In its November edition, Wales Business Insider Magazine has published its Power 100, described as Insider’s View of the most powerful people in Wales. The list contains few surprises for the business people of Wales other, perhaps, than the prominence of policiticans and the public sector who according to Insider “get a good show as we believe their decisions on investment and contracts will become more important to the economy as it slows down.”
It is perhaps also no surprise that only ten women feature in the Power 100. They are:
12. Edwina Hart, Health Minister
14. Menna Richards, controller of BBC (and speaker at Superwoman 4)
17. Iona Jones, Chief Executive S4C
23. Sian Lloyd Jones, Chief Executive, Finance Wales
26. Jane Davidson Environment, Sustainability and Housing Minister
80. (big jump that) Katherine Jenkins, Singer
82. Jane Hutt, Education Minister
86. Margaret Matthews, Managing Director Dow Corning Site Barry and Chairman CBI Wales
89. Kirsty Williams, Liberal Democrat AM Member
100. Ann Beynon, Director BT Wales
Of that ten, four are politicians and one, Katherine Jenkins, is a singer. Whilst I am delighted that Ms Jenkins continues to fly the flag of Welsh talent so very high, she is at the end of the day a performer and I don’t quite see how she fits into Insider’s definition of powerful which involves having three types of power – executive power (which derives from their jobs), latent power (which is an ability to change the course of events) and influence (the ability to set the parameters in which business is conducted). Signing a £5m deal doesn’t make Katherine Jenkins powerful by that definition although it does make her rich. Unless of course she plans to use some of that £5m to set up a venture capital fund to grow Welsh business which isn’t half a bad idea.
So, how do those women who want to (and I fully accept that there are lots of women out there, men too, who would rather have pins stuck behind their finger nails than figure in Wales’ Power 100) get our presence amongst the powerful up from a meagre 10%? Brian Morgan, director of the Creative and Leadership Enterprise Centre at UWIC and number 78 in the list gives some advice in the Insider article which is not aimed particularly at women but is very relevant to us. He says that to be powerful you have to demonstrate an ability to get things done; that you shouldn’t hide your light under a bushel and that a strong personality and networking skills are essential. All good advice and all something that the Superwoman network helps women achieve. Perhaps the biggest lesson for women here is the bit about not hiding our light under a bushel. Most of the men listed in the Power 100 feature in the Welsh business press on a regular basis and in the Insider particularly rather a lot. It seems to me that we all need to speak out more about our talent and our influence. Shout out loud and shout out proud that “Here come the girls”. And maybe that way in years to come there’ll be a few more than 10 of us in the Power 100.
The Superwoman Blog 
November 4, 2008 at 3:25 pm |
I think the majority of women “hide their light under a bushel”. It seems to me to be something they do naturally. A vast majority of us were brought up not to boast or brag about what we do, but just DO IT. I seem to see the same faces time and again in the business press; most of them are men, but there are some women there too and, with a few exceptions, they always talk about the same things. It comes across to some of us who read the press, as a sort of “Welsh Business Club” where only the chosen ones are invited to join!
I am a great fan of Menna Richards, she succeeded in an almost totally male dominated environment and has made her presence known, not by shouting about it, but just by quietly and determinedly getting the job done. This is so true of a lot of women in business today, they have passion and purpose and are dedicated to doing what they see as “the right thing”. They are not always recognised, but this in no way detracts from the importance of the work they do.
So, if you are going to get out from under that bushel, in the words of Brian Morgan “get your timing right, there is no point in jumping on a bandwagon when it isn’t on anyone’s agenda”
November 23, 2008 at 12:39 pm |
Hmm.. I think the point that you are missing about Ms Jenkins is that she does have a lot of influence outside the world of music. Her recent ‘coming clean’ about her use of drugs could make her very influential with young people and for, say, discussing with Government about policy in this area.
Likewise the fact that she has worked with the Ministry of Defence providing entertainment for the Armed Forces means that she would certainly be able to provide influence within the Government were she to, for example, have a quiet word in their shell-like about, say, equipment levels.
I’m not saying she would want to go down these roads – but for someone as well known as she is, the fact that she can get the attention of the media does give her a huge amount of influence which can be used for good or ill or, let’s be honest, to fill her boots with cash, if that’s her choice.
I think you’ve missed the point here. Politicians can pass laws about the Welsh Language, or drugs policy or to give more money to an area like Bridgend. And the whole thing would be ignored by the ‘general public’.
Increasingly, ‘celebrities’ have a huge influence on winning the ‘hearts and minds’ of people. There are advantages and disadvantages to that, but it does show that often politicians are not trusted in the same way that the likes of Ms Jenkins are. Harnessing that power is something that a lot of charities do to great effect, by raising awareness and influencing action.
I guess where I do agree with you is that I’m sure that there are far more than 10 women with such power and influence in Wales – the trouble is finding them, because the media may not be giving them the profile they deserve.