As part of our #BreakTheBias International Women’s Day celebrations for 2022, we arranged for the girls of GFS Anfield to meet with their Mayor, Joanne Anderson. Eight girls from the group met Joanne at the Anfield Community Centre, and asked her their questions. The meeting was a great way of showing the girls that they can be leaders and achieve things they never expected. One girls commented that they enjoyed it so much because the Mayor had questions for them; by giving her time and interest to the girls of GFS Anfield, Mayor Anderson showed them that they matter and their voices deserve to be heard.
The girls prepared some questions for Joanne about her life and the ways she has broken the bias. Here’s what they found out!
Q: Did you always want to be the Mayor or did you have other hopes and dreams when you were younger?
A: I wanted to be a firefighter or a business woman, I never thought I would be leader of the city. But I did end up going into business and working with the fire department so I sort of achieved that dream. You have to be elected to be the Mayor so when the opportunity came up I decided to go for it.
Q: What is it like being a woman in your line of work? 
A: As a woman, I don’t know it any other way! But in my job I have to deal with a lot of men and they don’t always have the same sort of mindset. We sometimes think differently to men. Do you ever walk past a group of boys and maybe they say something to you? Sometimes you realise that you’re the only girl and that can be challenging. It’s not always nice to be the only one, it’s better to be mixed up.
Q: Why should girls speak up about things that matter to them?
A: Sometimes you get looked at differently when you’re a girl. Has anyone ever been called bossy? But if you’re a boy you get called the boss. When girls are strong and assertive we get a label so I think it’s important we speak up for ourselves because we’re often told to be quiet or to behave a certain way or smile or look nice. But we can lead, we can delegate, we can tell other people what to do – we can do whatever we want to.
Q: What is one thing in the world you’d like to change?
A: There’s lots I’d like to change but I would like equal opportunities for people. Some people have lots of opportunities, especially people who have lots of money, and some people don’t have access to the same things. I would like to make it fairer for everyone so that people are given the same start, they can have the same adventures or be able to afford to do the things they want.
Q: What challenges have you faced along the way and how did you deal with this?
A: Lots of challenges but being a single parent and going away to work was hard. Having to support my son on my own when his dad wouldn’t step up was a challenge.
Q: Is there anything you wish you’d known when you were our age?
A: I was quite good at school when I was younger but started messing around at secondary school. I wish I’d paid more attention in school.
A good education gives you the best start, especially as girls. Women haven’t always had that so I wish I’d tried harder because I had to study when I was older to make up for it.
If I could swap my job to learn languages and interesting things all day then I would. I love learning but you don’t always appreciate it when you’re at school.
Q: What is the hardest part of your job and why?
A: There’s lots of drama in my job. Lots of very important issues that seem to need immediate attention but often don’t turn out to be a very big deal! But running the city is very interesting and diverse. I get to speak to lots of different people; I could be speaking to you, then speaking to some people in sport then business people then political people. So it’s different every day and the political side is very interesting.
Join us at GFS
If you’re interested in finding out more about GFS Anfield, head over to our web page: girlsfriendlysociety.org.uk/anfield. We meet on Thursdays and have a great time making friends, talking about our lives and trying new things. All girls aged 7-11 are welcome.
If you live in Liverpool, but not so close to Anfield, maybe GFS Aigburth would be a better fit for you. We are hoping to launch more groups in Liverpool soon!
We are also seeking volunteers for both groups. If you think you could give back to girls and young women in your community, you can find out more here.
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