CHANGING THE FACE OF THE FRONTLINE:

Lisa Baskott Tells Us That More Women Are Needed In Security Industries

Brighton & Hove Resident Lisa Baskott is the founder and CEO of 2nd Line of Defence; the UK’s first female-focused security recruitment agency. Lisa became a qualified Security Industry Authority (SIA) licensed door supervisor in September 2021 and has worked as part of the security teams at the Hilton Brighton Metropole, The Grand Brighton hotel, Rockwater and Chalk.

Here Lisa explains why she believes women are key to the future of the front-line security industry in the UK.

The front-line sector of the private security industry needs more women. Despite being regulated for over 20 years, women still only represent 10% of the 400k front-line licences issued in the UK. Security is seen as a male dominated industry; sectors and professions are still unnecessarily gendered in the public consciousness and are often seen as ‘man’s work’. There is no doubt in my mind that overcoming these stereotypes is the biggest problem women face when trying to enter the industry.

This outdated view fundamentally misunderstands the complex role of a modern security operative. The industry has evolved beyond brute strength, and qualities such as communication, empathy and industry knowledge are critical to modern-day security sectors, and highly valued by employers.

Whilst female officers are qualified to the same standards as male security staff, there are certain unique advantages to hiring and deploying them. Women make up 51% of the UK population and have their own unique security needs and spaces that require female security e.g. bathrooms, dressing rooms and changing rooms in public places. For areas such as this, and for procedures like pat downs and body searches, women security officers aren’t just preferred but are required by law. A female security presence can help women feel considerably more comfortable with female security officers seen as less intimidating and more approachable to women, young people, and children.

Women are often better at defusing aggressive situations and stopping them from escalating into violence. Women tend to reach for problem solving and diplomacy to tackle conflict, which can result in a much less aggressive and confrontational outcome. This is not to say that women in security roles cannot be as equally tough as their male peers, but it’s exactly this perception of women that makes them able to defuse potentially violent situations without resorting to physical measures, especially with male customers, who are much less likely to get confrontational with female security staff.

“I’m advocating for a new approach to recruitment within the security industry; one which highlights what women can specifically bring to the role. The industry needs to think about the “customer experience” and ensure that the people that it engages with on a daily basis feel valued and listened to, because surely, respecting and reflecting the community in which it serves should be the ultimate goal.”

Diversity is the key to success. If the front-line security sector doesn’t start making changes and moving forward in this area, it’s going to fail to be relevant within many of the environments in which it operates.

Of course, employing more women doesn’t just promote diversity and inclusion, women can bring a breadth of different skills, energy levels and dynamics to a team. More needs to be done to raise the bar. We need to break down the barriers for women in security and address this imbalance quickly.

All employers engaged in front-line security need recruitment and retention models based on agility: flexible shifts for childcare and lone worker protection processes provide a reassuring safety-net for any women working on their own, as well as solutions around transporting staff to/from work shifts (where possible). Professionally, my work skills were gained outside of the security industry, and I see this as a valuable asset which enables me to bring a broader skill set to my organisation and the people working within it.

We also need to consider the next generation of security leaders and create enticing pathways for younger people to envisage the sector as a reputable career path, with progression and opportunity, not a stopgap to a “proper job”.

“As the founder of 2nd Line of Defence, my aim is to prioritise the safety of women and vulnerable groups within the night-time cultural economy, by addressing the massive under-representation of women in the front-line security sector.

I find myself on a journey that starts with invoking trust. I’m on a mission to bring about systemic change to make night-time life safer for all girls, women and vulnerable groups living in the UK. I want to show them that my business goals encompass their concerns, fears and hopes around the issues concerning their safety, but more importantly, to convince them that they are key to the overall solution.”

For more information on Lisa and 2nd Line of Defence visit www.2ndlineofdefence.com

4 F Emale Leaders On Their Biggest Business Lessons Iwd

For the team at Projects, a creative office hub in the center of Brighton, International Women’s Day is about more than creating conversation on how we can make gender equality a reality. Their goal is to amplify the incredible achievements made by women across the world, so many of whom have had to overcome bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.

In order to move towards this, they are currently curating an updated schedule of events for both members and the public. A diverse, equitable and inclusive programme of speakers will be launched this month and as part of that, Projects will celebrate women's achievements, raise awareness about discrimination and take action to drive gender parity.

All of us are surrounded by inspirational women who are making serious moves within their industry. We sat down with a handful of Projects' members to chat about their work, the biggest lessons they’ve learnt as leaders, and what change they’d like to see for women in their world of work.

April Baker - CEO of Together Co

What change would you like to see for women in your industry?

I have reflected lots on the challenges I have faced as a young, female leader over the last ten years. This has included being spoken over, being paid lower than male colleagues at the same level and my opinions being disregarded in meetings. However, I am grateful to those who pulled up a chair for me, believed in what I could do and mentored me. This led to me becoming Chair of the Board at JustLife, an amazing homelessness organisation in Brighton and Hove at aged 33, and a CEO at 35.

Equally, I am doing a lot of learning and am aware of my privilege as white, cisgender and non-disabled. There is still a lot of work to do when it comes to workplace culture, and it is essential we have more discussions around this to intensify the energy on diversifying leadership and changing the cultural landscape. We must ensure that awareness and structures are in place to make this process meaningful and accessible, comfortable, and fair for everyone.

For example, I would like to see a day when we do not need to report on gender pay gaps, and that companies ‘are working on this’, but we just see people paid for their talents no matter who they are!

Both Together Co and Sussex Nightstop are Projects’ charity partners. Projects proudly support both organisations with the work they do to support people of all genders in having somewhere welcoming to go during the day and somewhere safe to sleep at night.

Describe

Your Business And The Difference It Aims To Create

Together Co is a loneliness charity in Brighton and Hove that creates connections to change lives. Within a world of hyper-individualisation, we work to establish social ties to rebuild a community of hyperconnectedness.

We believe that in a city of nearly 300,000, no one should be lonely or socially isolated. Together, we can make sure no one is.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt from being a business leader?

Being a leader does not mean you have all the answers all the time. By moving away from a top-down, hierarchical approach and instead listening deeply, asking powerful questions, and working with people creatively, you will generate more informed and innovative ways to develop organisations together.

I have also learnt to have boundaries and that this is a vital form of selfcare and critical for ensuring you both feel and perform well in any role.

Describe your business and the difference it aims to create

I'm Co-Founder of ERIC, a free-to-use app that connects young people to initiatives, programmes, events and other helpful things to get career experience in the creative industries. Our aim is to democratise support and access to careers in the creative industries, so that every young person has equal opportunity.

What's the biggest lesson you've learnt from being a business leader?

The biggest lesson I've learnt is that knowing as many people as you can (and being nice to everyone!) will give you a real headstart with any business. Networking is so important, and those that aren't afraid to make the first move to connect will often make the biggest impact - if you don't put yourself out there, no one will know about you and what your mission is!

I used to be terrified to cold email people or add people I didn't know on LinkedIn, but now I know that's how you get ahead and make connections. That's the easiest way to build a network, increase awareness for your business and make sales!

What change would you like to see for women in your industry?

I would like to see less pressure on women to do it all. Although we've made leaps and bounds in terms of women being able to invest their time and energy into having a career without judgement, the previous pressures haven't gone away.

The pressure on women to look after children, do housework, make all the social plans for a partner, to look polished all the time... all these things haven't relaxed to be in equilibrium with career pressures. So now women just have the pressure of everything. I would like to see less expectation of women to have careers and be able to do everything else on top of a full-time job, it's not fair!

Kristina Pereckaite - Managing Director at South East Angels

Abigail Rebecca (The Visibility Goddess) - Human Design Visibility Coach

Describe your business and the difference it aims to create

I’m a Visibility and Human Design Business Mentor. I run global retreats and workshops to help visionary entrepreneurial women activate their unique Human Design, be more authentically visible and grow their conscious business empires without the hustle.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt from being a business leader?

Early on in my business, I was feeling so frustrated that I wasn't attracting the number of soul clients and business opportunities that I truly desired. I really wanted to transform lives but I was so worried about being judged or criticised by others that I remained low key and practically invisible. To be honest I thought that people wouldn’t like ‘the real me’. And I was comparing myself to others and beating myself up because I wasn’t as successful as they were.

My biggest breakthrough came when I learnt to embrace and love the real me. I accepted my imperfections and quirks and realised they were the things that would differentiate me and leverage my brand and business to create success.

I learnt how to overcome the blocks that were holding me back from being visible and started focussing on the difference I wanted to make in the world.

What change would you like to see for women in your industry?

As women, we are the creators and the manifestors. We are nurturing, intuitive, collaborative and multi-faceted. So I would like to see more visible, confidently expressed, wealthy women in the world. Women who are not afraid to stand up and speak their truth. Women who don’t feel they have to hustle to prove themselves and be successful. And women who support one another and celebrate each other's success.

Women are incredible leaders when we are our most abundant, empowered, aligned and blissful selves.

Describe your business and the difference it aims to create South East Angels was founded with the objective of increasing investment activity in the region. Today, the community is made up of 20+ investors who have made 10 investments to date, making the group the most active business angel investors in Brighton. We like to challenge the status quo of the traditional angel network by delivering a social investing experience for our members.

What's the biggest lesson you've learnt from being a business leader?

A lot of people have succeeded simply because they kept going. In every founder journey there are moments where it feels like it isn't going to work, like you want to give up, like it's just too hard. But it is exactly in those moments that you need to push forward. You just have to keep going, that's how you succeed.

What change would you like to see for women in your industry?

Currently, only 15-18% of all angel investors are women and there is a general lack of diversity of thought and experience to appropriately represent the need for capital and innovation. We are passionate about encouraging more diversity in the angel investment world and recently launched an initiative called Future Angels to help more women become angel investors.

There are so many incredible women all over the world who are forging change both within and outside of their industries. To find out more about IWD, how others are raising awareness, celebrating success, and showing support, head to www.internationalwomensday.com

To stay up to date with news of the soon-to-launch updated Projects events program, you can sign up for our mailing list by visiting our website www.projectsclub.co.uk