with other company executives. In short, sexual harassment. She had had an on-o relationship with Justin Mateen, the president of marketing at Tinder – e ectively, her boss.

On June 30th 2014, she led a lawsuit alleged that Rad and Mateen had engaged in discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation against her, while Tinder’s corporate supervisor, Sam Yagan, did nothing.

e abuse - verbal and emotional – she received from Mateen after the relationship went sour, combined with lack of support made her feel she had no place in the company. She reportedly settled for over $1m as well as stock later that year.

Her run-ins with the Match Group, parent company of Tinder, had not nished yet.

LIFE AFTER TINDER

Having received online hate, Wolfe started putting together her ideas for a female-only social network centered around compliments which was to be called Merci. Even though she didn’t want to go back to the dating industry initially, Andrey Andreev, founder of Badoo, contacted her about creating a dating platform and partnered with her.

In late 2014, Wolfe moved to Austin, Texas, and founded Bumble, a female-focused, female-friendly dating app. She had planned to name the app Moxie, but this name was already taken.

It was Andreev who suggested she get back into the dating space, and the pair eventually formed a partnership in which Andreev would receive 79% ownership in the company following an initial investment of $10 million along with additional investments and Wolfe Herd would serve as founder, CEO and 20% owner.

•

March 2019:

• Named in Forbes ‘30 Under 30’ list... 2018

• ...And again the following year

• Testified before the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence committee about the prevalence of unsolicited explicit photos sent to female users on dating applications.

November 2019

• Made CEO of MagicLabs, later to rename itself as Bumble (a more commonly recognised brand name)

Wolfe Herd’s personal value was estimated by Forbes at $1.5bn, making her the youngest self-made female billionaire in American corporate history at the age of 31

As part of the agreement, the new company would also utilise Badoo’s infrastructure and Andreev’s consulting. After the partnership was established, the pair recruited fellow Tinder departees Chris Gulczynski and Sarah Mick to design the interface and help launch Bumble. It was launched in December 2014.

Along the way, Bumble had to settle with Tinder following accusations of plagiarism in the user interface experience. It has also had to settle in regard to its payment and subscriptions policies. As with most corporate stories, it’s only ever the lawyers who win.

In November 2019, Bumble’s parent company  MagicLab was sold to the private equity rm  e Blackstone Group, with co-founder Andreev relinquishing his entire stake in both Bumble and Badoo. Wolfe Herd became CEO of the newly acquired MagicLab (later renamed Bumble, in a nomenclature swap-around), valued at $3 billion, and received an ownership stake of approximately 19% of the company.

2021

+ BUMBLE IN NUMBERS

Founded: 2014

Employees (2022): 950

Position in the market (US): 2nd

Market share in the US (2022): 19%

Monthly active users: 12.3m

Paid users: 1.35m

Turnover (2020): $360.5m

Average revenue per use: $27.75

GOING PUBLIC

In February 2021, Bumble ‘went public’, and raised $2.2 billion through its Initial public o er (IPO), and the company had a valuation of over $7 billion. Bumble was listed on the Nasdaq exchange, with shares initially valued at $43 but increasing to $76 on its opening day, valuing the company at more than $13 billion.

Wolfe Herd’s personal value was estimated by Forbes at $1.5bn, making her the youngest self-made female billionaire in American corporate history at the age of 31. However, it was reported on the day of the IPO, Whitney Wolfe Herd retired to her hotel room, and burst into tears. Not so much at the realisation of her assets and wealth, more at the vindication she had felt for her part in the growth of something so powerful. But Wolfe Herd was also annoyed at the way her story was being told.

RELENTLESS MISOGYNY

Her success at Bumble, billed as the dating app where women “make the rst move,” had cast her as a vengeanceseeking woman; angry at the way past relationships hadn’t worked out. Bumble itself has been labelled, ‘the feminist Tinder’. Much of the coverage focused on her experience years ago as a co-founder at the dating app Tinder. She had succeeded out of the ashes of her own humiliation - a company vice-president who’d had to resign in order to maintain her integrity and dignity.

2022

• Forbes listed Wolfe Herd at number 33 of the top 100 “America’s richest self-made women,” up from number 39 in 2020

On the day she was supposed to be talking about her empire, Wolfe Herd found herself describing the men she had endured before building it. Her history of toxic relationships, all whirling around the corporate misogyny of tech – is the principle reason why Bumble was founded, and exists today.

Wolfe Herd had designed the app so only women could send the rst message when users match on the platform. In an online dating landscape where women, and particularly women of colour, are routinely bullied and harassed, Wolfe Herd set out to build the closest thing to a safe space for online romance.

“Honestly, my ambition comes from abusive relationships,” Wolfe Herd told Time Magazine the night before the IPO. “I never had this healthy male relationship until I created it. I engineered an ecosystem of healthy male relationships in my life.”

Wolfe Herd is only 34 now, and her company continues to expand organically and through acquisitions. ere is still plenty more to be heard (pun intended) from her.

The Rose Review was a seminal piece of work on the empowerment of female business owners

DAME ALISON ROSE

As we are all aware from the wall-to-wall media coverage, the CEO of NatWest Bank has been forced to resign over the ‘debanking’ of Nigel Farage.

She was, of course, left with no option as making unguarded comments to a journalist (of all people) was unwise in the extreme and broke the cardinal banking rule - all customers’ details are strictly private and con dential (even if it is Nigel Farage!)

e documents put before the Coutts Wealth Reputational Risk Committee, made public by Farage, referred to him, among other things, as a “disingenuous grifter”.

Banks should never have the right to debank anyone just because they do not agree with their views, opinions or political stance - that is not their job and nor should it ever be. And perhaps this was the problem that led to this disaster – was Rose trying to make the bank too ‘woke’?

She was once the darling of the FTSE 100. A longtime NatWest employee, Alison Rose spent 27 years working her way up from graduate trainee to become the group’s rst female Chief Executive in 2019.

e ambitious banker was meant to be a breath of fresh air for the beleaguered group – then known as Royal Bank of Scotland – which had su ered signi cant blows to its reputation after a string of scandals and a near-collapse that led to a £45bn state bailout at the height of the 2008 nancial crisis.

Rose wasted no time making sweeping changes, including ditching the near-300 year-old RBS name in a bid to refresh its image three months into her tenure.

“Everything she did was centred on how it a ected business,” a colleague at NatWest said. “She was 100% laser-focused on what decisions meant for customers, shareholders, for the bank. e sense was, if it doesn’t do something positive, I’m not doing it.”

e episode could not be further from Rose’s usual

air of equanimity and discretion. While she attracted criticism for collecting a £5.2m pay package and cash bonus amid rising interest rates earlier this year, most describe her as a steady, but not ashy, leader. Her peers describe her as “loyal” and “careful”, leaving many surprised by both the scandal and her departure.

e 53-year-old’s fall from grace follows years of government support and accolades. Even before she took over as Chief Executive, she was tapped to lead a government inquiry into female-led businesses that ultimately bore her name. In the 2023 New Year’s Honours List, she was recognised for “services to nancial services” and helping restore NatWest to stability and pro tability.

e Rose Review was a seminal piece of work on the empowerment of female business owners, followed by the bank making £1billion available to support them. It was so successful that they made another billion available.

She was also keen to move women through the ranks of the bank to ensure they had equal opportunities to reach the top jobs. But, in pushing the ‘woke’ agenda, did she step outside of the bounds of banking? No banking institution should be allowed to have an opinion on the beliefs of their clients. If they keep to their credit limits and don’t overdraw, banks have zero right to debank any customer.

With Rose’s rise through the bank from trainee to CEO there could be no better person to run the bank and bring a true understanding of what business needs and especially what female business owners require.

I met Alison on a few occasions and came away with nothing but a very sound opinion of her, and her departure is a great loss to the banking industry, and to women across the country. But she is a far too valuable to be dumped for good and I can assure you that we will see her again in another role, albeit not within banking, and I would not be surprised to see her appointed to a government advisory role in the not too distant future.

The episode could not be further from Rose’s usual air of equanimity and discretion

It’s complicated and it’s changing, states JULIET TURNBULL, CEO and Founder of the UK’s leading female-focused careers site, 2to3days

Women’s relationship with ‘THE OFFICE’

For decades, pre-pandemic work was, for the vast majority of us, ‘in the o ce’. It wasn’t working for any of us all the time, but it especially wasn’t working for women. e indigestible cocktail of the in exible hours, the long commute, the micro-aggressions, the lack of career growth, cost of childcare and the increasing demands from ageing parents meant that burnout was rife and, as we have witnessed, quiet quitting was sadly on the up.

anks to the rapid deployment of technology and the rise of the diversity, equity and inclusion agenda, changes to more exible working arrangements pre-pandemic were happening. But it was incremental, and it felt a bit like watching paint dry. en in March 2020, Covid struck the world and overnight we swapped an archaic default for an ‘avant-garde’ all in, kids and all, home working.

For a brief spell there was much reported euphoria and news coverage that the o ce was a thing of the past and working from your garden shed or under the stairs was going to be the new norm.

I never bought that argument and still don’t.

We need the o ce. We all do –women as well. However, what has changed is the role the o ce plays in our working lives. For the o ce to work for women, the following needs to be addressed.

PREJUDICE AGAINST WOMEN

e o ce environment mustn’t operate as a petri dish of micro-aggressions that fester and ferment over time. Sometimes, the o ce environment gets to a point when a woman says, ”enough is enough. I can’t be bothered to put up with this nonsense anymore – there is more to life, and I quit.” is behaviour needs to be called out and dealt with. It needs instead to be inclusive. If it isn’t, the women will leave.

GENUINE FLEXIBLE WORKING

Primarily mothers not just want, but need, to be able to integrate their work schedules around the in exible school hours and childcare practices. If they can’t, the women will leave.

COMMUTING

It’s the pointless commute for the sake of being in the o ce that has, over time, for millions of people zapped their energy and enthusiasm. For women juggling a demanding home life, it is not an e ective use of their precious time. So, again, the women will leave.

A lot of women work, or want to work, so that they can get away from the neverending humdrum of daily domesticity. Let’s face it, for years men have perfected the art of dodging this one. e o ce, therefore, o ers an amazing opportunity to break away from the monotony of domestic chores and swap it for interesting social interaction, intellectual stimulation and creativity that working from your home o ce can’t. It just isn’t necessary to go there every day.

at’s why hybrid working is here to stay as it supports work life integration, and it empowers everyone to be able to live happy, healthy and productive lives.

After all, an o ce environment that works for a woman will work for everyone.

We need the office. We all do –women as well. However, what has changed is the role the office plays in our working lives

The Help To Grow Management course, run by the University of Brighton’s Business School, celebrated the first cohort of graduates, sponsored by Dynamic.

THE FIRST DYNAMIC GRADUATES

The mini MBA-style programme is designed for business owners and senior leaders of small and medium-sized businesses, Help to Grow:Management is a 12-week course that helps businesses reach their full potential for growth, resilience and succession planning.

This course, accredited by the Chartered Association of Business Schools, is being delivered by the University of Brighton. Working in collaboration with industry experts and experienced entrepreneurs, the course covers strategies for growth and innovation, digital adoption, leading high-performance teams, financial management and responsible business practices. With the support of an experienced mentor, participants also create a bespoke growth plan for their business.

The total cost of the course is normally £7,500. However, as it is 90% government funded, the cost of enrolling is £750. Dynamic Magazine are proud to sponsors all female places with a 100% discount, rendering the course free of charge – subject to availability.

The first cohort of women who enrolled on the course via Dynamic Magazine’s offer recently graduated at a ceremony

hosted by Dr Adam Jones, Principal Lecturer and Director of Help To Grow, Brighton School of Business & Law, University of Brighton, with graduation certificates presented by Platinum Media Group’s Commercial Director, Lesley Alcock.

Lesley later commented, ”It was a privilege to be able to present these women, all of whom have a passionate desire to improve their business acumen and decision-making, with their certificates. We would love to see the effect this business course has on their companies going forward.”

Dr Adam Jones said “Dynamic Magazine has been a brilliant partner in supporting the Help to Grow Management course here at the University of Brighton. They have helped recruit energetic and vibrant women business leaders who are looking to take their leadership and businesses to the next level.

“Through its structured approach to the development of a business growth plan, alongside peer-to-peer workshop groups and a personal mentor, many Dynamic-sponsored women leaders have already started putting changes into place that support business growth and their own development.”

CHRISSIE MASTERS CHANGEMAKER MEDIA, EDENBRIDGE

I can’t recommend the Help to Grow 12-week course at the University of Brighton highly enough. The passionate lecturers emphasised repeatedly that, as business owners, we must carve out the time to look strategically at our enterprises. I now take half a day away from the desk every week to review the SWOTs.

The mentor with whom I had 10 hours of one-to-one online discussions has been a major bonus. He is such a

positive influence and reminds me that this journey should be enjoyable as well as challenging.

Every module was valuable and to have the workbooks to continue applying the learning to the business will be of immeasurable benefit. These tools gave me belief in my products and services and have informed my business model iterations throughout the course.

To have the support of such a diverse

and friendly group of inspirational people, plus the help of the University of Brighton’s network of organisations, industry experts and alumni will bring a vast range of benefits not only to my social venture but to many individuals and the wider community.

Thank you to Dr Kane and his team, Maarten and Lesley at Dynamic Magazine and to Pam Gordon of The Franchising Centre who first alerted me to the course.

100% FREE FOR DYNAMIC READERS*

Tech-Takeback is a not-for-profit electrical reuse company offering refurbished and redistributed tech equipment for the benefit of the local community. There has been huge demand for our unique service over the past two years and we need to grow to keep up.

The Help to Grow programme was perfect timing for me. The sessions effectively guided me through the process of rewriting our business model, and provided a helpful framework for our strategy. As a result, Tech-Takeback has developed a business plan that we feel confident is realistic, financially sustainable and leaves plenty of room for future growth.

Help to Grow has given me the tools to take a more evidence-based approach to planning, which has increased my confidence to develop and deliver my ideas. The input and support of my tutors, cohort and mentor have all been invaluable in increasing my confidence as a change leader. There is a lot to take in, and it does require a significant time commitment, but the rewards are definitely worth it.

I’m very grateful to Dynamic for funding my place and would recommend the course to any female SME leader!

NAY JACKSON SITE VISIBILITY BRIGHTON

My passion lies in using data to support decision-making and in ensuring we have robust performance measurement in place to identify what is/isn’t working. Enrolling on this course was driven by my desire to help the business grow. I also saw this as an opportunity to enhance my own professional development, so I can achieve my career goals.

Help to Grow Management helped me look at our business with a fresh pair of eyes. The most significant takeaway has been the realisation that SiteVisibility needs to focus on narrowing its services, targeting specific industries and audiences, and developing a unique value proposition. By doing so, we can attract the types of business we want to work with; the businesses we can really help with our unique expertise.

The mentoring aspect of the programme was incredibly valuable for my professional development. It increased my confidence in developing a growth plan for our business, which we can implement going forward.

I thoroughly recommend the Help to Grow Management programme to women leaders who would benefit from external support for their own development and that of their business. Whilst finding time to complete the coursework and attend the peer group sessions was challenging, the effort was definitely worthwhile because I now have a clearer direction for our company.

SPECIAL OFFER

FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO WWW.BRIGHTON.AC.UK/HELP-TO-GROW

• If you wish to participate, using Dynamic’s exclusive free offer, enter PLATINUM100 in the promotion code within the online enrolment for the February programme or pre-register at helptogrow@brighton.ac.uk for the April programme.

All September places are taken but there are a limited number of fully funded Dynamic places for women left on the Brighton February and April 2024 programmes subject to availability.

Help To Grow programme CASE STUDY

Heath

What have you learnt from the Help to Grow programme?

There is at least one big ‘aha!’ moment per module, but my overall key takeaway is this - what you often perceive as an ‘us’ problem is part of a process of growth that all companies experience, and that there is some scientific support to tackling almost any stage. This course really lifts you out of the weeds into strategic thinking.

Which module was the most beneficial for you and why?

Organisational design was the one that was at the right time and the right place for me.

Also, the peer calls at the end of each week were so helpful, as was that time for reflection and small-group support from the course leaders – they were incredibly valuable and insightful.

Has any aspect of the programme impacted your leadership?

I have found space to be a vulnerable leader, to think about my leadership of change management, and to commit to making time for thinking ahead and helicoptering out of the ‘day-to-day’ as a habit.

What would you say to a female leader thinking of enrolling on the Help to Grow Course?

Don’t put it off just because you are too busy. You will always be too busy. We all have space to learn. We all need support to grow. This course gives you that, and a network of colleagues to go on the journey with.

What are the biggest challenges being a female leader in an SME?

Unconscious bias is a challenge that needs to be talked about more. Being assertive without fear of labelling, and having space to be a serving leader, showing kindness and vulnerability, without the perception that these are weaknesses.

Also, it helps to find your own way through where you can embrace being female and a great business leader as your true self.

In one or two sentences, why should someone buy your products/services?

Adelphi Group of Companies is a familyowned, quality focused deliverer of healthcare packaging, liquid filing, and capping solutions. We excel at delivering subject matter expertise sales support to help businesses find the right path to growth.

Whether you are an R&D company needing the right ready to use premium packaging, a start-up food or beverage company trying to transition to your own manufacturing, or an SME chemical or cosmetic company accelerating by adding another line, we are here on the journey to help you grow.

90% of the programme cost is covered by the Government therefore a total cost of £750. The good news is that for Dynamic readers there are a number of FREE places left for women on the February 2024 Brighton programme when you quote PLATINUM100 when signing up or pre-register for the April 2024 programme at helptogrow@brighton.ac.uk – subject to availability.

PROGRESS IN PREGNANCY

Researchers at the School of Medicine at the University of Virginia (UVA) have discovered a way to identify pregnant women at risk of pre-eclampsia, a serious disorder characterised by high blood pressure and kidney dysfunction which can result in premature delivery, seizures and even death. Complications from the condition are the second-leading cause of maternal death around the world.

The UVA scientists found that they could predict the risk of pre-eclampsia by examining lipids (fats) in women’s blood during pregnancy. The researchers say their finding opens the door to simple blood tests to screen patients.

IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

CONSENT BECOMES LAW

The Netherlands has become the latest European nation to recognise that sex without consent is rape. Unbelievably, there are still 13 European states that do not define non-consensual sex as rape.

Only now has the Dutch House of Representatives voted to update the law by introducing a consent-based definition of rape. The amendment is expected to be voted into law by the Senate within nine months.

“The Netherlands has taken an important step towards combatting widespread sexual violence and improving access to justice for survivors,” said Dagmar Oudshoorn, director of Amnesty International Netherlands.

The scare of increased coal use after the invasion of Ukraine does not seem to have come to fruition. Analysts at the US-based Global Energy Monitor (GEM), which tracks energy projects worldwide, found there was “scant evidence” of a coal rebound, saying financing of new projects outside of China had in fact plunged to its lowest point in more than a decade.

Writing on Carbon Brief, GEM analysts Alex Hurley and Ryan Driskell Tate said the sector lost $7.7bn (£5.9bn) in planned funding in 2022, when lending arrangements halted the construction of 15 coal plants, including high profile projects in Pakistan, South Korea and Zimbabwe.

COAL USE MAY NOT HAVE INCREASED AS FEARED

DEFORESTATION RATES PLUMMET IN BRAZIL

Following years of wanton destruction under former president Jair Bolsonaro, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has plummeted by 34%, data suggests. The figures cover the six months since Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in January 2023, suggesting he is delivering on his pledge to safeguard the ‘lungs of the world’.

Monitoring by INPE, the Brazilian government’s space research institute, detected 2,649 sq.km of forest clearance this year, compared with 4,000 sq.km over the same period in 2022. Lula has ramped up environmental enforcement, got tough on illegal mining and announced new protected areas for indigenous peoples.

TACKLING FAST FASHION

France is taking action on the 700,000 tons of clothing thrown away each year.

A new ‘make do and mend’ bonus will offer rebates on clothing and shoe repairs in a bid to put the brakes on wasteful fast fashion. An initiative run by Refashion, a trade organisation promoting a circular textile economy, will begin in October 2023. By using sewing machinists and cobblers signed up to the scheme – backed by €154m (£131m) of government funding over the next five years – people will be able to claim back up to €25 (£21) per repair of their clothing and shoes.

BILLIONS MORE ACCESSING DRINKING WATER

Drinking water and sanitation have improved for billions of people over the last two decades, according to a joint report by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund.

It found that 2.1 billion people have gained access to safely managed drinking water since 2000, while 4.5 billion now have access to safe sanitation – up from two billion at the turn of the century. Basic hygiene has increased 8% over the same period, with three-quarters of the planet’s eight billion-strong population now having access.

When you give up comparing yourself to other people, you’ll be free to focus on your best effort

When you can’t fi nd someone to follow, you have to fi nd a way to lead by example

Roxane Gay

In our exclusive Spotlight feature, we highlight women who are doing good things in their community. They’re not always seen but we think they should be.

SP OTLIGH T

Helen Cannon

ISON Founder and CEO Helen Cannon started the company in 2013 after nine years of raising a family of five children. ISON is a roaring success, and to confirm this, Helen was winner of the Company of the Year Award at the Dynamic Business Awards 2023

I founded ISON Travel in 2013 after nine years of raising my ve children. My youngest was two when I knew I wanted to – needed to – get back to my career. However, I couldn’t nd a role or an employer who would o er me the exibility I needed to balance family and work-life, so I decided to start my own travel company.

We celebrated our 10-year anniversary in June, and we are now a company of 62 people, with around 50% working exible part-time hours and over 70% of whom are women. Flexibility is crucial to me, as it is for many, so I make a point of hiring people based on their expertise and skills alone, not how many hours they can do or where they can work from geographically.

ISON Travel provides a exible working environment allowing part time, remote work that suits an employee’s personal situation. Because of this, we have given opportunities to highly skilled people who may otherwise not have been employed. As a result, we have created an amazing, diverse team that helps and supports each other.

It has been an incredible journey since 2013, and especially over the past three years. In 2020, the pandemic had a devastating impact on the travel sector. Although travel was down by 85%, arranging travel became much harder. Many of our competitors made sta redundant or closed their doors for good.

In contrast, I decided to increase investment in sta which led to a loss that year. Whilst this seemed risky, I was con dent that travel would return. When it did, I wanted to be ready with the best team able to support our clients.

As a result, we were probably the rst company in our sector to reach and then exceed 2019 levels, which we did in 2021. We saw exponential growth in 2022 when sta levels, revenue and pro t tripled 2021 levels, making us ve times larger than pre-pandemic.

Despite the business growing at a phenomenal rate, I’m still extremely hands on in the day-to-day running of ISON and, most importantly, I still do the school run nearly every day.

www.isontravel.com

ISON Travel provides a flexible working environment allowing part time, remote work that suits an employee’s personal situation

Clare de Bathe

Having spent her early career at HMRC and the National Criminal Intelligence Service, Clare then worked for ten years as a Quality and Learning Director in Portsmouth. She took up the role of Trust Director for Chichester Community Development Trust in September 2012

I have been fortunate enough to work with an incredible team and stakeholders taking on increased assets in land and buildings, engaging with the community and helping to bring their hopes to life.

Building CCDT from an income of £16,000 in year one, the charity has grown into a national exemplar, employing 11 sta ; taking on six community buildings, two parks, three play areas and public open space. It is also in the process of taking on three further community buildings and four sports pitches in the next two years.

In 2021 we established a trading company within CCDT to run and deliver new projects Including community-based cafés and events and activities. In 2022, the Trust had an annual turnover of £2.3m. ere have been so many high lights over the last 10 years at CCDT. However, the most rewarding so far was securing £1.9m funding for and managing the redevelopment of a disused century-old chapel into a thriving community building supporting all demographics, with a particular focus on those living on no or low incomes.

Other highlights include:

• Finding the funding and managing a £500,000 project to renovate a former housing sales o ce into a mind body wellness space.

• e development of a three-year programme supporting women furthest from the job market into self-employment.

• e creation, design and build of a thriving community garden.

• e creation, design and build of a co working space within a disused and derelict water tower.

• Facilitating the provision, design and build of accessible space to provide a full-time a ordable nursery school.

• Developing a business plan to create and launch a Chichester Bike Project.

• Developing a business plan and the asset transfer of 10,000 sq.ft of disused stables to create a ordable makers spaces. ere are numerous challenges ahead as we navigate cuts in funding, and the need to trade more but there are also so many opportunities, new projects, and new communities in which to develop our services that we are inspired, excited and ready for the future.

www.chichestercdt.org.uk

Building CCDT from an income of £16,000 in year one, the charity has grown into a national exemplar

Cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and cauliflower, are well-known for their disease-preventive effects; the main reason is down to a compound called sulforaphane.  What does sulforaphane do for the body, asks health specialist

The secret to CRUCIFEROUS VEGETABLES’ superfood status

The greatest power sulforaphane possesses is its ability to neutralise toxins, and thereby taming in ammation in your body – and inammation is at the centre of just about every disease and condition: diabetes, heart disease, dementia, cancer, obesity and digestive diseases.

Let’s talk about the health bene ts of sulforaphane before coming back to how to get more of it into your diet. It is well studied to be anti-in ammatory, neuro-protective, and may even protect against ageing and diabetes.

1. ANTI INFLAMMATORY

Sulforaphane activates the Nrf2 pathway. This sounds like warlords from a Dr Who episode, but Nrf2 is a protein inside every cell in the body which, when activated, triggers the production of our most potent antioxidant - glutathione. This reduces inflammation and helps the body protect against disease.

2. BRAIN POWER

Sulforaphane is considered a nootropic (improves cognitive function) because it can cross the blood-brain barrier. Studies in humans – and mice – showed that this compound reduced depressive symptoms and anxiety. Other studies found that it increases neurite growth. This means that it may help damaged neurons repair after injury or from ageing.

3. DIABETES

Sulforaphane works as an indirect antioxidant in a way that reduces the risk for Type 2 diabetes and its complications, such as neuropathy (nerve damage).

ose with Type 2 diabetes can’t e ectively transport sugar from their blood to their cells, making it di cult to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. A 12-week study of 97 people with Type 2 diabetes examined how consuming broccoli sprout extract — equivalent to 150µmol of sulforaphane — daily a ected blood sugar levels.

e study found that sulforaphane e ectively reduced fasting blood sugar levels by 6.5% and improved haemoglobin A1c, a marker of long-term blood sugar control. ese e ects were particularly strong in participants who were obese with poor diabetes control

Hopefully, you are now even more motivated to eat more broccoli, so I now would like to share some newer information I’ve come across - that the Sulforaphane is activated only when vegetables are chopped or chewed!

HOW SO?

Sulforaphane is formed in cruciferous vegetables by the mixing of a precursor compound called glucosinolate glucoraphanin with an enzyme also present in the plant called myrosinase - which transforms the glucosinolate glucoraphanin into sulforaphane. is magical reaction occurs when the plant is damaged (by chewing, blending, chopping, etc.) allowing the two compounds to mix and create Sulforaphane.

Cooking inactivates myrosinase, and as such raw vegetables have the highest levels of sulforaphane. is study found that raw broccoli had ten times more sulforaphane than cooked broccoli - but eating a plethora of raw broccoli is not the most palatable to be fair is it? But there is a way around this:

If you get into the habit of chopping up your broccoli (or sprouts, cauli ower, kale etc) and then wait for 45 minutes, you can then steam or roast your vegetables, and the sulforaphane has by then already been formed, so the enzyme is not required.

Frozen vegetables lack this ability because they are blanched ( ash-cooked) before being frozen. But I have now got into the habit of chopping my cruciferous vegetables in the morning before work and popping them in a bowl in the fridge ready for the evening meal.

HOW TO THEN COOK ONCE YOU’RE PRE-CHOPPED?

• Steaming them for one to three minutes

• Roasting – below 200˚C.

NB: avoid boiling to death or microwaving cruciferous vegetables.

www.tanyaborowski.com

Sulforaphane is considered a nootropic (improves cognitive function) because it can cross the blood-brain barrier

FURTHER READING…

vonne works with business leaders helping them to strengthen interpersonal relationships in their teams so that they can reap the performance and wellbeing rewards this has to o er. She draws on her 20 years’ experience in human resources, her psychology degree, coaching training and her experience of working with a variety of pro ling tools to nd the balance between challenge and support.

Y

One of the biggest challenges that evolving businesses often face is how to take their people with them on that evolutionary journey. Whether the business is growing, restructuring, or rede ning its o ering, it’s unavoidable that

the work people do, and how they do it, will be impacted in some way.

During these times of change, many leaders focus on tackling the ‘hows’ and ‘whats’ in their business, hoping if they are clear and orderly in their communications that people will respond positively.

But instead of the positive response they had hoped for, what leaders often see is relationship challenges rising to the surface. at’s because change or uncertainty can unsettle people and show up in their behaviour towards each other. at’s where many business leaders come unstuck. Rather than stepping up the message of purpose and process,

FIVE LANGUAGES OF APPRECIATION IN THE WORKPLACE

This book has proven to be effective and valuable in diverse settings. Its principles about human behaviour have helped businesses, non-profits, hospitals, schools, government agencies, and organisations with remote workers.

The Five Languages of Appreciation will show you that not everyone receives feedback and appreciation the same way. You’ll discover what the typical Five Languages of Appreciation are, how you can figure out which one your employees respond to.

One of the biggest challenges that evolving businesses often face is how to take their people with them on that evolutionary journey

they instead need to foster a deeper connection between their people, to help them weather the storm together.

At any time, but especially during times of change, a leader needs to act like a human catalyst, raising awareness of everyone’s needs and wants and facilitating meaningful conversation. is ensures that people feel seen, heard and understood, rather than merely informed about what lies ahead and what is expected of them.

But how do they do that? Leaders need to bring people together and create opportunities to recognise the value individuals bring to the team so they can support each other at work rather than stepping on each other’s toes.

RELACTIONAL LEADERSHIP WHEN RELATIONSHIPS COLLIDE WITH TRANSACTIONS

We fundamentally believe a leader is any person who has influence over one or more people. Therefore, everyone is a leader in some organisation in which they live or work.

Many leaders have been taught how to manage people, yet many have never been taught or given the practical tools to lead people and manage the processes, systems, and procedures around them. By removing constraints within your organisation, learn how you as a leader can unite bottom-line results with happy employees

It involves leaders asking powerful questions and then holding the space for the team to unravel what is really happening in their interactions as well as their reactions to the contextual changes.

e evidence that we bene t from positive relationships in the workplace is compelling, and yet often overlooked, because it takes courage to go deep.

For the leaders willing to take up that challenge and embark on this journey of discovery with their team, there is no shortage of great tools and team activities to support their e orts. It all starts with research.

RELATIONOMICS BUSINESS POWERED BY RELATIONSHIPS

Dr. Randy Ross understands that relationships are core to who we are. Everything we do revolves around our relationships. In Relationomics, Dr. Ross shares the principles and practices to help develop and sustain the relationships that can build and energise teams. The book covers topics such as:

• Becoming a value creator

• Mastering the art of giving and receiving helpful feedback

• Dramatically decrease employee turnover

• Leading beyond self-interest

The Five Languages of Appreciation will show you that not everyone receives feedback and appreciation the same way

August 14th 2023 would have been Adela Powell’s 78th birthday. What better way than to mark the occasion by honouring her and her works.

ART SCENE Celebrating the works of Adela Powell (1945-2022)

It took me two years to build trust with Adela before she felt I could best represent her work. She questioned me at every encounter with her. She would eye me suspiciously while considering whether to impart her precious heartfelt creations to my care. I loved her ceramics, so I spent time assuring her of that. It particularly helped that I also had a background in ceramics and understood the blood, sweat and tears required to produce her artworks.

Her ceramics were her children, and she was not going to part with her pieces lightly. Equally, she was reluctant to courier her works over concerns about their safe arrival and the delivery costs involved. With that in mind, pieces always got to us through non-traditional routes.

I would get an unexpected phone call and then be required to meet an acquaintance or friend of hers in a car park. Once, I was at an evening arts meeting, and an artist came to me afterwards to say he had been delivered some pieces from one of her neighbours, and they were in his car.

Over the years, our respect grew for one another, and I witnessed her adoration for clay. She merged her love of art and science through the versatility of this material, and you can see how she experimented.

Handling and playing with it allows ideas to surface, producing potentially exciting and unexpected results. At other times external stimuli would set o a chain reaction of ideas followed by considerations of how to express them through the material. Often her challenges were overcoming the technical and aesthetic issues to resolve, develop and communicate the meaning within her work.

Studying Natural Sciences at Liverpool University, she later attended Plymouth College of Art and Design as a mature student.

You can see why she had a quest to align her two passions, which she eloquently achieved – producing forms, vessels and sculptures reminiscent of the natural environments of coastlines, river valleys and moorlands. e surfaces created often re ect the minerals, erosion and decay found there. As a ceramic artist, what Adela Powell naturally conveyed was inspired by nature, landscapes and the sea. Her works examined the layered and eroded rocky surfaces while embracing fragility and the unpredictable. Celebrating the life of Adela Powell, who passed away in autumn 2022, leaving a legacy collection which KMA is proud to present.

As a ceramic artist, what Adela Powell naturally conveyed was inspired by nature, landscapes and the sea

THE ISLAND OF LESVOS (OR LESBOS TO YOU AND I)

Lesvos is one of the places I remember having the most liberated times in my early twenties. ose days were formative, really; having recently emigrated from South Africa, a somewhat conservative society, even as little as 20 years ago.

e island was the pinnacle of ‘live and let live’. It gave me a sense of freedom which runs through the character of the rocky island and its ercely independent and creative people.

My friend lived in the capital, Mytilene, and each summer, we would go around in her little beat-up car over weekends, choose a beach, pitch a tent and stay a night - as free and simple as could be. I loved it.

I went back to Lesvos this summer for the rst time in many years; my friend had moved o the island ages ago and other places had beckoned but I have always wondered how the island had weathered the storm of the Greek nancial meltdown and, later, the plight of desperate people arriving on its shores, escaping their war-torn countries.

Lesvos was, of course, the site of the infamous

Moria refugee camp that burned down a few years ago. I remember that, when I visited in the 2000s, the local people were ercely compassionate and hospitable to those who arrived in need at their shores; people did not just accept the law of the land concerning refugees and there were frequent protests against their detainment. People were proud of the statue of Asia Minor Mother, erected in 1922 in honour and celebration of refugees.

Today, things look di erent and not just as a matter of speech. Back then, you could spot people who looked and dressed di erently to local people but today, it’s not so obvious. Despite over 2,700 refugees having arrived in 2023 alone, I did not see any evidence of them; people are locked up in awful Closed Controlled Access Centres (CCAC) which are e ectively prisons. Years ago, the people who arrived on these shores were a trickle while it has now become a storm.

In a way, Lesvos is a magni ed microcosm of various areas of Europe. Authorities have become increasingly cruel and the far right has been rising con dently. Depressingly far-right parties won almost 13% of the national vote in Greece’s elections this year but still, the average person living on the island feels compassion and solidarity with refugees, and help whenever and wherever they can.

Mytilene’s architecture is unique, combining baroque and neo-gothic elements with classical Greek architecture

Lesvos looks di erent in other ways too, slightly worse for wear with too many empty and half-built buildings dotted across the countryside. However, the island still has its charm. Mytilene is still bustling and steeped in a mix of ancient cultures. e island had been conquered and settled by many, making for a long, fascinating history.

Mytilene’s architecture is unique too, combining baroque and neo-gothic elements with classical Greek architecture. You’ll nd grand old mansions neighbouring Ottoman masterpieces, and then traditional stone cottages all on the same street.

Southern parts of the island are lush and green while more northern regions are rocky with the occasional moonlike feel due to volcanic eruptions a long, long time ago. Many villages are still very traditional and very charming. De nitely don’t miss the lovely Plomari, the village of cats and Eresou, the ‘winter village’ of Skala Eressos.

Lesvos is a very volcanic island meaning that most beaches are stone and you won’t nd long stretches of white, ne sand. e largest and most sandy beach is the famous Eressos (Eros is the Greek God of Desire) where Sappho, the ancient Greek lyrical poet who wrote of love and sex between women was born and lived.

It is said that she established an all-female society at Skala Eresou and each summer people ock to the threekilometre sandy beach to celebrate at the International Women’s Festival of Eressos. It is a real celebration, and freedom of expression is welcomed. is little shing village is lovely at any time of the year with good tavernas and a few nice bars and, although it has expanded slightly now, it still has a nice hippy vibe to it.

e island hasn’t changed much since my visits many years ago and I was again charmed by her. It is important to note not to expect much luxury or 5-star travel if you are thinking of visiting Lesvos, it is not about that. It is about visiting a place that is still proudly holding on to its traditions, art and culture.

You won’t nd a Holiday Inn or a Hilton here. Good luck nding a McDonald’s or KFC. What you will nd plenty of is delicious fresh food at very reasonable prices, absorbing history, warm turquoise waters and welcoming, laid-back local people.

+ GOOD TO KNOW

• The letter ß in Greek is pronounced as the Latin letter ‘v’. That is why Greeks refer to the island as Lesvos.

• The International Eressos Festival of Women takes place September 10th-20th 2023.

• Lesvos is Greece’s third-largest island – it’s worth renting a car to get around.

The island still has its charm. Mytilene is still bustling and steeped in a mix of ancient cultures

’And there is even space for your handbag madam…’

This is absolutely not what most women want to hear when buying a car, but that is exactly what happened to my very discerning neighbour.

CAR DEALERSHIPS ARE MISSING OUT ON THE BUYING POWER OF WOMEN

“When I took my Range Rover Evoque for its rst service, I drew their attention to the airbag light being constantly on. I was told it was because ‘you ladies do like to put your handbags on the seat!’ When I needed to get the rst MOT done, which it would have failed, the dealership told me it was a Land Rover issue. Land Rover Assist came to the house and told me that I had been driving the car for three years with the airbag system disabled because of a loose connection. I wonder if a man would have been given the ‘handbag’ excuse?”

Taking a straw poll of experiences from friends, family and business colleagues in recent weeks as to both good and bad car buying experiences, such comments seem to be still frustratingly and unnecessarily commonplace.

is column originated back in 2018, when I was bending Maarten Ho mann’s ear back for the umpteenth time about how badly women were treated in many car dealerships by male salespeople. ey clearly had no idea that women make 80% of the buying decisions in households, and that by not treating women equally when buying cars, they were not doing the trade, car brand or women any favours.

It appeared utterly illogical to me as a business woman as well, as it also meant that both pro ts and reputation would go down the pan as women are exceptionally good at spreading the word when hacked o – especially when it comes to cars.

FURTHER TALES OF WOE FOLLOWED

“Ordinarily I would have walked away from this dealership but they are the only local dealer who sell Minis – a brand to which I am loyal. I have been a customer for over ten years but have had dire customer service. Most recently I seriously enquired about upgrading my current car (having bought ve cars from them previously). I wasn’t o ered a test drive and was just allowed to sit in it for ve minutes. It took almost a week to get a quotation and then they never responded to my query – clearly not interested in a sale.” – Hacked o woman #1

By not treating women equally when buying cars, they were not doing the trade, car brand or women any favours

“Previously, they had sought to conceal damage to cars I have purchased including a signi cant windscreen crack and dent. eir piece-de-resistance was accidentally selling a car I had placed a deposit on to someone else. I always feel patronised and fobbed o by the male sales sta .”

– Hacked o woman #2

“I went to buy a Range Rover Evoque, and the dealer spoke to my husband the entire time, despite me asking questions about the car that I was clearly buying for myself. Misogyny is alive and well at that Range Rover dealership. Sigh” –Hacked o woman #3

“Every time I asked a question he replied to my husband. On the third response, my husband said something along the lines of, “you know, I think you’ve just blown it, mate. is car is for my wife. She is buying it and you should be talking to her. We left.” – Hacked o woman #4

I have too many experiences of my own, including putting a £1,500 deposit down on a secondhand BMW that had just been part-exchanged, and was being taken o to be valeted for me to test drive on the Monday. e car was too low for me in the end and I changed my mind and said that I would

TOP TIPS TO SALESMEN FOR SELLING A CAR TO A WOMAN

Listen to what her exact requirements are:

• Never, ever presume you can read her mind

• Look her in the eye and only talk to her (not her partner, husband or friend)

• Expect a woman to negotiate with you

• Learn how to speak to women (as obviously car sales people don’t know) as female car buyers are increasing at 21% per year

• Bear in mind that over 74% of men buying cars are heavily influenced by their female partner. This means that over 95% of car purchases are controlled by women

continue to research other BMW models. When I asked for my deposit back, the salesman said he would rather not give it back to me until I had found something else as it would muck up his paperwork. His commission, more like…

But there does appear to be some light at the end of a very long tunnel.

A dear friend, who has worked behind the scenes for almost 40 years in the motor trade at a Vauxhall dealership, has seen many changes, “ e younger generation of salesmen we have now are wonderful. ey are polite and genuinely kind, nothing like the male chauvinistic bunch of the past. We all work as a team regardless of our gender, so maybe times are a changing for the motor trade?”

And ending on a very positive note, one of our MDHUB Advisory Board members commented, “I went to test drive a Tesla, and from the moment we walked into the dealership, the sales chap was excellent. We had a full on conversation about the innovation and ground-breaking thinking behind the vehicles before stepping into one and testing out the 0-60mph (on a suitable road).

“ e dealer was thoroughly engaged – and engaging –throughout the whole experience and it was more like going on an adventure day than a test drive. Ten out of ten, and a massive ‘high ve’ to Tesla”.

BRIGHTON NYETIMBER IN BRIGHTON

Fine dining with a view! Experience Nyetimber’s finest English Sparkling Wines perfectly paired with a 4-course dinner at 450ft.

Experience Includes:

• Four glasses of Nyetimber’s award-winning sparkling wines

• Four-course meal

• Three Brighton i360 pod journeys

• Talk and presentation from Nyetimber Brand Ambassador

Brighton i360, Kings Road, Brighton

September 21st

www.brightoni360.co.uk/tickets/ nyetimber-tasting-sky-dining

WHAT’S ON...

A

brief snapshot

STEYNING WISTON SUMMER SOUNDS

of art and culture in Sussex and Surrey

A three day festival featuring some of the UK’s finest acts of the past four decades. Day one - Craig David plus guests; day two - Soft Cell, ABC and Heaven 17; day three Katherine Jenkins OBE and very special guest Russell Watson accompanied by The National Symphony Orchestra.

Wiston Estate Park, Steyning

September 9th-11th

www.wistonsummersounds.com

LYDD

PUPS ON SUPS

Get Ready for National Dog Day by taking your dog paddleboarding on the eve of the day. A great experience for everyone, treat your dog to an amazing adventure with you. Bring your own SUP or rent one of ours, one-hour session.

Lake 1, Lydd

August 25th

www.actionwatersports.co.uk

CHICHESTER NEVER HAVE I EVER

Jacq and Kas’s boutique restaurant has gone bust, and telling their oldest friends Adaego and her rich husband Tobin that his investment is toast is only the start of the evening. Cash, class, identity and infidelity are all on the menu. As the last of the expensive wine flows, a dangerous drinking game reveals long-hidden truths and provokes an unspeakable dare.

Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester

All through September

www.cft.org.uk

HERSTMONCEUX ASTRONOMY FESTIVAL 2023

Join us for just for a day, evening or for the whole weekend and soak up the fantastic atmosphere of our fabulous Science Centre and Observatory. Lots of fun for families and keen astronomers alike!

It will be a fabulous event with viewing through the telescopes, speakers, planetarium shows, talks about the telescopes, local astronomy societies and family activities. All this plus the fantastic science exhibits and exhibitions.

Observatory Science Centre,Herstmonceux

All through August www.the-observatory.org

BRIGHTON MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Who doesn’t love love? Well, you might be surprised! In Shakespeare’s raucous romantic comedy, deception is rife as wedding bells sound in the air, testing not only the young lovers Hero and Claudio, but also the steadfastly single Beatrice and Benedick!

With plots, pranks and live music throughout, you will fall in love all over again with Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing this Summer!

Brighton Open Air Theatre

August 31st-September 1st www.brightonopenairtheatre.co.uk

WADHURST SUSSEX GUILD CRAFT SHOW

A fantastic selection of high quality crafts, the summer borders in full bloom and a special entry price combine to make this an ideal time to visit this garden on the border of Sussex and Kent.

The Sussex Guild, a group of skilled designer makers living in Sussex, will be showing exciting new crafts this year at their 22nd show held at Pashley.

Pashley Manor Gardens, Ticehurst, Near Wadhurst, August 26th-28th

www.pashleymanorgardens.com

RYE RYE INTERNATIONAL JAZZ & BLUES FESTIVAL

Rye’s International Jazz and Blues Festival is back to bring you a wonderful mix of jazz, swing, blues, roots, soul, funk, and Latin music. This year the sensation line-up includes Laura Mvula, Snowboy & The Latin Section, Ruby Turner, Mike Farris, Mario Biondi, Joe Stilgoe and many, more.

Across Rye August 24th-28th www.ryejazz.com