I am selfish.

OK… weird way to start… let me clarify.

I am selfishly invested in recognising the value women have in business… hang on, hang on… before you close this blog – hear me out.

It has taken me 40 years to admit publicly that I am in fact a feminist.  Growing up in the 80’s the term feminist certainly had negative connotations, of hairy armpit, bra burning, aggressive women that never brush their hair.  In hindsight I think I was a closet feminist, although I never burned a bra and well… did the other bits regularly – but you don’t need to know those details.

Why am I now comfortable to publicly admit that I am a feminist?  Because now more than ever it is time for change.  This is where my selfishness comes in…

When it was just about me and my career as a business woman – in the early days I did it on my own, without really a thought of changing it for others.  It was easier to focus on me and what I needed to do to progress, glass ceiling or not.

Why was I so career focused?  In hindsight I think was because at a young age my mum died and I turned to my Dad as a role model.  Dad had always run his own business and from my perspective – he instilled in me a strong work ethic, a no handout mentality to create your own independence.  If I wanted something – you worked for it.  Maybe that is why it didn’t seem like a big deal when starting and growing my own business.  I am pretty sure Dad doesn’t understand his role in my life choices.  It is what it is – I can’t change who I am, nor would I want to.

But then I became a parent.

I had two children.

Two girls.

AND EVERYTHING CHANGED.

Suddenly it was more than about me – but actually this made me even more selfish.  Now it is about the world I want for my daughters to grow up in.

If my daughters were entering the workforce now – this is what they would face in Australia.

This is just not good enough.

With two young girls, my focus is the betterment of this – for them.  No matter what or who they want to become – so they have choice, freedom and a pathway to be whoever they want to be…

We need to encourage change.

We know…

A huge thank you to the Lush TV team for producing this video.  They rock www.lushtv.net

Information and research data for these two videos were sourced from McKinsey and Co, EOWA, the Harvard Business Review and Nicolle Jenkins.

The design was created by my awesome team at The Hub Marketing Communications www.thehub.net.au or follow us on facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Hub-Marketing-Communications/115176038521060