It's about calling time on alpha culture and helping every one of us to be happier, more productive and collaborative. Best for: People looking for a bit of a memoir mixed in with some genuinely good ideas about improving our workplace. But we’re half the workforce and only a third of its managers, directors and senior officials. That’s rubbish by anyone’s standards. The workplace is still working against us and, as much as I respect Sheryl Sandberg, who argued that women need to adapt their behaviour to better suit the status quo, I’m more of a Gloria Steinem fan. ‘It’s not about integrating into a not-so-good system,’ she said. ‘It’s about transforming it and making it better. If women have to acquire all the characteristics of a corporate world, it’s probably not worth it.’ Too right, Gloria. I don’t want to lean into a system that is entrenched in a working world that’s quite frankly dated, limited and controlling. It’s bloody well time it changed. In January 2011, Channel 4 aired Mary Portas: Secret Shopper. This new format saw Mary championing the often “underserviced” customer on the British high street, giving a voice to disgruntled consumers. With two more series being commissioned in 2015.

Work Like a Woman by Mary Portas | Goodreads

But we all grapple with questions like these almost every day. Humans are tribal. Even if we’re not a complete fit for the group we’re part of, we like to create social groups with rules we understand and can work to. How do you want to work as a woman? This is the question at the heart of Mary’s business biography as she walks us through her years of navigating alpha dominated workplaces before she decided to set up shop for herself. Alongside her work with the agency, Mary has embarked on a number of personal projects. She has published three books, Windows: The Art of Retail Display, and How to Shop. In February 2015 she released Shopgirl, a memoir of her early years.

Inspired by her weekly ‘Shop!’ column in the Telegraph Magazine, Mary began her television career in 2007 when her efforts to rescue failing independent boutiques were documented by the BBC2 series Mary Queen of Shops. The show was nominated for two Royal Television Society Awards and a BAFTA. However, I don't really feel any less confused about my own career. I don't think either book enlightens the world of women in work in the ways they *think* they do. In January 2013 she re-launched her agency as Portas with a new offer reflecting today's retail landscape, and how consumers behave today. I also enjoyed the fun quotes, colloquial tone and Mary’s proposition and demand for change based on policies which have been implemented in other countries. We don’t need suits to be part of the tribe, says Mary Portas in this extract from Work Like a Woman

Work Like a Woman by Mary Portas | Waterstones

In a nutshell: Author Mary Portas details her career struggles rising through the ranks of department store marketing and shares her thoughts for ways to improve the workplace so it works better for all of us — men and women. Loved this book and Mary’s conversational style of writing - you can imagine her saying every line. Referencing her own experiences of work in an alpha-male world, Mary challenges the typical workplace and how ‘working like a woman’ and bringing equality into both the workplace and the home can have benefits for both women and men. Mary has got it spot on with what millennials in particular are looking for in their working life, and there’s very few companies taking into consideration sharing childcare, collaboration, letting people be their real self and standing up for what they believe in, I’d love to work’s at the Portas agency. I can only hope that every company moves to this way of thinking in the future and we create a more equal working culture. I've always admired Mary Portas, as she has made such an influential name for herself within the retail industry and has had a fascinating life at home and at work. Worth quoting: “But the irony is that the whole thing is deeply emotional: wanting to smash the competition and be top dog isn’t exactly unfeeling, is it?”Why I chose it: I’ve been working from home since moving to the UK for my partner’s job, but just started a new office gig this week. I figured I could both use a refresher on how offices work and thought this one on how they could be improved would be a good place to start. I wasn’t totally wrong, but I wasn’t right, either. But let’s be clear here: women don’t get a free pass on all this. Alpha culture might have been put in place by men, but we’re also working alongside them and, in many cases, perpetuating the status quo. Work Like a Woman: A Manifesto for Change is more memoir than instruction for any working woman entering the corporate world of work. There is a lot of good in this book - the chapter where she shares her company’s culture statement could be useful, and in the end she offers tips for women in each decade of life (which isn’t necessarily super helpful in some cases, because it assumes a bit of a linear career progression). But I found it a bit frustrating that so very much of the book focused on accommodating childcare. I’d say maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of the book was really focused on this, as though this is the only issue that women face challenges with. And it obviously is a huge issue, but there wasn’t any recognition that one might need work balance for reasons other than caring for children or elderly parents. It seems to be a common world view, and I find it frustrating, as though other life pursuits or challenges don’t matter as much. The other day, she went to the funeral of a friend of her father’s, someone she knew as Uncle Harry; long ago, the two men had come to England together from Ireland to work on the buses. It was with Harry that she and Lawrence lived for a year after her father died. “You don’t forget that. They put us up in their tiny council house, and they had four kids of their own. At the funeral, I experienced such a huge tug.” People she spoke to that day remembered her as the “naughty one”, but when push came to shove she simply got on with what she needed to do. What’s odd is that she never felt resentful. “I don’t think I’ve ever resented anything. I was just trying to survive. I was petrified: this horrible, nervous energy.”

Work Like a Woman - Penguin Books UK

There are chapters dedicated to childcare. Towards the end of the book there is a statement that if you aren’t a mother by your 30/40’s don’t worry- we all come to these things in time. Or if you want to be successful choose who you spend your life with carefully - as you will need their support etc.

Mary is very experienced which came across in her writing. Some of her anecdotes were interesting and helpful, other times it felt a bit like an autobiography which is not what I signed up for (maybe I’m being a bit harsh). She is infuriated by the fact that even now only 10% of boards in the retail sector comprise women, and believes the high street would not be in such trouble were this figure higher. “You read the papers time and time again, and it’s always: here comes another man to save Marks & Sparks. Look at the stats, they say. He’s been at Asda! Give him a clap! What no one is doing is looking at women and what’s important in our lives. That’s what connected shopping is about.” Beginning her retail career in John Lewis, Harrods and Topshop, she joined Harvey Nichols, progressing to the Board as Creative Director in 1989. She was credited with leading its transformation into a world renowned fashion store. In 1997 she launched her own agency, Yellowdoor (now called Portas) which has made its mark in the creative advertising landscape, producing category challenging campaigns and championing brand development for clients including Clarks, Louis Vuitton, Oasis, Swarovski, Dunhill, Boden, Thomas Pink, Patek Philippe and Westfield. a pioneer of change in her industry, Portas is a real inspiration for many women and men alike who work within fashion and marketing. however, I learned that she is also a huge ambassador for many charities and champions a lot of smaller charities who you may not have even heard of before, whilst she also set one up herself!