Pegasus Group is proud to be one of the biggest employers of female planners in 2019 (source Planning Resource) and to mark World International Women’s Day 2020 we wanted to shout about all of the fantastic women we have in the company.
We spoke to our female colleagues and we asked them what it means to be a woman in the development sector and how they came to be in the position they’re in. Take a look at the responses below, we hope you find them as inspiring as we do!
Clare Eggington, Associate Planner
“When I started out in planning back in 1989, the town planning profession was certainly not as diverse as it is now. At the age of 23 I was the first female planner working in a large development control team in a big metropolitan local authority so at first I found there was some incredulity from some applicants that it was a woman dealing with their planning applications (heaven forbid girl, know your limits!). I’m quite assertive though, they soon learned to accept it (!) and our team diversified quickly. When I had my children, part time working was quite unusual but my public sector employer was very supportive although unfortunately I did find at the time that I tended to be assigned the more unexciting projects when my hours reduced. I became frustrated by this so I moved on to become half of a job share managing an economic development service for a small district council: this was my employer’s first job share arrangement at this level and there had been some cynicism about whether it could work, so we certainly felt we had to prove ourselves. Over time, I wanted to return to full time work, and chose to work with employers with flexible working practices so I could still achieve what I felt was a good work life balance. This has been the case in both the public and private sector.
I know everyone’s experience will be different but from my own view I have generally found the planning profession to have provided me with plenty of opportunities to be able to have made my own choices which, in my case, were the ability to work flexibly to balance raising my young family with an interesting and challenging career. I can genuinely say that I have never felt there was any kind of glass ceiling for me personally. Maybe I have just been lucky, but I have always felt that if you don’t ask, you don’t get, and that by being assertive but fair I have been able to request working arrangements that suit me and my family whilst still meeting the needs of the business.
This is not to say it has been easy, I was usually the organiser in the family, knowing everyone’s schedules and making sure someone was always there at the school nativity, sports day and other such ‘delights’. My daughter has never quite forgiven me for sending her to school in a toga for what I thought was Roman Day. It ‘technically’ was, it transpired, but being the busy working Mom I was, unfortunately I had missed the message passed on at the school gates that Toga Day was actually Toga Afternoon, Uniform As Normal for the morning. Oops. I call it building resilience. Life Skills and all that. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. She’s an adult now, she turned out fine – honest.
Interestingly, however, I would point out that in over three decades I have had at least ten line managers and only one of these (for a temporary job back in 1990) has been a woman. All of my managers have been supportive over the years, but it would be great to see more women in leadership roles across the planning profession. I would also say that changes in working patterns benefit everyone, we all have our own lives to lead, all in very different ways. Everyone’s circumstances are different and of course needs change over time. It is good to see the RTPI focusing upon the theme of diversity and inclusivity this year and of course as part of this it will be good to hear of others’ experiences and how we can learn from these. The profession needs to be fit for the future both for those who are employed in planning, and equally for those diverse communities who are the end users of our work.”
Kerry Grice, Head of Finance
“After completing my degree in Law, I knew I wanted to utilise the skills I had developed during my studies but take a different career path. Accountancy seemed to provide the variety I sought.
I joined Pegasus Group 10 years ago whilst completing my final year of ACCA. The business supported my training and most importantly has given me a wealth of experience within finance mainly due to their continuous successful growth. Finance is the perfect career offering constant new areas of change whilst maintaining a core of accountancy principles.”
Jane Campbell, PA/ Secretary
Jane expressed her full appreciation of who and what she is in her role in the following way:
P Proactive
A Able
S Supportive
E Efficient
C Confident
R Reliable
E Empathetic
T Tenacious
A Assistant
R Ready
Y Young… or maybe not 😊
Michelle Simpson-Gallego, Associate Planner
“Being a planning consultant is a fantastic and diverse job where each day presents new challenges. The development industry is predominantly a male environment however working as a consultant over the last 20 years I have noticed a change in people’s attitudes towards women but there are still issues that need to be addressed. My view is that I don’t want to be treated any differently as my male counterparts, just given the same opportunities, pay and flexible working conditions as they have.”
Molly Alcock, Marketing Assistant
“Marketing is so vast and everchanging which is what makes it so exciting, there is so much opportunity to be creative – something I have always enjoyed! Pegasus Group have supported my current studies with the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), allowing me to fulfil my potential. It’s essential to have a career that you’re both passionate about and enjoy.”
Rachel Swan, Group Bid Manager
“I fell into Bid Management and it has been a natural fit for me. I left university with a degree in Business Studies and did a bit of temping over the summer which led to being offered a job as a Business Development Assistant. Having a love for business and buildings, wanting to know how organisations are run and managed to be profitable while also looking after the people they employ, I chose to broad degree, taking optional modules in Personnel & Development and Marketing. Bid Management enables me to get a full understanding of how the business runs while allowing me to write about new areas of interest including Health & Safety, Quality Assurance and Finance. I’m an organised person and want to do a good job so working towards procurement deadlines and winning tenders suit me.
Having worked for a couple of different organisations of varying sizes within the FM sector, I moved to Pegasus Group and professional services. The position of Bid Manager was new and it offered me the opportunity to set up and develop new systems and processes. I am able to work with teams throughout the country, over all the sectors. It keeps me on my toes.
All in all, I know a little about a lot of things!”
Sarah Nolan, Group Data Cleanser
“After starting a temp job in the break between the first and second year of university, I soon became quite efficient in using Excel and finding new formulas to cut down on manual admin work. Although my career has taken a few twists along the way in a variety of firms (Refrigeration, Software and now within Pegasus Group) data has remained at the core. It is such a vital tool and I enjoy making sure that it’s usable, presented in a succinct manner and ready to be used as an evidence basis for business decisions and process changes.”
For more information about Pegasus Group and their people, please contact us.