International Women’s Day 2025: Ellie’s Story

Tell us about yourself, Ellie. 

My name is Ellie Fowler, I work in Learning and Development as a Learning Delivery Trainer. I’ve only been in this role for seven months, but I’ve been with Greene King for 11 years. 

What does your role involve, day-to-day? 

So, we work with all the new people who come into the business, as well as those who want to progress, and we guide them on their journeys. For example, when we have new general managers coming into the business, we’ll lead their induction. Same with assistant managers, kitchen managers, team leaders, etc. We make sure they’ve got the skills and knowledge to perform their role effectively.  

What do you love the most about your role? What do you find rewarding? 

The most rewarding part of it is meeting new people. You meet some really interesting characters. There’s just such a broad range of people and it’s always nice to bridge the divide between the office and the pubs. It’s nice hearing comments like “I really enjoyed that” or “Your session was really good”. It’s important for all employees to know that we’re on their side. 

You encounter a lot of different people with different roles at Greene King, especially pub roles. Would you say that a lot of them, in your experience, are traditionally male roles? 

In terms of the pub world and General Managers, many of us would stereotypically picture the landlord behind the bar and holding up the pub to be male. Whereas now, I’ve definitely seen a shift in our workshops, it’s very much 50/50. Some of them are predominantly male-led, but it’s becoming more balanced now. While a lot of Assistant Managers seem to be typically female, the kitchens seem to be still predominantly male, perhaps because it's seen as a role that “needs a man”, perhaps because of the stressful environment. It’s not always the case though.  

In your opinion, what do we do as a business to try and transcend these stereotypes and is there anything you do in Learning and Development to encourage a more equal and inclusive atmosphere? 

We tend to focus on the skills, knowledge and behaviours employees need for their roles and what they can bring to the table. So, if you’ve got the right behaviours, the skills can be taught. If you feel passionate about a role and if it’s something you want to pursue, then you should go for it. You might not think you’re right for a role, but you might be. You probably will be. 

The theme for International Women’s Day this year is ‘Accelerate Action’-what does that mean to you? 

To me, it means to take what you want to achieve by the reigns and go with it. It’s about pushing yourself. 

What do you do, as part of your role in Learning and Development, to empower the women around you? 

Good question. A lot of my previous roles were female-led, whereas I’m now in a team where I have a male boss and male colleagues who have all been in the business a long time, so they know what they’re talking about – they know Greene King inside out. I think it’s important for me to connect with the other women in my team. It’s important that we support each other. 

In your opinion, what does Greene King do to support women? 

I think they’re smashing it out of the park, especially with the maternity policy. Back when I went on maternity leave, I got the bare basics, so I know if it were to ever happen again, I’d still be able to pay my bills and live my life. Greene King also gives us a voice and encourages people to have those uncomfortable conversations; for example, around menopause. Whenever I bring it up in workshops, you can tell from peoples’ faces they’re uncomfortable, but they need to hear it. 

As a member of Ability, what do you think Greene King can do to better suppose women who have a lived experience of disability, be it mental or physical? 

Whether you’ve got a physical or non-visible disability, or if you struggle with your mental health, it’s important to know that it doesn’t need to be hidden. It’s also important to make accommodations for people; for instance, if you have ADHD or anxiety, just know that if deadlines aren’t met, it’s not the end of the world. I think the workplace is a lot more forgiving now. 

What do you think Greene King could do more to empower women within the business? 

Speak about it more, and it needs to come from the top. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone in a position of leadership to about their struggles; I feel like it very much comes from the middle. It would be nice to hear some of the higher-ups speak during Mental Health Awareness Week, without it being business-related. I think that would really help people.  

You have a son, don’t you? What do you want for him in the future regarding gender equality? And if you had a daughter, what advice would you give her? 

Just to know that it’s OK to be whoever you want to be and achieve whatever you want to achieve, no matter what your gender is. For example, if he wanted to do a stereotypically feminine job, he shouldn’t care what anyone else thinks, he should go for it. If he likes things that are “for girls”, who cares what people say? Because it’s all about what makes him happy. Forget what everyone else thinks, just concentrate on you. 

What would you say your proudest achievements are? 

I think the proudest moment in my personal life, apart from bringing up my son, was when I went to Disney as part of uni. I did a year abroad and worked at Disney World. I never thought I could do something like that on my own, let alone do it, achieve it, have the best time and the best experience and gain the life skills I got from it.  

In terms of my career, it’s probably getting into this role. Although the circumstances weren’t the best, as my previous role was at risk, I embraced it. I had the same conversation in a recent performance review with my line manager, who said it was strange to see how much I’ve changed in seven months. When I had my first group of General Managers, I was really nervous because I’d never done it by myself. I thought, “Oh my god, I actually have to speak to people” – although it’s my job, meeting new people can be really hard, especially when there are ten of them and one of you. The icing on the cake was when I was doing a workshop with a group of Assistant Managers, the General Managers came and knocked on the door and told me I was doing a great job and they couldn’t wait until their next workshop. They even went to my boss and told them “You’ve got an amazing team”. It was nice to hear that I do a good job.  

What advice would you give your 15-year-old self? 

I would say that everything happens for a reason. If you want something, go and achieve it. Don’t wait for everyone else to tell you what to do, and don’t listen to other people’s opinions.