It is 2014. Since graduating, I have always worked in the city. Moreover, I have always wanted a career. And, guess what? I have one! Over the last 15 years I have navigated my way through the sticky, grimy world that is corporate life. And corporate nightlife.I'm lucky enough to live and work in London at a time when the workplace is a level playing field for anyone that chooses to enter it. Or so I thought.... Of late I have been musing over many aspects of my career, the good, the bad and where I am headed and the recurring theme to many of my frustrations is this... I am female. It's like a boomerang which keeps flying back in my direction and this has me thinking... are institutions like Lloyds of London, London Stock Exchange or Canary Wharf real and thriving bastions of overt sexism?
Like many of my contemporaries I had a very good education, gained a degree from the all important 'red brick uni' and entered the workplace at the beginning of the noughties. At the age of 21 I firmly believed that the sexes were judged equally and that your career would be moulded by your demonstrated ability and the potential you showed for further development.
Why, then, do I now think the complete opposite? As time has moved on and my career has progressed I have been operating under an illusion that 100 years into female emancipation the city had accepted women in the workplace on a true and equal footing. What complete and utter bullshit! The city is about as emancipated as a chastity belt and this blog will aim to show through anecdotes and discussion how backwards it is.... From 'old school' professional men who excitedly race to work at 9am on a Monday morning as the first lunch of the week is only 3 hours away with their inner clique they've drunk with week in, week out for the last 30 years to 'relationship development' lunches with men who think you being friendly and engaging means a guaranteed shag after 3 hours, this blog will highlight how being female and having a serious career in this environment is a very tricky navigation...
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