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Wise words from artist and designer Rachel Castle.
On the best part about working in a predominantly female sphere…
Being a ‘girly’ type of girl, I absolutely LOVE the company of women, I find them hilarious and warm, and gentle and open. I have made so many close friends from my professional life in this industry, we support and promote one another like true friends do, and I think the way women ‘make friends’ is truly very special.
On the challenges of being a woman in your field…
When I worked in the UK in branding in the 1990’s it was a lot harder to get traction as a woman. Things were definitely starting to change by then, but some of the bigger corporate brands we worked for were still after men to lead their teams, and especially their creatives. Being a woman, in this industry certainly is getting easier and easier, I hardly ever, if at all come to think of it, see gender as an issue these days.
On the best advice…
The more real you are, the more you resonate.
I now give myself full permission (unfortunately at times!) to be absolutely myself!
On inspirational women…
My friends (stylist Megan Morton, designer Louella Tuckey, and Heidi Moore-Gill of event design company The Bespokery) absolutely and always because they are my lifeblood. And of course my favourite of all time Tracey Emin. She’s fearless, true and sexy… I will always adore her.
On ‘Mum’s always right’…
As a child I always wanted to wear the same things as my friends did. She refused to buy me anything synthetic… very boring at the time! But she was, in hindsight, absolutely right.
On girl power…
Every single woman who runs her own company is, to me, a success story.
On what you wish you always knew…
Your ability to listen is your most powerful tool. When you’re young and you don’t have the biggest voice you spend a lot of time wondering how to be heard when all you really need to do is listen intently.
You don’t have to agree, but you do need to listen properly.
On achieving greater gender equality…
The one area I still see a boy/girl thing happening is education. Of course, this is changing over time but I’d like to see more… gender is still an issue for kids at school.
Girls still so readily steer towards the creative, while boys pursue the maths and sciences.
