Becoming a full-blown feminist wasn’t a conscious decision either, it grew from sense of injustice that I wasn’t being afforded the opportunities that white men were and are still able to pursue. In the 80’s and 90’s very few industries supported flexible working arrangements so like a lot of creatives I became self-employed. It took years to re-establish myself in the design sector and adjust to the massive changes in technology, there were no training programmes on offer and certainly no returner programmes. 

My most powerful experience of marginalisation came after returning from working overseas armed with a CV packed with experience, but even after exhaustive efforts, connecting with recruiters and organisations I still had no real offers of work, ageism was officially added to the list of barriers. Once again, I became self-employed, transferred skills and worked on film and documentary and that was the real turning point. It won’t be a big surprise to women but the film and broadcasting industry is totally dominated by the ‘Pale, Male, Stale Club’ and as a result the content produced under-represents all other groups and that of course includes women. So ItsHerstory was born but not without the incredible support from Manchester based women’s groups running empowering courses enabling women to start-up businesses.

ItsHerstory cic totally reflects my values and aspirations highlighting everyday stories about women and the challenges they face, I believe in inclusivity and that means we all have a duty to enable equal representation from women of colour and women with disabilities.