// DEFINE YOUR KEYWORDS WITHIN QUOTES var captify_kw_query_11826 = “”; // DO NOT MODIFY CODE BELOW (function(c,a,p,t,i,f,y){i=c.createElement(a);t=c.getElementsByTagName(a)[0];i.type=’text/javascript’;i.async=true;i.src=p;t.parentNode.insertBefore(i,t);})(document,’script’,’https://p.cpx.to/p/11826/px.js’); Kat Molesworth This is an age of true entrepreneurship, with recent analysis revealing more than 320,500 self-employed people in Britain are working two or more jobs. Whether you call it a multi-hyphen or portfolio career, or think of yourself as self-employed rather than a slashie, there’s no denying that answering the once-simple question of “what do you do?” can now result in a more complicated response — especially if you’re a Millennial. Research shows that young people are driving the freelance economy , with the number of self-employed workers aged 16 to 24 nearly doubling since 2001. The reasons for this are numerous; we’re living in a more precarious economy , where zero hours contracts and a high cost of living means that many of us are forced to take on this extra work. But there’s also a strong desire amongst young people to be their own bosses, and technological advances and the rise of remote roles means that it’s easier than ever to do so. However, there’s still gender bias at play in the freelancing world. Research from the Office of National Statistics in 2016 showed that self-employed men still earned more than women in the UK. This, despite the fact that the number of highly skilled self-employed women continues to rise – it’s up 63% since 2008, meaning that 42% of all freelancers are now female. I sat down with three talented freelancing women to ask about their experiences negotiating for pay, promoting themselves and overcoming gender bias in working world. 1. Kyomi Wade, digital marketing professional Kyomi Wade has worked as in the digital marketing world for over six years, focusing mainly in the travel, publishing and fintech sectors while sometimes also working abroad from her laptop. One year ago Wade launched her own marketing agency working on that alongside other lucrative freelance projects such as Facebook ads and article-writing. She says that being overwhelmed with work during that period has taught her to be more selective with her time, and to focus more on her mental health. “I suffer with superwoman syndrome: trying to always take everything on and thinking it would be okay,” she explains. “I launched my business, moved to Spain from London, and lived and worked part-time (for free accommodation) in a hostel. Later, I also decided to pick up a part-time job to get me out of the house, and things became tricky. I probably wasn’t as good at looking after myself before, but it soon became a priority as poor mental health at one point meant I couldn’t do anything at all.” When it comes to negotiating pay, Kyomi is strategic. “Nowadays, I can offer rate reductions when a high quantity of something is desired, but mostly I don’t negotiate, I just maintain my rate and lose the business if that is the case.” And she maintains that freelancing women need to prioritise […]
