Women in Leadership

Breaking Barriers: Women in Leadership and the Challenges We’re Still Tackling

How do you bounce back when a CEO tells you you’ve “wasted” your career by choosing to be a mother? Or keep your focus when 38,000 fans are watching you lead your team at St James’ Park? These were just some of the raw, real stories shared at Blair West’s Women in Leadership 2025 event in Newcastle – a night that shone a light on the challenges women still face in leadership, and the resilience it takes to overcome them.

Hosted by Maxine Fox, Vice Chair of Smart Works Newcastle, the panel brought together three women with vastly different journeys but strikingly similar lessons:

• Becky Langley, Head Coach of Newcastle United Women
• Kay Hussain, CEO of Micropore Technologies
• Katherine Richards, General Counsel at Barbour

What followed was a candid conversation about the realities of leadership: self-doubt, resilience, balance, and the importance of making your voice heard.

Imposter Syndrome – Reframing the Narrative

Imposter syndrome was a recurring theme, and the panel’s stories struck a chord. Becky Langley shared the weight of leading in the spotlight, and her example of this brought resilience to life in a way that few could imagine.

“My mum says to me, when there are 38,500 people watching you at St James’ Park and you’re not winning, doesn’t it feel like the world is swallowing you up? But in those moments, I’m not thinking about the crowd – I’m focused on my job, because I know I’m prepared and my team is stronger with me there.”

What stood out most was Becky’s mindset. Instead of being paralysed by the weight of expectation, she channels her preparation and belief in her team to cut through the noise. For her, resilience isn’t about ignoring the pressure; it’s about acknowledging it, then narrowing her focus back to what she can control: preparation, adaptability, and trust.

It was a powerful reminder that self-doubt and external pressure often go hand in hand, but the antidote lies in preparation, perspective, and trust.

Sara Davies offered Becky a perspective that really shifted the way she thinks about imposter syndrome. She reminded her that feeling “not good enough” for a role overlooks one crucial fact: it wasn’t her decision to make. Someone else, someone with the experience, authority, and perspective to judge, had already assessed her ability and chosen her for that position. In other words, the weight of that decision sits with them, not with you. Reframing it this way takes the pressure off and helps quiet self-doubt, because if someone else believes you are the right person for the job, you owe it to yourself to believe it too.

Balancing Homelife and the Boardroom

For Kay Hussain, being the only woman in the boardroom was a reality for much of her career. She didn’t shy away from the tougher stories either;

“When I tried to return to work after having my first child, I was treated like I’d had a lobotomy, not a baby. One MD even told me, ‘What a waste – why would you leave a career like that to stay at home and be a mum?’”

Her story struck a chord with the audience because many women in leadership roles still find themselves questioned in ways their male peers rarely are, about their priorities, their family commitments, or whether they ‘deserve’ their seat at the table.

Instead of backing down, Kay walked out of that interview and built her leadership career on her own terms. Now, she makes a point of leaving “loudly and proudly” at 3 pm on Fridays to do the school run, modelling to her team that boundaries are not only acceptable, but necessary.

Resilience – Learning from Setbacks

No leadership journey is without its setbacks, and the panel were open about how difficult moments had shaped them. Resilience, they agreed, isn’t about simply “toughing it out”; it’s about adapting, learning, and moving forward stronger.

For Katherine Richards, resilience is closely tied to culture. She shared how mistakes and challenges can either break a team apart or bring them closer together, and the difference comes down to how leaders handle those moments:

“At a moment of crisis is not the time to panic or point fingers. We are where we are – how do we move forward? Later, when the dust settles, that’s when you ask: how do we make sure it never happens again? The hard part is building a culture of zero blame – but if you can get that bit right, your team becomes incredibly resilient.”

Her point underlined that resilience isn’t built in isolation. It’s fostered within a culture where people feel safe to admit mistakes and collaborate on solutions, rather than protect themselves.

Empowering Others as You Climb

A theme that resonated deeply was the responsibility leaders have to create opportunities for others as they rise. All three panellists agreed that leadership isn’t just about personal success; it’s about lifting the people around you.

For Kay Hussain, that means being intentional in how she develops her teams. She explained that too many leaders confuse training or mentoring with coaching. The difference, she said, is crucial:

“Coaching isn’t about giving people the answers – it’s about asking the right questions so they can find their own. When people feel listened to and trusted, they grow. That’s how you build teams that don’t just perform, but thrive.”

Kay described how she applies this in practice: involving her teams in strategy, giving them ownership of decisions, and making sure promotions don’t always go to external hires but also to people already working hard within the business. By doing so, she not only strengthens the organisation but also builds confidence and capability in individuals who might otherwise have been overlooked.

For Becky Langley, empowerment is about recognising the different strengths people bring – even if they don’t look the same on the surface. She shared a powerful metaphor she picked up during a visit to AC Milan:

“They told me there are two types of lions – a lion in the wild and a lion in the zoo. Both are lions, but they bring different strengths. As a leader, your job is to recognise which lion is in front of you – and empower them in the way they need.”

This metaphor came to life when Becky reflected on how diverse her team has become. At Newcastle United Women, she has players from different backgrounds, countries, and life experiences, not just local Geordies who “bleed black and white.” For her, good leadership means adapting her style to bring out the best in each individual, whether that’s motivating the natural risk-takers or encouraging the quieter, steadier players who still contribute enormous value to the team’s success.

Both stories highlight that empowerment isn’t about treating everyone the same; it’s about seeing people as individuals, understanding their strengths, and creating the right environment for them to thrive. True leadership, as Kay and Becky showed, is measured by the legacy you leave in the people who come after you.

Moving Forward

The evening closed with a sense of both realism and optimism. The challenges are still there, from imposter syndrome to balancing family with boardroom expectations, but so is the momentum for change.

The Women in Leadership event has become a true highlight of the Blair West calendar, providing a platform for open, honest stories from today’s leaders and inspiring the next generation of women to follow in their footsteps.

As Katherine reminded us, leadership doesn’t have to fit a single mould. It can be authentic, human, and values-driven, and when women lift each other up, they create lasting change not just for themselves, but for the next generation of leaders in the North East.

The conversation doesn’t end here, and we’re already looking forward to creating more spaces like this, where honesty sparks change and women across the North East feel empowered to lead on their own terms.