On Wednesday 22^nd January we welcomed Labour Education Peer Baroness Estelle Morris as our third speaker in our Women of Influence series.

Morris is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Yardley from 1992 to 2005. Morris also served as Secretary of State for Education and Skills from 2001 to 2002.

Upper Third’s Eydis Karadottir and Chiara Khadem led the interview and asked Morris to give the audience a brief summary of her background and career. Morris spoke about her upbringing in a political family in Manchester and how her father, Charles, was Labour MP for Manchester Openshaw. She spoke with enthusiasm about her time as a teacher and as Head of Sixth Form at Sidney Stringer School in Coventry.

The girls asked about opportunities for woman in politics today and Morris discussed how having a father who was an MP meant that she never considered it to be beyond her capabilities, and reflected on the possibility that had that been different, she might not have believed that being an MP was possible. Morris discussed the widening breadth of opportunities available to women today but commented that still in 2020, we are yet to have a female leader of the Labour Party. Following the resignation of BBC Director General Tony Hall, Morris reflected on how brilliant it would be to see a woman in that position of leadership.

Morris reminded us of the importance of taking opportunities that build our character and discussed how character is not something you study and take an exam in but rather something you acquire over time from new experiences and opportunities. She reminded us that “It’s a good time to be a girl. It’s a good time to be a woman”. Thank you, Estelle Morris, for being a fantastic inspiration in our Women of Influence series.