Priya Downes – CEO and Founder of Nudea

Website: www.nudea.com

“International Women’s Day is a chance to celebrate our achievements and celebrate the women around us. Very often we women “keep calm and carry on” and never has that rung more true than through the past 12 months. We never really stop to take stock of our achievements and celebrate where we are today as mothers, friends, sisters, partners, teachers and business leaders.”

“I have seen huge progress on gender equality in my life and work. More and more of our leaders are made up of women which has a circular effect, the more women in leadership roles, the more it is accepted as normal, and the more it becomes a well-trodden path for others to follow. A great example is Kamala Harris; I can see female representation in senior roles fast becoming the norm.”

“To help achieve equality, men can give women credit – often women undervalue themselves and attribute their success to luck or outside factors whilst men tend to over-embellish their abilities and skills. Giving credit where it’s due and helping women celebrate their own successes, in turn inspires confidence in them to achieve more.”

“In order to mentor girls to dream bigger, it’s important to expose them to a wide range of women in your network doing diverse and interesting things. The more they see this as the norm, the more they won’t be intimidated to carve their own path in life wherever it leads them. This also includes celebrating women in the things we do everyday, the authors and heroines in the books they read, the leaders they see on TV, the entrepreneurs, astronauts and scientists who are talked about in school or in newspapers.”

“We need to practice what we preach and celebrate our achievements to the young girls in our lives; don’t be afraid to tell and show them what you have achieved.”

 

Priya-Downes

 

“For women starting out in business, I’d say ‘Punch above your weight’. It’s ok to feel like you have imposter syndrome.”

“It’s normal to feel not qualified, or talented or smart enough to make a move when in fact you are more than ready – we women just tend to undervalue ourselves. Just making the move even if turns out not to be successful will only give you the confidence to make an even bigger and bolder move down the line.”

“Nudea’s central ethos is support, and we make it our business that bra-wearers feel supported and that means accountability when it comes to inclusivity, diversity and accessibility. For International Women’s Day, we’d say support each other; women can only continue to break ceilings by holding each other’s hand.”