Sharon Perera
Academic Support Team Manager
University of Greenwich
How does it feel to be a woman in leadership here in Greenwich?
As a woman in a professional environment, it feels great to be working at the University of Greenwich. I feel inspired by the women in senior leadership roles and admire their self-assurance and wisdom. My managers have always empowered me to manage myself, to be proactive and take responsibility for my work. I’ve been given opportunities to develop and grow and I’ve had role models who have mentored and supported me in my career. Today, as a woman in a leadership role myself, I have learned from my experiences that if you want independent staff who will own and enjoy their work, you have to empower and trust them. Everyone in my team is celebrated for their unique skills and everyone has a role to play, where their contributions are valued; this approach has helped to combat bias and stereotyping.
The culture and environment at Greenwich has nurtured me and helped me grow the skills and strengths that make me good at my job. I’m always awed by the wonderful young women coming up behind me, and if I can help them to grow and develop as I have done, I know I will have been effective as a leader.
Tell us about your career journey, and how you ended up at Greenwich.I completed my education in Singapore in the 80s and started my career as a teacher because it was the only way I could get a grant to educate myself. When I got my first assignment in an inner-city school, teaching English, I was hooked. I was in my early twenties and immediately identified with the disaffected youths I was teaching. I knew then, that I’d found my calling – i.e. developing projects and initiatives to help students achieve and progress. I taught in the same school until I met and married my British husband and moved to the UK. I took a six-year career break to raise my children and then started working part-time. My husband’s job took us to different locations; back to Singapore, France and the UK, so to keep myself busy, I retrained as a TEFL teacher and picked up part-time work.
I launched my own business when living in France – developing courses for the local businesses in my community. I taught restaurateurs, ski-instructors, chamber-maids and estate agents. My family moved back to the UK in the new millennium and I saw a job being advertised at Canterbury Christ Church University, to work with students from challenging backgrounds. This brought back the old yearning to work with students in most need of support. I was disappointed when I didn’t get the job, but then, the chair later contacted me and asked if I’d be interested running a project for her, on Modern Foreign Languages. I worked in that capacity for a while and them moved on to other projects with a widening participation remit. Each time the project came to an end, I moved on to a new one within the same area, until I saw an opportunity to do a similar role at the University of Greenwich. Five years ago I saw a new role that was created to lead a team of librarians and academic skills tutors in supporting students – when I got the role, I felt it was a culmination of all the years of developing courses and supporting learners. The job felt so natural and I instinctively knew how to consult with stakeholders and work with the team to create resources and services that were fit for purpose and relevant to students’ needs.
What tips would you give to the women at Greenwich today? Any top tips to empower women in the University of Greenwich community?
- When I look back at my journey, it’s obvious to me that I didn’t set out with a plan – I knew I wanted to get a degree or a professional qualification, and while I was doing this I found the things I loved, that mattered to me while I was trying out new things. So my advice is to take every opportunity you are offered, your passion in life or your calling won’t be presented to you with a label.
- I didn’t have a very stable career at the start due to having to raise a family and follow my husband’s work – that was the right thing to do as he was the main breadwinner – but along the way, pathways always opened up to me and when I took these, new ones opened up which ultimately led me to do the job I most love. My advice is to always look for the pathways and take them, even if they don’t appear to be what you want at the start. If an apple falls into your lap, go on, take a bite!
- As a woman, I’ve lived in cultures that didn’t always give women an equal standing in the world. I was lucky because my mother was a driving force in my life. As a teacher herself and a working parent, I didn’t think it strange that I should also work and pursue the jobs that gave me satisfaction. My mother valued education and hard work, so I did the same, which gave me the tools and skills to forge my own pathway. My qualifications and experiences gave me the conviction to stick to my values and beliefs. When I married, I told my husband I wanted to keep my own name and he respected my decision. My top tip is to arm yourself with the qualifications, skills and tools that will give you an equal standing in the world, challenge the system if it’s not what you want, however, always respect everyone else’s opinion in the way you’d like to be respected yourself.