Let’s meet some more of our fabulous female colleagues on International Women’s Day 2022.

BRIONY TANNER – STAGECOACH
What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
For me, International Woman Day is about celebrating women from all walks of life and coming together to share our experiences. 

What woman has positively impacted you in your career? What’s one lesson she taught you?
My mum! She was the first woman to become an insurance underwriter manager in the UK. She went on to work in insuring on film and TV shows. While doing her exams the board got annoyed that they had to also cater for women doing the exam too. She really did work to get noticed and became a highly regarded underwriter in the insurance industry.

How has TE helped you to achieve this?/What are the benefits of working for TE?
I find TE / Stagecoach very inclusive and I have not had any issues regarding gender stereotypes etc. I feel the world has very much moved from my first job in the theatre and women are more accepted and take a stand in the theatre world. 

IZZY MARSH – CHURCHILL THEATRE, BROMLEY
What woman has positively impacted you in your career? What’s one lesson she taught you?
I have never worked for a female boss in theatre, however many of the women I have worked alongside have had a positive impact on me and my career. One of the biggest lessons I am learning is to take the job seriously, but to be able to laugh at yourself. The atmosphere this creates on a shift is a great working environment, especially when you might have to be working for 16+ hours.

What gender-specific challenges, stereotypes, or barriers have you had to overcome during your career?
Generally, in backstage work, it is a very male-dominated space. As it is a practical job, physical attributions are often a challenge to overcome. Women tend to be shorter, and less capable of lifting large amounts of weight. In fact Health and Safety guidance recommends that men should be lifting up to 25kg, whereas women should only be lifting 16kg. When you’re then faced with building a platform, or stacking flight cases on a truck, this becomes a problem. For me personally, one of the most grating situations I face is being congratulated when loading a truck. It is normally the drivers, and they usually caveat it with ‘for a girl’ type statements. Often, when starting the day, crews assume that one of the casuals is leading the fit up because they are male, and I have to point out it is myself doing the CDM and leading the day.

In a similar vein, touring carpenters often use the phrase ‘gentlemen on stage’, even after knowing that I am running stage for the day. We still use the title ‘flyman’, which often implies that women shouldn’t be flying. I have had touring crew ask me to make them cups of tea, I have had touring prods lift items out of my hands because they think I’d be incapable of walking them onto the truck, I have been called the ‘company bike’ for being the only girl on a shift; there are constant challenging situations to navigate as a female working on stage.

TRACY BERENS – TRAFALGAR RELEASING
What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
It’s great to have a day to celebrate women’s achievements and hear inspirational stories. I like to meet up with the women in my family or close female friends and just celebrate who we are and what we’ve achieved.

What woman has positively impacted you in your career? What’s one lesson she taught you?
My sister-in-law Samantha Edmonds is very inspirational, as a mother of 3 she has started her own drama school, opened a talent agency for young actors and is actively involved in community projects for young people. I wonder how she manages to juggle it all! Her mantra’s which I try to live by are ‘Be Kind to Yourself’ and ‘We Rise by Lifting Others’.

What gender-specific challenges, stereotypes, or barriers have you had to overcome during your career?
Interestingly I didn’t feel I had any gender-specific challenges until I wanted to become a mother. At the time I was working as an auditor which involved working away from home a lot, and I wondered how it would be possible to do this job and raise a family. Instead of seeing this as a barrier it became an opportunity to set a new career path, I studied for my ACCA and became an accountant.

FLEUR MANUAL – STAGECOACH
What woman has positively impacted you in your career? What’s one lesson she taught you?
My Mum, a lady who was brought up in a world where girls/women were not deemed to be important in the world of business. She however had an idea and did not give up on it until she realised her dreams and those of many Students. My mum, Stephanie Manuel is the Founder of Stagecoach Theatre Arts, and I am very proud of her and her amazing achievements.

What gender-specific challenges, stereotypes, or barriers have you had to overcome during your career?
Even with a female founder Stagecoach was a very male dominated company which had its difficulties. As a woman in the workplace you can feel you need to work harder to be noticed. I think a good work ethos and a passion for what you do wins through.

How has TE helped you to achieve this?/What are the benefits of working for TE?
Being part of a large company guided from the top by strong women is amazing and I am very proud to be part of it. There are many benefits but the main one for me is wonderful opportunities to broaden what we do giving young people the possibility to be who they want to be and achieve their goals.