The Bylines Network has the privilege of having a high proportion of Editors-in-Chief who are women – standing at an amazing 83%, whilst the industry standard is 46% in the UK. And that is not mentioning the plethora of women behind the scenes here at the network, who we would not be able to function without.
For International Women’s Day, on this year’s theme of Give to Gain, the Bylines Network has collaborated to bring you profiles of the amazing women that lead our publications – giving you our stories, so that we may all gain empowerment and inspiration.
You can find the profiles of our female Editors-in-Chief at the following links:
Here at North East Bylines, from 6 March, we will publish articles by women to celebrate this International Women’s Day all – showcasing some of the incredible women writers who raise up our publication.
Yvonne Wancke, Editor at North East Bylines
Yvonne taught Maths, Performing Arts, Music, and Research Skills over four decades. Now retired, her combination of expertise along with a teachers’ mastery of time-management, has enriched citizen journalism and citizen readers. North East Bylines’ readership and writers extend across borders and oceans; this is a much-loved daily publication.
“Six years ago, during conversation with initiators of the Bylines network who were exploring options for expansion and needed more editors, I asked myself, ‘what experience do I have to offer?’ Teaching and lecturing taught me to inspire confidence and empower young and not so young students. Would this transfer to a community of writers? Yes.”
Life as an editor
Yvonne is a ‘do-er,’ and hugely committed to being a Bylines editor. She describes the highlights as building a team and working together with writers and says the importance of mutual trust cannot be over-stated. When asked about the rewards of the work she said:
“When I have the privilege of helping a brand-new writer develop a fledgling idea into a full-blown article. That is always a proud moment. I love to work alongside more experienced writers who have insights not found in textbooks. It’s not so different from teaching at all!
“The Bylines Poetry competition was a joy. Helping to organise that brought very special rewards, in creativity and in literature.”
Born into a lively progressive Newcastle family, thus well-versed in many-sided debates, Yvonne values argument and counter-argument.
“I want us to be another voice for the North East of England and love the fact that we write about big topics, and hyper-locals. We present many opinions and I think we have careful regard for each other’s points-of-view.”
International Women’s Day
As a very young teacher Yvonne applied for a job, in which at interview she was asked ‘would she be getting married soon?’ The school was worried about babies and maternity leave…
“Of course, it’s true that significant and positive changes have happened over the years. At the time a member of the interview panel told me: ‘Well, you know we really wanted a man.’ It was kindly meant. We hope the days of those questions and comments are long gone, but sadly we all need to keep up the fight for gender equality.
“For me, International Women’s Day means we – men and women – have an opportunity to pause and reflect on the amazing women in our lives. This includes the pioneers from the past who paved the way for the rights we now have, as well as today’s women who keep doing extraordinary things and who continue to inspire us.
“Perhaps this IWD is an opportunity to start to write or continue to write about the stuff that matters. Whatever you’d like to write about, why not give it a go? Our writers outsmart artificial intelligence, there’s a lot of help and support available, the camaraderie is excellent, and you will have a lot of fun.”
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