Women remain under-represented in leadership across the convenience sector, and the industry still has a “long way to go” to close the gap, industry leaders have said.
At the National Convenience Show at the NEC in Birmingham this week, Londis retailer Natalie Lightfoot, Penny Petroleum CEO Vicky Hennessy, Spar trading director Trudy Hills and OurCoop CEO Debbie Robinson discussed the obstacles they had faced as they navigated a challenging convenience sector.
From being mistaken as “not the boss”, overlooked in conversation in favour of male colleagues, striking the “difficult balance” with personal life, and dealing with the realities of retail crime, including armed robberies, they highlighted some of their personal experiences.
“I’ve been asked ‘is the boss in?’ or ‘who is looking after the kids?’, which is frustrating,” Lightfoot said. “It can take the wind out of your sails.”
Hennessy added: “People will allude to the male colleague rather than me about the company, and you almost have to pull yourself back into the conversation,” she said. “It’s a daily occurrence, and unfortunately it’s something women get used to.”
Hills also reflected on her career and the male-dominated industry she has worked in. “I’ve always been in an environment surrounded by men,” she said. “I did a degree in engineering, and I joined Procter & Gamble when it was all white men. There have been times when I have had to work harder to prove myself.”
The panel also highlighted the severe impact of retail crime on women operating in the sector.
Lightfoot said she lost £35,000 worth of stock during a break-in, which was not covered by insurance due to a loophole. “You have to rebuild your business from scratch and seek help from family, and unfortunately, the stress got the better of me and I suffered from a miscarriage,” she said. “When you are a female in this industry, there is a lot more that can go wrong.”
Hennessy also described a traumatic incident earlier in her career. “I was 23-year-old manager at B&Q and I was on a night shift and someone broke in with a gun, tied up me and my team, and took about £13,000 from the safe,” she said.
“It becomes a defining moment of your life and how you deal with that afterwards is a really difficult situation.”
Despite these challenges, the panel stressed the importance of perseverance, confidence and recognising individual strengths to support women entering the sector.
“Don’t underestimate the power of underestimation,” said Robinson. “We’re often told to be good at everything, but we can’t be. But if you know your superpower, people rely on you. There’s a lot to be said for perseverance.”
Hills added: “If you’ve been recruited in a role, the people that put you in that role believe you can do it, and you have to believe that too.”
Hennessy said she hoped her career journey could inspire others. “I’ve come from being a till operator to being CEO,” she says. “I want people to watch that and get inspiration from it.”
Robinson said leaders had a responsibility to improve representation. “I feel duty bound to make the journey as smooth as possible for those who are coming behind us and to raise each other up,” she said. “An inclusive workforce where you have representation for the communities you serve will build a better business in the short and long term. As leaders, we should be talent spotters, that’s our job.”
Lightfoot agreed with Robinson’s sentiment and urged women not to rule themselves out of store ownership or leadership roles.
“It’s hard work, but don’t be blindsided that you can’t do it,” she said. “If you’ve got a strong work ethic and perseverance, then you can. There’s nothing about being woman that should disadvantage you.
“Just because there are fewer women in leadership roles, that doesn’t mean we don’t have the strengths needed to deliver. A convenience store is a heavily community-based and we’ve got qualities that play to that. We can identify what our customers need and we’re good at building trust and relationships.
“I’d suggest build your network because they’ll be your biggest cheerleaders. We have to be twice as loud to be heard, but don’t give up.”
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