Jacki Davis was the guest speaker at FEW’s second lunchtime event on 28 November 2001. Jacki spoke about her career and experiences in the media: first as news editor with a UK regional newspaper, subsequently as a journalist with the Daily Mail in London and then Brussels, the editor of the European Voice in Brussels and, most recently, setting up a new magazine in Brussels called E!Sharp. 

Jacki amused attendees with stories about how she has juggled conflicting demands from her job and family, and told us that her gender has sometimes meant that she has been asked to cover the stories that men tend to earmark for female journalists, such as “Most Romantic Man of the Year” and the ins and outs of baby food containers. She explained that she has found that the trait described as assertiveness in a man is sometimes described as aggressiveness in a woman. Jacki had a refreshingly positive approach: she explained that some stories are, in fact, better covered by women (such as rape or sexual harassment) and explained why she believes that women who are good at their jobs are more likely to be noticed. Still today, she is often the only woman at briefings in Brussels for British reporters with dignitaries and diplomats.

Jacki told us that there are far more women working in the media today, but that women are still not represented sufficiently in executive positions or in the more “serious” reporting roles, such as politics and crime. Jacki confided with us that she had not followed her mother’s advice – also a journalist, her mother had encouraged her to pursue a different career – she would, however, encourage her daughter to follow in her footsteps if asked!

The lunch was a great success: it was attended by over 70 women, who all had an opportunity to mingle both before and after Jacki’s talk.

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