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8 March 2010 - Inspirational women share their tips for success

Girlguiding UK members receive advice from inspirational women on International Women's Day.

Pixie Lott, Angela Rippon, Saira Khan, Charlotte Hawkins, Nicole Cooke and Joanne Harris offer Girlguiding UK members their top tips for success.

  • ‘Use your strengths to do a job you love, set yourself goals and don’t ever give up’ - this is the key to success according to inspirational women
  • Girlguiding UK research shows gender stereotyped careers remain most popular choices for girls
  • 15 per cent of 7- 16-year-old girls choose hair & beauty as their top career choice
  • 16 per cent of 16- to 21-year-old girls aspire to be teachers

To celebrate International Women’s Day on Monday 8 March, high-profile Girlguiding UK supporters have provided top tips on how they have succeeded in each of their specialist areas. Girlguiding UK approached inspirational females from a variety of professions to inspire young women as our recent Girls’ Attitudes survey showed that gender-stereotyped careers remain the most popular choices for girls. Girls involved in the survey explained that real life advice from inspirational and successful women is very motivating and useful in helping young women to recognise the full range of career opportunities open to them.

International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. Each year around the world hundreds of events occur in March to mark the achievements of women.

Read the full tips for success on our news pages.

Pixie Lott, triple Brit Award nominee said, 'My tips to success are; passion, determination, a hard work ethic, always stay positive and 'fail to prepare, prepare to fail'!'

Angela Rippon OBE, TV broadcaster, said, 'Acknowledge your weaknesses and be determined to make them your strengths, believe in yourself and always enjoy what you do. Remember one thing, when life goes pear-shaped – don’t give up - instead pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again!'

Saira Khan, business entrepreneur and Apprentice runner up, said, 'My top tips for success are based on my principles of P.U.S.H, which are; be Proactive, Understand yourself and Others, Sell yourself and Have high Standards.'

Charlotte Hawkins, Sky News presenter, said, 'Think about your strengths and the type of person you are. Do a job you love, if you are happy and interested in what you are doing it’ll show. Don’t give up even if you have a few setbacks, it may not always be easy but be determined to reach your goal. It’ll make it all the more worthwhile.'

Nicole Cooke MBE, current Olympic road race champion, said, 'I have always believed in going for targets and goals that challenge and inspire me. By striving for something beyond my current capabilities I have to really apply myself and be creative to find a way to reach that target or goal. It's a good idea to involve people around you, it helps to build a support network that you can count on if you run into difficulties or need some new ideas or support.'

Joanne Harris, British author, said, 'Know what it is that you really want and be prepared to work for it. Listen very carefully to advice (you don’t always have to take it though!) and be curious about everything – no kind of knowledge is ever wasted. Try to learn from others’ mistakes and learn to accept both criticism and praise. And remember – whatever the papers say. There is no such thing as over night success. Good luck!'

Be challenged by new experiences & achieve a sense of pride in accomplishment.