Five years have passed since women were exhorted to ȘLean Inș. Over that time, the world has transformed beyond all expectations. Despite recent political setbacks, this book explains why that itșs a good time to be a girl, to be black, to be gay ȓ or to be a forward-looking white heterosexual man, attuned to the change all around us.
A Good Time to be a Girl is an optimistic case for the power of girl- and womanhood in a patriarchy. Helena Morrissey has a background as a City CEO. She is also a mother of nine with a stay-at-home husband and the leader of the successful 3% Club campaign to achieve more women on UK company boards. Drawing on her eclectic experience and that of those around her in the office and at home, this is a handbook for girls about how to approach their careers, as well as a key resource for women looking to break through to the next level, and those who want to support or understand them.
We talk about Șdiversityș initiatives to refer to girls and women, who make up half the world, and the Șinclusionș of those with less privileged socio-economic backgrounds than the 1% although that description applies to most of us. After centuries of patriarchy, an unprecedented opportunity to rebalance masculine and feminine influence is within sight. ȘFeminineș attributes such as empathy and emotional intelligence are ever-more valuable in a world where we need true diversity of thought to listen and learn from those who hold different views. Using the stories of professionals of all ages and genders, as well as her unconventional family structure as examples, the author explains why we have recently embarked on an accelerated path towards gender equality and how it can liberate all of us. Morrissey, who read Philosophy at Cambridge University, looks at countries with matriarchal and patriarchal societies to demonstrate how these cultural differences influence decisions and strategies.
In this powerful intersectional handbook for success and manifesto for gender equality, Helena Morrissey demonstrates that we can be equal but we are different ȓ and together we are stronger. A Good Time to be a Girl demonstrates how homogeneity is flawed, offering a radical solution: rather than leaning into an existing system, we must change the paradigm.
About the Author
Helena started her career in New York with Schroder Capital Management. After returning to London she joined Newton in 1994 and was appointed CEO in 2001. Helena is now Head of Personal Investing at Legal and General Management, a new role aimed at engaging the nation to save and invest more.
In 2010, she founded the 30% Club, a cross-business initiative to achieve better gender-balanced UK company boards through men and women working together on a voluntary action. She has been named one of Fortune Magazine’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders and twice been voted one of the 50 Most Influential People in Finance globally by Bloomberg Markets. Helena is a Fellow of London Business School and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Cambridge University in 2016. She was appointed CBE in the 2012 New Year’s Honours list for her contribution to the role of women in business. She was made a dame in the Queens Birthday Honours 2017 for improving diversity in financial services.
