ARTICLE Our Next Gen

Brief - content on education published on the Womanship platform

As a mother of sons, I made a conscious choice to send them to a co-ed school. With only boy cousins, and following their inherently male interests like football, it is essential they interact with peers of our “fairer sex” on a daily basis.

But it isn’t just about interaction; it’s a matter of understanding, empathy and respect. The bottom line: I need to know my boys appreciate that girls can do anything they can do, just as well as them and, between us, possibly better (read: maybe even quicker, certainly with less moaning, and no doubt less mess).

When I was growing up, before the birth of ‘Reality TV’ and WAGs, female role models were a different breed. Think Margaret Thatcher. Martina Navratilova. Kylie Minogue. Spanning different spheres of popular culture, each brought a mix of leadership and controversy in equal measure. But without doubt, strong women were starting to make tracks at the top of their game beside their male counterparts.

Jump forward three decades and women today still spend around twice as much time on unpaid work such as cooking, childcare, looking after relatives and housework than men.

Let that sink in.

It means we are more empowered to begin a business at our kitchen table, yet we are still tied to the kitchen sink. Social media has complicated the matter; the rise of influencers means any girl can position herself as a role model, coupled with an unprecedented level of judgement reflected in #bekind trending in schools and a #metoo movement in the workplace.

I repeat, we need understanding, empathy and respect.

We don’t need to dig very deep to see real world examples of why far too many smart, successful women hit the headlines for the wrong reasons:

• Sarah Everard, a marketing exec on the up, will forever be known as a kidnap and murder victim.

• Caroline Flack spent her life in the limelight but took her own life having been hounded by media and trolls.

• MP Jo Cox was brutally slain in the street by a white supremacist .

As for me, I find myself in a position of power: to shape how the next generation of men view us. As this mother of sons, I am shouting even louder to reinforce our value. My work starts at the grassroots, for if we change how women are perceived in the home, and on our streets, it will also impact how we are seen at work.

There is some good news: when I sneak a peek through my boys’ eyes I dare to feel optimism. They see girls in their class bossing woodwork; winning at multi sports; scooping the Science awards. They have friends with two mothers; kids with stay-at-home Dads and high flying career Mums; they mix with children whose celebrity mamas they see equally on tele, billboards and the school run. They watch women winning ‘The Apprentice’, female US Veeps being sworn in and a US women’s football team who refuse to play without equal pay.

I went to an all girls school and in my mind there was no question, even pre Beyoncé, as to who runs the world. So, for me, the lesson here is clear: as parents we simply must educate our sons so we don’t need to protect our daughters. Equal opportunities in the classrooms now will impact who does what in the boardrooms, and the kitchens, of tomorrow.