Vicky Truter interviews Jenny Kidd, a Programme Manager at Taylor & Francis, about the projects she works on in the academic publishing industry, her experiences as a woman in the project landscape, and her advice for early career project managers.
“I think the biggest change from when I started working in the 1980s is that there is much wider awareness and understanding that we bring our whole selves to work and can’t – indeed shouldn’t – separate and ignore what’s going on in our wider worlds.”
Vicky Truter: Can you tell me a bit about yourself and how you landed up managing projects in your current role?
Jenny Kidd: I work specifically with the technology team at F1000, a fully open access publisher which joined Taylor & Francis in January 2020. I have worked with Taylor & Francis for a number of years in journals production and moved into a secondment project management role to integrate F1000 into Taylor & Francis. In December 2020, my Project Manager role was made permanent, and I was soon after promoted to Programme Manager. I had not worked under the role ‘Project Manager’ until that point, although it became clear very early into my new role that the previous years’ heading up a production group had been all about project management! So, although it was a conscious decision to move into project management, for me the real eye opener was that I’d been doing that role (or something very like it) for many years already.
VT: What kinds of projects do you typically work on?
JK: I work on various projects varying in size from delivering new publishing platforms with small teams of internal stakeholders to company-wide financial and workflow optimisation projects.
VT: What are some of the challenges you face as a woman in the workplace, or that you see other women facing?
JK: I’ve been working for many years now and like everyone else, I have been through many significant life events. I’m thrilled to see that there is now much more open conversation and acknowledgment happening about mental and physical health, fertility, menopause, pregnancy loss, child-rearing, bereavement, caring for older relatives and generally juggling the responsibilities of home and work life. I think that taking time out for pregnancy or maternity leave and the strain of being back at work with little ones at home needs flexibility. We can have it all, but we need to be realistic – both employees and employers. It’s tough!
I think the biggest change from when I started working in the 1980s is that there is much wider awareness and understanding that we bring our whole selves to work and can’t – indeed shouldn’t – separate and ignore what’s going on in our wider worlds. Back then, in my experience, if a woman didn’t behave a certain way in her career – assertive (not bossy!), wearing a power suit, with no obvious ‘life’ outside the office and working crazy long hours – then she was unlikely to progress in her career quite as well as a man would. They may start well but would plateau sooner. Thankfully, at least in my experience, that ‘macho’ work culture is diminishing.
A massive issue for me is everyone’s favourite – the classic imposter syndrome. I don’t doubt that men have the same fears, but my perception and experience is that men are more effective at shutting that voice down and just going for it, unlike women (I speak personally here) who may miss opportunities or raises because they don’t feel they have the knowledge or experience to get a new role, or that they don’t deserve it. My advice – take a punt and see where it gets you! Let the recruiter decide if you have what it takes, and not your critical inner doubter (I wish I’d said that to my younger self!). Our CEO is a woman, and I work in the Technology team alongside some really inspirational women, many of whom are in leadership positions.
VT: Has your industry or workplace made any strides when it comes to gender equality? What are some areas that you think could still improve?
JK: Yes! As I mentioned earlier, we have many women in leadership positions – although we’re not yet at 50% at board level, for example. I’m not sure if this is about gender equality but the unwritten expectation that people must work beyond our contracted hours to succeed has broadly ended. Depending on your circumstances this can mean that the daily/weekly juggle for working parents can be a little less fraught – it’s still difficult, but I think slightly better than previously.
Otherwise, mansplaining is still prevalent in some areas, but I have high hopes that as time marches on the more old-fashioned behaviours will go extinct and won’t exist in the workplace. We have new generations of people in the workforce who passionately care about and insist upon gender equality. Having a female CEO has made a big difference for us, I think. One thing I’m not clear on is the salary question – I don’t know what my colleagues earn, so have no way to gauge whether women and men are being paid equally for the same role. In our company generally the gender pay gap is still an issue (2020 data shows a mean difference of 19.9%), but I believe that there is work happening to reduce that gap.
VT: What do you think (or hope) the future holds for women in project management?
JK: That gender will be irrelevant to their status, remuneration, and any opportunities they may seek. I also welcome the drive to professionalise the role of ‘Project Manager’ and encourage everyone outside of project management to see that it is not an admin role but demands a speaking seat at the table; maybe a different role title is needed such as ‘Project Leader’?
VT: What advice would you have for women who are either early career, or who are looking to change careers to a more project-based role?
JK: Silence your inner critic, be brave, be curious, and learn from your mistakes. Keep learning and widen your network. Be honest – you won’t know all the answers, and in those cases, commit to finding out. Get some 360° feedback from colleagues to highlight any areas for further development.
Immerse yourself in the business and read as much as you can! Timebox different work activities – you’ll be spinning a lot of different plates and encouraging others to complete their tasks – you need to walk the walk!