How to Level the Playing Field

Speaker  0:19  
The Northern Power Women podcast for your career and your life no matter what business you're in. 

Simone Roche MBE  0:26  
Hello and welcome to the Northern Power Women podcast and the seventh in our Levelling Up season. I'm your host, Simone Roche and this season I've been speaking to many of our Northern Power Women community about how they are levelling up from the North. And today I'm joined by Rina Sowler, who is Asia Investment Manager at the Leith Planning Group, permanent member of the Tate Liverpool Development and Advisory Group and Associate Member of the Liverpool China Partnership. Alongside there, she's a Mandarin Tutor, and a Cricket Coach. I mean, that is some list, isn't it? It's fantastic. Th Welcome, welcome. Welcome today, Rina. Thank you for joining us. 

Rina Sowler  1:07  
Thank you for having me. Happy Wednesday.

Simone Roche MBE  1:09  
Happy indeed. So Rina is passionate about establishing grassroots cricket in China and putting it on the regular curriculum PE lessons in the UK. And so I thought this week was very much a conversation about levelling the playing field, we know how vast and you know, impactful sport played by women has been, you know, over the last number of years. And so I thought this was a great conversation. And I'm really passionate about the power of sport, the power of sport in the North, but the power of the, you know, I have this real passion about young girls and women not disconnecting from sport, I think the power of sport brings so much, you know, and I think so what you're doing at a grassroots level is so important. And one of our major goals around our levelling up report, which we produce our progress report next week was to promote investment in Black, Asian and minority ethnic led businesses. And we know firsthand about these extra barriers that women face in business, but what can you share, you've got such a, you've got typical and so many of our Northern Power Women community, not just one role, not just to role but you know, many, many roles, and you know, but what do you know about those extra barriers that we face? And what can you share about women from ethnic minority backgrounds, those extra challenges they face,

Rina Sowler  2:30  
I suppose, is very much at the beginning, when you work in the company environment or networking environment is very much physically recognising that you're different straightaway, I suppose for for us, we also realise the advantage of being different as well from an ethnic minority group, because we have the power to reach the audience or the listeners or the business that the mainstream cannot sometimes reach. So realising your unique power is somehow the driving engine behind behind me, I suppose for for my occasion, also to have a to have support from where you work. I joined the Leith Planning Group this year, on the New Year's Day, Chinese New Year's Day and my mentor, and my different poll basically put me at the front of the, of the company announcement and the Liverpool Business Inside, or the magazine social media announcement, I was at the front, and he was supporting me to announce this this Asian Investment Manager role in welcoming me into the company, which is massive, in a way massive dose of confidence. For me as as a woman, first of all, as a Chinese woman working in, in this country in a in a new company. So I suppose the support from your colleagues from your mentor and also from the community that Northern Power Women, this community, we talk to each other and we we share our experience that's that's how I suppose for myself as a, you know, the Asian Chinese background working and trying to achieve things

Simone Roche MBE  4:37  
And it's interesting that you mentioned your mentor there, who I know as well. Who has recently received an OBE hasn't he or an MBE.

Rina Sowler  4:50  
His work was with China, Chinese community and the Chair of China partnership. 

Simone Roche MBE  4:57  
But I think there's something really powerful around, you know, we always say that northern power women is all genders, all genders, all stories, all race, all social mobility, all sectors and all levels. And I think, what Paul did there by putting you to the front of that announcement that to me is beyond mentorship. It's mentorship plus and, you know, mentoring is one of the big highlights that's going to be coming up in our progress report. But I think this goes beyond and it's I would call the sponsorship, and it last week, I was down on a Royal Navy warship as part of my Royal Navy duties down in Portsmouth and I, you know, I talk passionately about that, where the Navy is so important to me that in my early days when I was in the Royal Navy before revisiting it, this elder this later stage in my career, it was that left tenant commander, Lieutenant Commander Paul, another Paul, there must be something in the mentor called poor. He literally not just put me through, he didn't put me to the front of the list and said, I think you should become an Officer, I think you should do this. And I think the power of those individuals, so I think this is what I love about this community is that, that everybody can do something can open that door that can pay it forward. So I want to do a big high five for all of those advocates for all of the Pauls out there be more, Paul, I think, is what I've asked. But that is really important. So, you know, when we talk about the report, the progress report and our levelling up season that we're in now, how helpful and are they helpful are reports like this to shine a light on those, those extra challenges do? Do you think it helps the wider business community rally round, we've heard of what Paul did. But you know, are they useful?

Rina Sowler  6:36  
I think acts of social media and act of organisation, the to be seen, visibility and to be heard. And we as women working and trying to achieve the goals in our own pathway, career pathway, are those career ideas, family, for children, we also like to have some role models to look up to. And you have created this platform that we could see what's happening, we could see people we can hear people are being heard different voices from different ethnic groups, successful stories, not so successful stories and how to overcome it. That's such an important learning and a sharing community sharing stories for all of the women and men to appreciate, you know, you're not on your own. This is a community, you can all watch and learn or you can just join in and participate to help each other, lift each other up. 

Simone Roche MBE  7:48  
And you and all the rest of the community, you help me shape where this goes next, if you like. And I think particularly over the last 18 months, where we've been more isolated and battling with technology and zoom and isolation. I think there's it's enabling, it's enabling those conversations to take place. And for me that enabling this is northern power women, northern path future. So we are power communities, absolutely, about creating that storytelling environment and proving that there is no one straight path. There is no one route to take is we all have to be our own selves and have our own story. And I think, I think all those different bits. So you know, I think of your your credentials at the start of this. All of those bits make you Rina. And I think you know, and that's so important. And this was little pointers, as well as being all of those things. You are a passionate Cricket Coach, you know, when Where did that start? Where on earth Rina, did you find the time?

Rina Sowler  8:45  
Well see, that's the blessing and the curse of being in the export for 20 years, I went on a very long haul business trip back to China came back and developed a DVT. And then further on developed into something quite sinister, which is PE blood clot in my lungs without knowing the danger. You know, I thought it was chest infection. But long story short, I was prescribed with blood thinning tablets for six months. And that really knocked me all over the places after you know recovering from quieter touch and go situation basically and that was in 2017. But after that, it was a mentally and physical physical recovery. Recovering basically, is to be able to walk as fast as the other moms walking into the school run and remember one morning I was looking at one one mom walking with her children and just, you know, the little things you took for granted and I was in my head. I wish I could just walk as as far as I'm almost stronger like what she was doing. So with that kind of a physical recovering stage, my girls actually by accident join the local Cricket Club and that was the only thing I could do at the time. I couldn't run I couldn't go to the gym I was really weak with the local clubs support cricket is the beauty of the cricket let's say is to get everybody involved it's not football parents will be just watching stand is not to rugby any other sports if you go with your children it's it's you basically are the audience you can't take part for cricket and the special fun of it at the end is one man standing that's when I like joined in and then felt okay, there's something actually I could do from the unknown basically is to becoming more interested played, become the coach and to develop a girls team, helping. I'm only a very small, small part of a big community, helping other coaches and community to develop children's and girls cricket.

Simone Roche MBE  11:09  
Wow, I had no idea I had no idea that is you know why you got involved and got engaged. 

Rina Sowler  11:15  
That's a beautiful accent.

Simone Roche MBE  11:18  
I know you well, now you Okay, now? 

Rina Sowler  11:20  
Yes, absolutely.Thank you very much. I mean, I have to say all thanks to cricket at the beginning. Otherwise, I wouldn't know where to start to reboot my physical strength. 

Simone Roche MBE  11:30  
Well, I was gonna say how do you see that sport changes lives? Well, it's changed your life for a start. How does it promote that confidence? And what role do you see sport and cricket in developing confident female leaders because, you know, I think there's something in that being all part of it.

Rina Sowler  11:47  
Yes. As for my own experience, and my girls playing cricket will be cricket is a game that involves individuality. You when bowl you will be the one on the stage, everybody watching you. And you take your stage, you take your time and you bow at your own time that's individuality. When you bat then that's a pair work you have your partner you will be communicating and coordinating whether you run or not you, you need to work in the pair. And then when you feel it's a teamwork, you work with other futures. And to to somehow to save that for six in the match not to let the other team score. So it's three dimensions. Basically, you have the individuality, you have the pair work, you have the teamwork. Also, cricket involves all the community families, not just for the players. That is why I think that, you know, it's, it's a beauty and the advantage of developing promoting cricket.

Simone Roche MBE  12:56  
Wow, this is amazing, and I can't. And I'm just gonna say as well, we will be doing a follow up conversation with you Reena because there's so many things that we haven't even gotten to yet. And I love the fact that, that mapping that really easily mapping seamlessly, there's individual, it's a place for individuals to work as a pair, to work as a team, that all the things that we require in business. Don't you need that leadership? You know, and I think you've shown resilience already and where your journey on cricket has been. And I think I think there's got to be there's obviously been some negative reports around cricket on a stage recently. So I think that this is why it's even more important to we talk very much about build back better, we don't we subscribe to build forward better. So I think this is how we can take the simplicity of what you've just talked about into building forward grassroots cricket, building our leaders, and it's it's an easy game for girls and boys to play and it has equal opportunities, doesn't it?

Rina Sowler  13:56  
Absolutely, absolutely. But from my own experience, I think we are doing so well so much in the past two to three years to develop girls and women's cricket on the grassroots level. I personally think the established structure is not as fast as as the development of the of what's going on right now. So for example, the PE lessons at most of the schools would be Netball, Basketball and Football. If there is cricket, there won't be for girls, for example, for boys play, and it's not a strong curriculum. So I would love to see it to be put into a very much regular PE curriculum for all students with all different physical abilities to participate not just to girls for boys and girls to participate because ours system in this country is club system, you go to your local club, you play cricket, and some kids do not have that transportation you know, the availability of being being dropped off or being left to the club and that kind of advantage but if cricket can be applied to school as a PE lesson more popular than all the children who are interested will be able to get the access.

Simone Roche MBE  15:30  
And who hasn't played cricket in a park or on a beach with the family? You know, we started a bit of a family arguments like playing Monopoly but that's a whole other thing. But I think you know, this is this is exactly what has been my passion is making this is accessible right? So I think we change the narrative, we change the narrative of what maybe the perception and the you know, certain parts of the media what cricket has been about, I think this is how we build forward better we built for a better buy we level up that cricket playing field we insure it I think this is this is going to be part of our next year's report. I think the Rina. I can feel it

Rina Sowler  16:03  
Amazing.

Simone Roche MBE  16:06  
Look at the power of sport in the North of England look at sport is integral sport culture, you know, is so important. So I think this is something we're going to take forward. If you want to get involved. If you've got any questions for us, please do drop us a line at podcast@northernpowerwomen.com. Rina I cannot thank you enough for joining me today and discussing how we can really level up and start another conversation here. So thank you Ria. Thank you for joining us today. 

Rina Sowler  16:35  
Thank you so much.

Simone Roche MBE  16:36  
We haven't even talked about rowing or paddleboarding. But you know, I'm sure that that's a whole other conversation to come. Thanks to all of you for tuning in today. Please do tell your friends about our podcast. Reach out to us on socials at North Power Women on Twitter and at Northern Power Women on all our other social media. Please do join us for our level your progress report on the seventh of December. All the informations in the show notes. My name is Simone Roche you've been listening to the Northern Power Women podcast a What Goes On Media production.