Selina Donald is the CEO and founder of woman-owned and run consultancy, The Bulb. Creating some of the most sustainable events to date, The Bulb works with agencies across the board to bring efficient solutions to the events industry. Self-taught in sustainability, her collaboration with world leading players such as Strata, Amplify, and Momentum showcase the impact of her work on a large scale.
Although the meetings side of the events industry, staffing wise, is dominated by women, Selina believes there aren’t enough female leaders in high positions and leadership roles, saying that there’s an element of the ‘likeability penalty’. “When women are confident and assertive, direct, and show elements of leadership, it’s not seen as feminine,” she said. Selina believes that there is a vast difference in language that’s used for women in leadership and that of men in leadership. “While women get negative labels, men don’t get labelled this way when they are confident, there aren’t any labels on personalities, only women it seems”. This idea prompted Selina to adjust the language that is used within her own team, banning the words ‘sorry’ and ‘just’, submissive language that doesn’t belong in Selina and The Bulb’s dictionary.
Addressing her strategy on communicating with male leaders she said: “When I sit in rooms with male leaders, I don’t purposefully check or watch myself, but I’ll be mindful of making sure that I get my point across.” Adding: “I’m really proud to be a women’s owned business and I’m really proud of female qualities that equate to better leadership…I think it’s really important that we are vulnerable and human and open.”
When asked what Selina would do if she was head of government, she said: “I would get the government to go back to the net zero commitment they made, stop putting money into coal mines, and focus on renewable energy.” There needs to be a bigger focus on renewable energy, Selina says.
In addition to her work within sustainability, her advocacy for women in leadership extends to her 2020 #March4Women as well as leading an all-women team for an extended period, being a WEConnect certified women’s company, and a mentor for the Fast Forward 15 programme. This shows an incredible commitment not only for the work that she does within the sustainability sector but allowing space for women to aspire towards leadership roles.
