International Women’s Day 2023 – Meet Trish Barrett

Tell us a bit about yourself…

Most people around the London office will have no doubt heard my posh scouse tones before you see me! I am originally from Liverpool though I have had stints living in Greece,  Oxford ( where I mastered the posh accent) and currently I reside in Nottingham (for my sins it’s a long and boring story) I am a mum of three children aged 24, 23 and the 18 year old baby – its fine he won’t read this!  I love spending time with my family and friends and I am truly blessed in that department.

I am a long suffering Evertonian and always happy to catch up on any football chat. In my spare time I play darts badly, bake cakes (possibly even worse than the darts). I have even shared a pic of some of the “ masterpieces”  don’t worry though I only bake the cakes on family birthdays so you are all safe!

My work career before Energy was in hospitality having worked both as a Holiday Rep for four years, closely followed by a stint as Cabin Crew. I came back to ground when I became a mum and the wonderful world of Energy found me sometime after.

Which women inspire you and why?

There are a couple of historical women figures that do inspire me but on this particular point I have a lot of inspirational women in my life. One of my close friends started her Masters whilst working 12 hours shifts as a nurse practitioner in Nottingham’s QMC’s Emergency Department at aged 49! She recently featured on 24 hours in A&E and I was in awe as I watched her and the team save a young footballers life!

Erin Pizzey, she was the founder of Refuge. Whilst she began that movement and it was mainly focused on domestic violence against women, in later years she did a full pivot and identified that  domestic violence is not just a gender specific issue and both men and women can be victims. She stuck to her guns on this and received a lot of hate and threats. She has many publications, they are a really interesting read.

Denise Barrett–Baxendale, I should point out no relation, but I will let you all look this lady up.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #EmbraceEquity, what does that mean to you?

I can sum this up in one sentence – There is only one race, the human race.

What do you think men can do to help achieve equality?

I have never put the ball in the men’s court for this, otherwise it will be like the jobs at home (they will never get done – kidding)!

What do you think the energy industry can do to attract more women into it?

The Energy industry has come along way and I have in my 20 years seen many more women joining. I am a mentor for Women in Utilities, I would encourage all women in the industry to join the group, its totally free and gives a fantastic insight into what’s going on across the Utilities sector. They have events and newsletters to keep us all up to date. I am proud to assist women in my mentoring capacity to overcome barriers within their careers.

What piece of advice would you give to your younger self?

1. The bad times are not forever no matter how bad they seem.
2. Treat people always as you would like to be treated.
3. DON’T BUY THE XR3I
4. Don’t show up (at the altar)! 😉