Tell us about yourself, Ruby
So, I'm Ruby. I work in the Pub Partners division of Greene King and I am a Franchise Recruitment Coordinator. It will be coming up to my five-year anniversary next month.
How would you summarise your role and daily tasks?
It’s very Pubs Code-driven. I’d like to say no two days are the same. I speak to some fabulous applicants for Franchise. Essentially, Franchise is an opportunity for experienced general managers and hospitality managers to venture into their own pub with us by their side – it’s a great opportunity. I used to do Leased and Tenanted, but when I came back from maternity leave, I was introduced to Franchise.
It’s a great role; I do enjoy it. It can get very busy because on a month-to-month basis, we can have over 150 applicants, and all of those people require phone calls, voicemails, and emails. It's very fast-paced. We get a lot of enquiries, but it’s enjoyable.
So, the job you do involves recruiting and having contact with General Managers and Landlords for our pubs. Would you say those roles have been historically male-dominated?
Manager-wise, yes. But during my time at Greene King, in terms of coordinators, I’ve worked amongst great, great females. We were always an all-female team with a male manager.
Would you say there are a lot of gender stereotypes in hospitality?
Yes. I think typically, most people see tenants and franchisees as middle-aged men. Don’t get me wrong; we’re seeing a massive influx of women, which is great. We’re all here for women running their own businesses. But from what I see, it’s male-dominated. I’d like to see it change. From our division as well - we'd really benefit from having a more diverse portfolio of tenants.
What would you say to a woman who was interested in becoming a manager but was hesitant? How would you empower her?
It’s slightly different for us because we don’t hire for GM, AM, KM roles. We hire people to start their own businesses. The type of recruitment we do is a bit niche if I’m honest. We’re not reviewing CVs; we’re having conversations with people and assessing them based on the experience they have. So if I speak to people who’re interested in Franchise, the first thing I want to know is that they fully understand the type of agreement they’re applying for, because essentially, you’re setting up a limited company, you’re paying your own staff; it’s a big responsibility. Especially because we promote internal mobility for people to progress. If I had someone who was unsure, I would ask them to do the research, because we wouldn’t want to push them into something they might not be comfortable with. We also want the best candidates possible, and because it’s Franchise, they have active support from the BDMs and operations team. They have every chance to succeed.
Quite a few of our franchisees are multiple operators – they’re going from strength to strength. However, if I was applying for this position myself and I was unsure, I would take my time and make sure it’s right for me. You need to have that entrepreneurial flair. You need to know how to cater to your community, and you need to make sure you’re getting that return on investment. If you go in and do well, you reap the rewards.
It’s a big change, but you get to be your own boss. Of course, some people like the security of a salaried role, but sometimes having the freedom to succeed in your own right can be a lot more rewarding. You get to choose your own staff and be part of the community. Some of our franchisees have raised money for local charities – it’s all about being there for people.
Would you say that Greene King is a place of work that promotes equality and the empowerment of women?
The fact that Green Sky has launched a maternity policy that is better than that of the NHS is amazing. Unfortunately, I missed out because I had my daughter a year before the new policy landed, but I’m so grateful that it is now in place. Statutory maternity pay really doesn't cover enough. But now these things are being recognised, and Greene Sky have paved the way for the maternity policy, and I love to see it.
What would you like to see the business work on, or do better at?
I’d like to see more females in management positions. I think the work Greene Sky have done with the Menopause Café, and raising awareness, is brilliant because it highlights key things females live with. Obviously, these things aren’t applicable to every female, so I’d like to see things from different perspectives so we can be as inclusive as possible.
You work as part of an all-female team. What would you say you each do, day-to-day, to empower each other?
Even though we’re work colleagues, we’re friends. The ladies I work with – I’m always there to champion them. It doesn’t matter if it’s work-related or home-life-related; you know, buying a house, getting married. I’m always there to support them. I will always champion the women I work with. At the moment, we’re down a team member because they’re on maternity leave, so our workload has naturally increased while we’re in the process of procuring maternity cover. But we all muck in, we all support one another. It’s very “no man left behind”. For instance, someone could be having a bad day and they’ll be taken out of the office and asked, “Is everything ok?”. We’re firm believers in checking in on each other’s welfare and mental well-being. We all pull together. To be honest, I think that’s why I’ve stayed with my team for so long – it’s the people I work with. I couldn’t ask for anything better.
I’ve worked in male-dominated industries throughout my life, and to be amongst women – kind women, and women who are there for one another and don’t put each other down – is amazing.
What do you think we can do as women and as a society to empower each other?
Don’t pit women against each other. Especially mums – people will compare mums. For example, say you were out in a restaurant and your child was acting up, people would judge you as a mother. I do notice it. My daughter is three and a half. I have noticed that other mums compare their mum skills. The right way to be a mum. Also, not every woman can be a mum, so we have to be mindful of our language. I’m 32 now, I had my daughter when I was 28/29. Up until then, it was always, “When are you going to have a baby?”. So the pressure is there. Prior to meeting my partner and having my child, I didn’t have the desire to have children. I think it’s a very sensitive subject because nobody knows what anybody else is going through. I think it’s all about being mindful.
Just because one woman excels at one thing doesn't mean that all women excel at that thing. Quite often being a multitasker and a great organiser is an expected trait of women. Don't get me wrong, I am organized, and I'm a great multitasker, but I don't think that's because I'm female. I think it's because I'm just good at what I do naturally.
I work part-time, because my daughter is young, and nursery costs a fortune. So, you have to figure out what works best in terms of your financial circumstances. I’d love to work full-time, but the cost of full-time nursery outweighs that. It’s hard sometimes, being a working mum, and there is always a chance that it could hinder my career progression, and that is something I worry about.
Although your daughter is still very little, have you thought about ways of empowering her to be the best she can be and take no notice of gender stereotypes?
One thing we do is affirmations. I’ll say to her, “You’re beautiful”, and she’ll say “Mummy, I’m beautiful”. I make sure she’s heard. If she’s not happy about something, she can communicate that to me. We can figure out what we can do differently next time. She’s got quite a bubbly personality. I won’t dim her, because throughout my life, I’ve been put down in some regards, and it’s changed the way I’ve presented myself. She knows she's got the support of me and her dad. I know if she wanted to speak to me about something, she could.
I make sure that she knows that she's beautiful because I know what kids in school are like; I know they can say nasty things. I want her to be confident in herself. I know I might be confident in how I present myself, but confidence has been a big struggle for me throughout my life and I want to make sure she doesn’t feel how I felt when I was younger.
She’s a big character, and if someone were to pick on her, I would tell her to go about it in the right way. I grew up in a time where if someone hits you, you hit them back. But I'm trying to teach her that she can use her words; she doesn’t need to use her hands. Hitting someone back is not the right answer.
Being a parent is a hard job, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’ve had my struggles but as long as my daughter is happy, I’ve done OK.
You’re a member of Ability and you have a lived experience of suffering with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). During your diagnosis and treatment journey, would you say there have been instances where gender stereotypes have hindered you?
In some regards, yes. My onset of symptoms started less than six months after my daughter’s birth. I went to the GP multiple times, and I was told things like, “Your hand feels like this because of the way you’re feeding your baby”. I don’t want to say I got fobbed off, but I was told a lot of different things before I got to the right people. I went to see an MSK professional, and they sent me for an MRI. At the time, MS hadn’t even crossed my mind. I just wanted to know why my hands felt tingly, why I couldn’t write and why I was struggling with dexterity. The MRI scan found lesions on my spine, and from that, I had a follow-up appointment for a brain scan. Unfortunately, there were issues, and it was a long process. While I was going through the motions and they mentioned MS, I couldn’t get upset about it, because I’m a mum. I don’t have the capacity to be unwell, because I care for someone else. In my mind, my daughter comes first. It doesn’t matter how unwell I am or what I’m going through, I’ll always make sure my daughter is cared for. When you’re a parent, your health takes a back seat. But I think being a mum was a good distraction. I think had I been diagnosed before I had my daughter, I wouldn’t have handled it so well.
After having my daughter and not having a very pleasant birthing experience – during COVID – there was a knock-on effect with post-natal depression and PTSD, I really was in the trenches for the first year of my daughter’s life. I had therapy but undergoing all these tests while fighting a battle of whether I should’ve been a mum in the first place or not, was hard work. I still had to show up and be a mum every day. I couldn’t let what was happening affect my home life. But I suppose becoming a mum made me more resilient. It is what it is; there isn’t a cure currently. I just have to do everything I can to protect myself in my current state and my capabilities. But me showing up for my daughter every day is the most important thing. She’s too young to understand my diagnosis, but she knows that mummy has to do things differently to daddy, and she’s OK with it. If she asks questions, I’m happy to answer them, but at the same time, she’s very young and she will eventually find out more when she’s old enough.
My illness is not a personality trait or a characteristic. I have it, but it doesn’t define me. I won’t let it stop me, and I definitely won’t let it impact my daughter’s experience of life and growing up.
The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is “Accelerate Action”. What action do you think we should accelerate?
I’ve been at Greene King for five years now. I’m currently on an apprenticeship, and I’m doing a lot to try and accelerate my own career. So, I’d like to see more support. Not to say that I’m not supported, but I’d like to see more avenues – where can I go and what can I do to achieve my career aspirations?
I’d like to see more women empowering other women and lifting each other up. And recognising that we have some really, really strong women amongst us with really amazing stories behind them. I think we should be aware of how having a child can affect people, and how sometimes you have to step back from your career. Typically, women are the ones who have to take that step back, not men, mainly because men are in higher-paid roles and earn more money than us. I suppose I’d just like to see more recognition within the business.
It would also be good to understand why women want to be aligned with Greene Sky.
What would you say your proudest achievements are, both in your career and in your personal life?
Career-wise, my proudest achievement would be the fact that I’m still working. Very minuscule, but the fact that I’m part-time with a disability and I’m a mum – the fact that I can still work and provide a great service to my team and to Ability, despite the things that are going on in my life, I’m very proud of that. I’m also very proud of how much Ability has achieved in the last year, and finding the employee-led inclusion group, which really helped me with my diagnoses, and I’ve made some fabulous friends.
In terms of my personal life, as cliché as it sounds, I would say having my daughter. She changed my life for the better and she’s made me stronger than I thought I was. I know I can do great things, and I know I will do great things for her.
