NHS Hull CCG asked eskimosoup to help them make a video featuring women and girls from Hull talking about how they view the world as women and what did, or would, help them reach their aspirations.

I was asked if I wanted to feature in the video so along with my sister Kelly (@TheSassyExplorer) we jumped at the chance. We were brought up with the strong female influence of:

• Our mum – who told us we could do anything we set our minds to, as long as we worked hard for it.
• Our grandma – a true war wife who pulled her socks up, but a brave face on and dealt with whatever needed to be done in the darkest of times.
• Our auntie – a single lady who worked full time whilst doing a degree, masters and finally a PhD in Chemistry all whilst balancing hobbies and lots of childcare (for us!)

During the film as Kel and I were asked questions and chatted, we both discovered neither of us had ever felt we’d lost out on an opportunity because we were female, a part of me felt lucky for that, but then I gave myself a metaphorical shake and thought “No!”. I should never feel lucky for not facing discrimination. That is mine (and everyone’s) right. Being brought up the way I was, I don’t think I ever gave anyone a chance to doubt me because of my gender, I show people from the off what I’m capable of and wouldn’t hesitate to tackle someone if I felt sexism was taking place.

Being the mum of two boys I also feel it is vital that we teach our sons equality. I don’t believe we just need to teach girls to strive for more, push harder, aspire more. We need to teach boys that we are all equals, and it is not acceptable for males to get further ahead in the world, simply because they are male.

As finance manager at eskimosoup I don’t often get to help out directly on our projects; it was fantastic to be able to help on this one as I feel especially strongly about it and wanted to help girls reach their aspirations. Video is a great way to record people’s thoughts, stories and opinions and I thoroughly enjoyed being involved with it.