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Excerpt from Me & You Book author, Nicolle Jenkins' Blog:
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.
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