Donna Gavin - "No man is an island… but women can be."
By Gonna Gavin
Elect Her – Peer Support Circle, class of 2020
No man is an island… but women can be.
“No man is an island. No man stands alone”. Except if you’re a woman venturing into a male dominated world, then it can often feel like just that, just me, my lone soft voice yelling from the back of the room.
I’ve served most of my life surrounded by men, first as an Army Officer then as a management consultant, in both careers I’ve thrived in a large part because of strong networks and advice from incredible women who have gone before me. These very same values are as important when venturing in to the strange and often lonely world of politics, where often you look left and right and don’t see another woman. We are well versed at finding a way to support each other, even in the darkest room :)
Cue stage left the Peer Support Circle. A network of like-minded women from across the political spectrum coordinated by the wonderful team at The Parliament Project, with one sole purpose; providing selfless support to any woman who has put her hand up to stand for what she believes in!
I joined the intake of September 2019, although a snap general election meant a false start was called and we picked up again in January 2020.
Every week we chatted over Zoom (a bit like Skype), skilfully handrailed by a The Parliament Project agenda and tool kit, about personal development, self-care and how best to navigate some of the pitfalls and road bumps that public service sometimes throws at ya. It amazes me how similar our journeys can be, and if we all shared our experiences and how we over-came them, it would make the lives of those that follow us much simpler.
As I reflect on the course I learnt a huge amount. Firstly, the power of a network is invaluable, keep it, use it and invest time into it. Politics can be full of adversity with those with different beliefs to you, but finding that common ground on which to build full spectrum relationships is important in getting stuff done. I personally respect anyone who raises their hand to make the lives of others better, whatever your political starting place. Sharing best practice is how any successful organisation thrives, when we find a tool or technique, particularly in dealing with online abuse, then we should share it. Lastly, it’s not all about London. Too many political events happen in London, the Peer Support Circle cleverly embraces virtual working to great effect, my group covered the full length of England.
I could not think of a better way to spend my dark and gloomy winter Monday evenings than talking to my support circle; they are bright, witty and caring. I will heed much of the advice they gave me for the rest of my life. Thank you :)
In the Army we had a saying that resonates here; “I crawled through glass so those that follow wouldn’t have to”.
You can follow Donna on Twitter at @DonnaGavinUK.