Do Not Disturb: The Inside Story
Mandy Hickson on Courage, Leadership and Becoming a Female Fighter Pilot
Mandy Hickson joins Simona Deifta for a filmed long-form conversation about courage, pressure, leadership and becoming one of the RAF’s first female Tornado pilots.
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In this episode
Simona and Mandy discuss ambition, resilience, decision-making under pressure and what it means to keep going when institutions or expectations suggest you do not belong.
Themes in this conversation
Courage and leadership under pressure
Becoming a female fighter pilot
Ambition in male-dominated environments
Resilience after being told no
Decision-making, confidence and preparation
What women are told they cannot become
About Mandy Hickson
Mandy Hickson is a former RAF Tornado pilot, speaker and author. Her conversation on Do Not Disturb explores courage, leadership and the reality of breaking through systems that were not built with women in mind.
About Do Not Disturb
Do Not Disturb: The Inside Story is a filmed long-form podcast hosted by Simona Deifta about modern female life beneath public success: motherhood, ambition, identity, relationships, money, fertility, burnout, emotional resilience and reinvention.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Mandy Hickson’s Do Not Disturb episode about?
Former RAF Tornado pilot, speaker and author Mandy Hickson joins Simona Deifta to discuss courage, rejection, leadership under pressure and breaking into systems not built with women in mind.
What topics does Mandy Hickson discuss?
Courage, leadership, rejection, high-pressure decisions and women in male-dominated systems.
Where can I listen to the full episode?
Listen to Mandy Hickson on Do Not Disturb:
Read more conversations and ideas in The Edit:
Do Not Disturb · A podcast about motherhood
Mandy Hickson:
A mother’s achievements belong to her, too
Mandy on becoming an RAF pilot, entering rooms built for men and being proud of achievements beyond motherhood.
The Do Not Disturb edit
Three things to take with you.
Three ideas from the conversation, in our words.
Do
Look for women whose example stretches your sense of what is possible.
Not
Confuse being offered an opportunity with wanting that direction for your life.
Disturb
The expectation that a mother’s proudest achievement must always be her children.
What were women told they could not do?
Mandy and Simona discuss her RAF career, leadership and the examples that can change a woman’s sense of what is possible. They talk about courage and making decisions about the opportunities in front of you.
They also question why a mother can be expected to name her children as her greatest achievement, however much else she has done.
What comes up
- A pioneering RAF career
- Women as role models
- Achievement and motherhood
Keep the conversation going
Angela Saini ↗
For challenging the assumptions behind gendered opportunities.
Lisa Ing Marinelli ↗
For the pressures on women combining ambition and motherhood.
More from Simona: get Simona’s Cultural Edit on Mondays →