Ruby McGregor-Smith

"So I did what most people never do at a really senior level, was I just thought you know what, it's time to take some time off"

"I was really focused on making sure we could have as many family-friendly policies as we could, because I had the experience of being a mum, having to come back [to work] and knowing how it made some of the new mums feel,”"

"Employers should consider giving furlough to parents – normally women – who are on the brink of burn out. People are telling me they are on the brink of quitting and if we aren’t careful when all of this is over it will be like the 1950s in terms of women’s careers”."

"My view was if we do that we will encourage more women to come back and more women to be more senior, and stay with us through their career, and it worked"

"If you haven’t got a job that is flexible in terms of the hours you can do through the day, or a company that isn’t flexible, then some women won’t be able to work during this three month period [of lockdown].”"

"You get to a stage where you say 'I've done my piece. I've grown quite a lot of shareholder value, I've done enough. And actually it needs to be a little bit more about me now.'”"