An evening of connection, reflection, and self prioritisation

Last night, in a peaceful private garden in SW London, over 60 people attended an Evening of Fascinating Women - a unique gathering that celebrates strong, modest role models. It’s a powerful, agenda-free opportunity to bring together incredible women to leverage their networks, have fun and make new connections. Hosted by Naomi Kerbel, Director at SEC Newgate alongside Allyson Stewart-Allen, Bev Brown, Edwina Dunn, and Rebecca Drew, they welcomed a selection of women, each with their own career and story to share.

Naomi welcomed the group with some opening remarks; “We call our guests to celebrate, collaborate and to contemplate because whilst rooms full of men haven’t helped speed up the glacial pace to gender equity – rooms full of women aren’t working fast enough either, making the case for equality without sidelining men. Let’s advocate for equality in a way that includes men, highlighting the fascinating women we know and encouraging fascinating men to join the conversation.”

And as they came together, by some miracle they even brought a rare Autumn evening of clear skies – I’m ever grateful that our weather is reliably unreliable. 

As I reflect on the evening, my mind focuses on the many hats that women wear – although perhaps ‘hats’ is no longer the correct term. It suggests that as you switch from role to role, you are somehow able to remove the cap from before, a challenge that I consider almost impossible. Instead, I suggest we call them the many badges to one’s sash. Something that rests across us with pride but not without weight and even a burden at times. A particular conversation really struck me: with women’s notorious ability to spin plates, at what point do we decide to prioritise ourselves? I spoke with women who, between being a mother, daughter, CEO, chairman, partner both professionally and personally, are faced with the challenge: when are we able to take time for ourselves? At which point do we carve out time to be utterly, selfishly and totally at peace with doing something that serves us and only us?

The suggestion was to book out time as if you were a stakeholder. Protect a portion of your busy calendar with something that is a non-negotiable to you, whether that be a work-out, harnessing your creativity, or even an hour of digital detoxing. Don’t allow that time to be pushed and pulled, you’ve promised it to yourself and in doing so you are prioritising yourself.

With no agenda in mind, we were all free to share and to listen.