Recently, I was asked to take part in a wonderful Women In Media event at Facebook HQ in London.

Gathered was an inspiring roomful of women from different generations, all confident and very much ready and prepared to make a difference. It’s not the first – and it most definitely won’t be the last – time I proudly support conversations about equality and women’s rightful place in society.

I am a working mum. There are daily struggles I face both internally and in my day-to-day life. I have experienced negativity around how becoming a mum would affect my career. I have been the victim of unwanted attention in a work environment and to this day remain bemused as to why so many men hold more management seats in media than women.

There’s a long way to go before women are on level terms with the men of this world, but increasingly we are closing the gap, we are moving forward and we are being heard.

The key to faster pace evolution is inclusion, not exclusion. Sat at this event, I kept thinking about my kids. My two boys, aged four and nine, have very different personalities and so respond differently to what life throws at them. I want them to be part of this conversation – the drive for equality.

As their mother, I need them to feel involved in these discussions not just regarding women’s position in society but also men’s, their own and how they will react and adapt to the idea of working towards equilibrium between genders. The only way we are going to see change in future generations is if we start the conversations with the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs right now.

EQUALITY BEGINS AT HOME 

It’s great when groups of women get together to put the world to rights. I feel 10 feet tall leaving my friend’s house after sitting around her kitchen table talking about everything from schools to puberty, dogs to medical porn (that’s for another time). We empower each other every time we meet. We can change the world, but fundamentally, we do need the boys to buy into that from an early age, too.

I am the only female in my house. I want to be able to have the same conversations I have with women and not just with the men in my life, but, men in general. My goal is to try to achieve that, starting at home, around my own kitchen table.

Edith’s free podcast ‘Soundtracking’ can be downloaded weekly