You shared some personal insights in your graduation speech about balancing family life while pursuing your MSc. What was the most unexpected challenge you faced as a mother and mature student, and how did you navigate it?
Returning to university as a mother, I had a good idea of the challenges ahead—but knowing something will be hard doesn’t make living through it any easier. I expected to juggle work, studies, and home life, but what I hadn’t fully prepared for was how much I’d wrestle with my own confidence and self-esteem.
I set high expectations for myself—I’m a bit competitive—and when I started underperforming by my own standards, it threw me off. I thought I was resilient: born in freezing Siberia, having been through the British immigration system... Yet I found myself crumbling under the weight of assignments and had to seek mental health support.
Through it all, my husband was my biggest supporter, stepping up in ways I’ll always be grateful for. Women often find that success is driven by community support, and I was lucky—mine stepped up when I needed it most.
How can women support each other in overcoming the comparison trap, particularly when juggling multiple responsibilities?
In a group project with two younger and two mature students, I turned to the other mature student and asked, “What value do we really add?” Our first degrees were 20 years old, and we couldn’t directly apply our existing knowledge. She reminded me that experience brings soft skills: understanding people's needs, persuading a room, and leading teams. That moment shifted my perspective—we all contribute differently, and that’s exactly what you need in a strong team.
As women, we can support each other in overcoming self-doubt simply by talking. We are really good at connecting and sharing; perhaps we should do it more often.
With your background in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) management, what do you see as the biggest challenge facing women in the ESG space today? How can we ensure more women are leading the conversation and shaping the solutions?
That’s an interesting question and something I’ve thought about a lot. A colleague recently shared a photo from one of the meetings at a mining conference in South Africa—every single attendee was a woman. We were amazed. But it turned out they were all sustainable supply chain professionals, and there weren’t many men working in that field.
Women are more likely to enter sectors related to social impact and ethics. But when it comes to action, power often still lies elsewhere. CFOs—typically men, concentrated on financial performance—hold the decision-making authority, and without sufficient resources, ESG initiatives can only go so far.
That said, even my manager—a man—faces challenges in pushing ESG priorities forward. So while representation is important, the bigger issue isn’t gender; it’s about proving that becoming sustainable is a clever business decision and ensuring ESG is seen as a core business imperative rather than a tick-box exercise.
You’ve highlighted the importance of lifelong learning and pushing personal boundaries. For women considering further education while managing family life, what advice would you give to help them stay motivated and on track?
For me, staying motivated came down to three things:
First, knowing my "why." I wasn’t working at the time, had left my previous job, and was exploring options. Pursuing a degree in sustainability felt like the right step, and once I committed, that purpose kept me going.
Second, competitiveness. If I was going to do this—juggling family, studies, and everything else—why settle for just “getting by”? I wanted to push myself to be one of the best. Sure, I could have taken a more relaxed approach, but I knew I’d regret not giving it my all.
And finally, the investment. The sleepless nights, the commuting, the tuition fees, the missed holidays, the weekends spent studying—all of it was a cost I had to justify. Too much had gone into this journey for me to walk away. That sense of commitment made quitting simply not an option.
What’s one barrier you think still holds women back, and how can we accelerate action to break it?
Companies have a vast number of reasons for the recent backtracking in DEI, but really, they’ve just hit a ceiling—because the next step requires real, sometimes societal, change. Beyond that, there’s a deeper challenge: women don’t always measure success the same way. Many find fulfilment in family, parenting, and friendships—things that don’t require sacrificing everything to be a CEO.
Yes, you need to be sharp, competitive, resilient, and willing to work 24/7 to reach the top—but at what price? Will my children be happy and healthy? Will my family be okay? These are the trade-offs women constantly weigh, especially in places like the UK, where childcare is prohibitively expensive. And now, with companies pushing back on hybrid work, it’s getting even harder.