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As leader of the Women’s Equality Party you’ve frequently spoken out about the recent global events affecting women. How do you protect your own emotions?
"It’s my job to draw attention to injustices against women, but the last few months have been pretty brutal. To be honest, I’m still processing the aftermath of Sarah Everard’s death in particular. Once the London Mayoral campaign is over, I’m going to give myself time to settle on that. But I’ve developed a kind of ritual after a tough day - I close my laptop, light some candles and put on a Hania Rani album. Her music became a bit of a lifeline for me during lockdown. She’s an extraordinary young pianist and composer from Poland and her compositions are so soothing and gentle. Something about them allows me to sink down and ground myself.” Do you ever feel overwhelmed professionally?
"My main trigger is what I call ‘fear pressure’. It’s when the stakes are high and the margin for error feels small, generally when I’m doing press and things can easily be misinterpreted. When fear pressure is peaking, I feel a lot of stress, overwhelm, and question if I’m good enough, over and over again. The way I’ve learnt to deal with it is by banking something small but productive at the start of every single day. Right now it’s putting campaign leaflets through doors around my neighbourhood between 7am and 8am each morning. It doesn’t matter if the rest of the day is a shit show, at least I know I did that one thing.” I’m not sure many Mayoral candidates for London are leafleting every morning…
"That’s what my team say! But it’s genuinely helped with my mental and emotional stability through this period. The secret for me is to find something that is worthwhile but not taxing, as I’m not a morning person. And then to combine it with something enriching like a podcast or audiobook. I’ve just finished Luster by Raven Leliani which was just the right kind of escapism. If you have a lot of turbulence during your day, you can feel despondent at the end. A habit like this is a bit of an anchor. It means I start each day feeling balanced and with a sense of achievement.” Do you think women get more radical with age?
"I definitely think many of us experience a ‘stitch up moment’. For me it was deciding to end an unplanned pregnancy at 33, because I felt at that point in my life and career I couldn’t make it work on my own. And yes, it did radicalise and politicise me. I think it’s no coincidence that for women there’s a period, usually in their 30s, maybe 40s, when they realise, hang on a minute, I’ve been dealt a tricky hand here. And let’s say you have a twin brother. Well, he’s certainly not wrestling with the same things you are…” How do you cope with the higher expectations often placed on female leaders?
"I’m a firm believer in the motto ‘perfect is the enemy of good'. But not going to lie, I struggle with practicing it! I always want a bit longer to prepare or perfect something, when often it’s better to just do it. Women grapple more with this I think. We - and - society put extra hurdles in front of us. So my solution is to be very candid with my team about it. I literally instruct them to push me out of that perfectionist mindset. I am upfront about other perceived shortcomings too, like not being super organised. And that allows people around me who are really strong in those areas to play their part.” As the first black woman to lead a British political party, you’ve already made history. If you could be responsible for just one other historical landmark, what would it be?
"Free universal childcare and properly remunerated shared parental leave in the UK. With that, I believe within a generation you would accelerate equality, reduce violence against women and girls and create far more positive set of norms. The beautiful thing is that men and women can easily campaign on this together. It’s really easy to explain the material benefits to men as well as women.” What does persistence mean to you?
"It’s the magic ingredient for anyone trying to make any kind of change. Persistence means showing up again and again. Even when you don’t feel your best. It’s defiance against the status quo and belief in better.” What gives you hope when times are tough?
"When I see women find their voice, find their power, find each other. I see it amongst Women’s Equality Party members all the time. We’re sitting on so much untapped talent and potential because our culture makes women feel like they can’t. And with the pandemic, plus ageism and sexism - yeah, it can be daunting to speak out or to make changes in life. As women, we are always having to persist - but where do you get that energy to persist from when you’e exhausted? I think communities of women generate that energy. That’s where the magic happens.”
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