The more we talk about kindness in business, the more we'll break through the hard structures that have defined business and alienated women from getting to the top.
Mary PortasBalancing your ego is the most important thing, because success fuels ego - and that is not easy sometimes. When you're in the public eye, people see that as success and it's just not.
Mary PortasWhen you meet people at dinner parties, you'll ask what they do and it might be a woman who'll say: "Oh I used to work but I'm only a housewife now." They'll put down what they've achieved, like raising kids. You want to say to people "well you're just a wonderful human, just because I have my gob on the telly and I've made some money, it doesn't make me successful or any better than you."
Mary PortasWhen I first went on TV, to make you look like a successful woman you had to be ball-breaking. I remember looking at these shows and thinking 'I'm not sure that's me'. It seemed like you had to behave like a man - but I think that's all going to go down completely, that's not the way we're going to live.
Mary Portas