Helen Shay “By the end of The Peer Circles cycle, I can say that I put the imposter syndrome firmly back in its box"

Helen Shay is a founder member of the Women’s Equality Party and Co-Branch Leader.

The highlight of lockdown for me was Wednesday night’s Parliament Project online meeting.  Despite being grounded at home, it proved to be quite a journey.

I was part of cohort 4, starting in May 2020.  Each weekly session presented a new challenge – one of which was to ask friends/colleagues in advance, what they admired about us.  Coming from a northern working-class background where ‘are you courting yet?’ was the most you were ever asked as a marker of any achievement when growing up, it now felt alien to me to beg for accolades. My best friend from school answered with, ‘I bet you cringed when you read that task. It’s not female or British to ask such a thing, is it? She became a journalist and I became a lawyer, but the imposter syndrome stays with us always, as it does with so many women.

That said, by the end of The Peer Circles cycle, I can say that I put the imposter syndrome firmly back in its box.  I now care less about what is traditionally ‘female or British’ and more about the questions I want to ask.

Through the programme we were shown videos and other online resources which were thought-provoking.  The weekly exercises ensured that my comfort zone was severely stretched and frayed at the edges – in a good way.  Above all, my peer circle provided fantastic support and it was great to connect with such wonderful women.  We have continued to meet virtually after the Circles officially ended, even though we hold contrasting ideologies. 

Together we bonded, as we went through unimaginable change and continue to do so. Together we adapted to this strange new world - which has yet to find out just how brave it needs to be – whilst following our own individual political paths.

You can follow Helen on Twitter at @HelenShay