A woman's place is where she wants to be

IT'S a grey, overcast morning and 15 or so women are huddled in a group on the Northumbria University campus, posing for a photographer. They clutch yellow hard hats and shiver with the cold but laugh and joke as if they had all been friends for years. Back inside, the conviviality continues, as they sit down with cups of tea and ask each other to sign copies of the new book to which they've all contributed.

Some of them are British, others are from further afield. Some work in the arts or education, others in industry or the health sector but what they all have in common is success. They've reached the top of their chosen profession or field and the room buzzes with energy as they talk about their lives and careers and share their experiences.

These women are just some of the 40 who have contributed to Women at Work: Perspectives and Experiences, which has just been published by Northumbria University. Figures as diverse as Darcey Bussell, Mo Mowlam, Anita Roddick and Glenys Kinnock have offered their thoughts and the book gives a fascinating and though-provoking insight into the lives of a selection of women, many of whom have made a global impact through their work.

Anna Maslin, a visiting professor at the university's Faculty of Health and the Government's International Officer for Nursing and Midwifery, is the editor. She says: "The book was quite a personal thing for me. I was at a point in my life where I was being offered a number of opportunities and I wanted to think through what I was doing. I began to think about why we choose to do the things we do and what consequences they have on our lives.

"I wanted to get the personal perspectives of women who, by world standards, had achieved a reasonable amount of success and find out how they felt about their choices and whether it was worthwhile."

Among those present at the launch are Dame Lorna Muirhead, president of the Royal College of Midwives, Kegalale Gasennelwe, secretary general of the Botswana Red Cross and Lynn Wallis, artistic director of the Royal Academy of Dancing.

Despite their hectic schedules - and some of them have diaries booked up two years ahead - they have put time aside to attend the event.

"It's an important book and I was extremely flattered to be asked to contribute," says Dame Lorna. "Women still have some way to go but I think the book shows how much progress has been made since our mothers' generation. I hope it will show the younger generation what is possible."

As well as the personal profiles, the book also contains a number of chapters which explore the issues and theories surrounding working women.

"Women at Work is a book which aims to increase awareness of the issues facing successful women, to increase understanding, to provide inspiration, to encourage women to achieve their own unique brand of success and to highlight the effectiveness of women in key positions. I think it is up to the individual reader to take from the book what they want."

One of the issues under discussion is success, something which, in the workplace at least, still tends to be measured against the standards set down by men. There are women who bring home six figure salaries or manage hundreds of staff but they are still in the minority, and, according to Prof Maslin, our definitions of what makes someone successful are outdated and need to be re-thought.

"It is just as difficult, if not more so, to bring up a couple of toddlers as to be the head of an international corporation. We shouldn't be judging success in terms of wages because it doesn't take account of like people working in the voluntary sector or jobs which are traditionally low paid. We have to set our own terms and take into account what we want to achieve."

Although much of the list of contributors reads like a page from International Who's Who, there are a number of women with more modest occupations - a nursery nurse, primary school teacher, housewife and mother. Their achievements may seem less impressive on paper but, according to Prof Maslin, they are no less successful.

She selected the women fairly randomly; some of them she knew, while others she had admired from a distance. But when she began to put the book together, she realised there were several key factors which they had in common and which had enabled each one to reach her goal.

These included a solid education, the ability to recognise an opportunity and having supportive relationships, something Prof Maslin believes is key to her own success.

For more than 20 years she has worked in cancer care, both nationally and internationally. She is currently involved with the British Government, the United Nations and a number of non-governmental organisations in work that regularly takes her to Sub-Saharan Africa, India, South-East Asia and the Caribbean. As if that weren't enough to keep her busy, she's expecting her fourth child next month.

"I've been very lucky to have such a supportive husband. I think that without a supportive partner, life can be extremely difficult, particularly as women still shoulder the traditional household and family concerns."

So, like 'superwoman' Nicola Horlick, who famously juggled a high-flying career in the city with family life, is she proof that the 21st Century woman can have it all? Apparently not.

"There are certainly a lot more opportunities for women these days and improvements like being able to work from home make it a lot easier if you have children. But I think that whatever your situation, you have to make choices and it's sometimes difficult to know how far to go. You have to strike a balance and although I've been lucky in being able to pursue the career I've wanted, I've always put my family first."

She goes on to talk about Dame Cicely Saunders, a pioneering figure in modern day palliative care and Margaret Anstee, former Under-Secretary General to the United Nations, both contributors to the book.

"They both admit they could not have done what they did had they been married. They feel they missed out in some way but they had decided what their priorities were and they made their choices accordingly."

Dame Cicely is now in her 80s and life has become considerably easier for working women since she was young, but Prof Maslin believes there is still some way to go.

"I think things have changed and they will continue to change. I am sure life will be very different for my first daughter, who's 16 now, but it is going to take time and I don't think there's much we can do about that."

* Women at Work: Perspectives and Experiences is published by Northumbria University and is available from all good bookshops, priced £12.99.