Get me on the gravy train - and make it a first-class ticket

New research shows that it is young women, not men, who are prepared to do what it takes to get on. Hermione Eyre meets the girls who work, rest, and work some more

Publication: Independent on Sunday

Date 30/11/2003

Byline       Hermione Eyre   

"I adore it. I need it. I can't imagine life without it." Speaking in the kind of language normally reserved for chocolate cake or grand romantic passion, Harriet describes her job. "Even if I won the lottery I'd still turn up for work on Monday." Aged 24 and working in television, she typifies the Live-To-Work urban lifestyle tribe. She is professional, dedicated and female.

For the first time, more women than men are counted as Live-To-Work types, according to a survey published last week by Henley Management College. The survey, based on market research, shows that out of 1,000 randomly- selected young urbanites the women invested much more time, money and head space into work than the men. The findings have blown away traditionalist thinkers, and led to outraged comments about "superbeasts" beating men out of the office.

But what do the findings actually mean? In part, they just mark a shift in how young women such as Harriet are talking about themselves. With the tide of powerful females swelling, it's getting easier for women to publicly express their ambition and their industry. But what motivates them? And how do their working styles differ from men's?

The women I spoke to don't copy the male stereotype of the aggressive, ambitious workaholic, clawing their way to the top as if they were men wearing lipstick. Instead, they are making like Martha Lane Fox and forging their own modus operandi.

Rather than working in intense spurts, like end-focused men, the Live- To-Work woman lets her work percolate through her life. "I think about my job on the Tube, in the bath, wherever," says Harriet. "I like feeling that my ideas for programmes are gently ticking over all the time." According to the survey director Michael Hulme, this is typical of the Live-To-Work. "These women generally allow work into a lot of their mental space. They'll be talking about work while they're socialising - even dreaming about work."

One formidable young lawyer I spoke to agreed. The secret of the Live- To-Work woman's success is being holistic in her approach to work, she says. "We are better at sleek efficiency rather than long-houred, sweaty- browed bombast." This from a woman who works an eight-til-midnight day, and at weekends reduces her work-time to an indulgent 10 hours a day. "I work just as long and hard as the men, and have the same mental stamina, but I think I achieve the same results by different practices."

The Live-To-Work woman is prepared to let her work control all areas of her life, unlike young professional men who, according to the survey, are increasingly defending their social time. "When I was building up my career, nothing could compete with work," says Nichole Sweetsur, who is founder of her own PR business. "I was single for two years. But I couldn't care less. It didn't feel like a sacrifice."

"You do piss people off and you do risk losing friends" she says. "Two of my friends were going travelling round the world for a year, and having a farewell party. But I missed it because I suddenly got a business call and had to fly to New York for a meeting. I don't regret it. It was a great opportunity and I had to take it."

Discipline, not ruthlessness, characterises the Live-To-Work woman. She doesn't need to be ruthless. "I work hard enough and I'm good enough not to have to tread on people to get on," says Nichole. "I brain-storm with a small group of other women - a support network, you could say. Although we all work independently in the same business we're not at all competitive," she adds. "We're going to get there. Only we won't be clawing, lying and cheating our way up. We'll be doing it with poise and grace!"

And what is driving these fabulously motivated women? Harriet says she is working particularly hard now because she knows children will later stall her career. "Men," she says, "have more of a chance to loiter. But I have to get on with it." But why is it so important to have a career before children? For financial independence? Self esteem? "It's all those things, yes. But it's also just what I want. What I have to do to be happy."

Cross-questioning a woman about her motivation feels almost insulting. Would you ask a man why he felt driven? But then sexism is still endemic in the workplace, with the gender pay gap currently at 18 per cent - and the estimated time it will take for this to even out is 60 years, according to The Work Foundation. Women at work have to negotiate between a "sticky floor" and a "glass ceiling". However, this kind of inequality serves to spur some women on.

"For me," says Alexandra Morita, a 23-year-old rapidly climbing the brand management ladder, "I work as hard as I do because I'm really conscious I have opportunities that my mother never had. She had a brilliant degree and could only get a job as a secretary, and I resent that. I'm going to show that I can do it, and better than anyone expects." Cary Cooper, Professor of Organisational Psychology at Lancaster University Management School, says this factor gives women the extra motivation that makes them so productive - "[Women's] added value is greater than men's because they are striving harder to prove themselves in a male bastion."

Alexandra bears this out. "I get into the office half an hour earlier than anyone else, so that I can prepare for the day. It's bonus points," she says, grinning. "And I also got myself called a `Projects Manager/Analyst'. People often don't expect you to be a woman when you've got a title like that. The name doesn't mean that much - I still did just as much when I was a `Projects Coordinator'. But I'm glad I've got the word Manager in there. It's important to big yourself up."

And how does the management view these ascendant women? "Our female interns are markedly better than our male ones," comments one (male) executive. "They generally seem more focused, and more pragmatic. They arrive ready to rise fast by any means - they'll adapt to anything we give them to do."

Whereas the men, by contrast, seem to have "a disabling combination of nerves and arrogance." Daniel, 24, has not had a paid job (apart from part-time waitering) since he left Oxford University two years ago. "I do aspire to work," he says, wryly, "but I'm not naturally inclined to it." But chip away at his bluff work-shy facade and a vulnerable, confused aspect is revealed. "I know that when I do get down to something I'm going to have to do really well at it. That's a scary prospect. There's nothing worse than trying and failing. So I think I'd rather not try. And I haven't really been given much help career-wise. It was a bit like, `you're a boy, you don't need help. Go kick a football. Go figure'."

While Daniel is trying to figure, women are thriving at work, winning promotions, starting their own companies and slowly reconfiguring our concept of work. As Nichole says, "We're as ambitious as men, but not in the traditional sense of the word. We need a new word for our kind of ambition."