List of most successful young women makes news

This year’s Management Today ‘35 Women under 35 list’ prompted extensive media coverage after it included a 19-year-old engineer, a transsexual IT director and four women on maternity leave.

News of the annual list was picked up by Daily Telegraph and Sunday Times newspapers, Vogue.com, BBC Radio Five’s Wake up to Money programme, City AM and the BBC website.

Kate Craig-Wood, who was born a man and underwent reassignment surgery only a few years ago, told the Daily Telegraph that being part of the list has allowed her to help others in her situation. “Every couple of days now I get emails from people thanking me for being visible and showing the world we’re not freaks,” she said. “They say that it gives them hope and confidence that they can live a normal life.”

Management Today editor Matthew Gwyther told the Telegraph he was delighted with the decision to include Kate in the list. “We really had no idea until the feature was on the page that Kate used to be a man but so what, I’m pleased for her.”

Other publications including the Times focused on the magazine’s decision to feature 19-year-old Ruth Amos for her innovative StairSteady invention, despite struggling to find funding for her company. Ruth is the youngest entrant in the list’s history.

All the women in the list stand out for their ability to cope with and succeed during the credit crunch – and this year the list not only honours women who are succeeding in tough trading conditions, but who also manage to raise a family while working hard.

The list features four women currently on maternity leave – which can be a vulnerable time for women at any time, but especially during a downturn.

The Management Today article cites recent figures from the Equality and Human Rights Commission which show that an estimated 30,000 women lose their job illegally as a result of pregnancy, a problem Management Today seeks to acknowledge by featuring women on maternity leave.