Jenni Williams – Precedent Communications
By admin
Issued on behalf of Precedent Communications
Jenni Williams left Cardiff University with a degree in English and Communications but not much idea of what she wanted to do with it.
She had a series of temporary jobs and moved to London in 2000 because her boyfriend (now husband) got a job there. She eventually took up a permanent position as marketing assistant at Precedent Communications, a small agency specialising in new media and brand development.
Within six months she was writing proposals, after 18 months she was doing consultancy work and she became an Associate Director two years ago. She moved back to Cardiff a year ago because Precedent was opening an office in South Wales and wanted her to run it.
“There are a lot of pre-conceived ideas about sexism and the problems women face with careers in South Wales – perhaps because business here has such a traditional profile – but I’ve not found any of them to be true,” said Jenni, now regional director.
“There are still more men than women in meetings – just as there were in London. And I have found when I’ve taken a male colleague to a meeting, men are inclined to assume they are the principle and me the sidekick.
“Perhaps that’s because in the already male-dominated media industry, the new media sector is even more a male preserve in South Wales.
“But putting these things into perspective, I have never felt at a disadvantage and when I think about the key people I work with here in Wales, many of them are women. Overall, the business environment in South Wales is very favourable to women.
“Like most women with successful careers I’ll have to decide whether or not I want to have children. But one thing’s for sure; the potential for me to have children and keep my director’s role with Precedent is so much better in Cardiff than it was in London.
“I still work hard but I’m not faced with a couple of hours commuting every day which is common in London and can make it almost impossible to be a mum with a career. And we have family just down the road in Cardiff which would be invaluable.
“Other important factors are the work-life balance which is much better here and with a very close-knit business community and lots of women’s networking groups, business life is somehow more relaxed.
“And when you put all these considerations together, there is one very important conclusion that is often overlooked; female senior executives will find it much easier to return to work after having children here in South Wales than in many other parts of the UK.”
