Gender does not matter a jot, it’s the achievement that counts in my book now

Gill Baird has succeeded in business and firmly believes in a level playing field for all

International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrates women’s achievements, from the political to the social, while calling for gender equality.

Today we see an increasing amount of women from all backgrounds climbing to the top of the career ladder. Yet infuriatingly we still tend to place a substantial focus on their gender and then their achievements, as opposed to championing their achievements in their own right.

As a businesswoman and entrepreneur this remains one of my biggest frustrations. By highlighting that it’s a female who made the achievements, we’re perpetuating the gender split in the business world.

I strongly believe in creating a lev- el playing field for all. When I was first awarded The Female Leader of the Future Scholarship in 2015, I asked Stirling University to drop the ‘Female’ part from the title to allow men the chance to compete with me. A fully funded MBA scholarship was unheard of at that time and I wanted to be the best on merit, not gender.

During my MBA I learnt that I did not have to be bullish, dominant or adopt stereotypically male traits to get my point across in the boardroom, which admittedly had previously been my approach. Instead my studies and experience and personal development mentoring revealed that to listen to and communicate effectively with everyone was just as effective - if not more so.

Motivating and inspiring others to