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Why Jesy Nelson's empowering decision to leave Little Mix is important

Jesy Nelson attends the National Television Awards 2020 at The O2 Arena on January 28, 2020 in London, England.
Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Last week, after nine years as part of the world's biggest girl group, who made history by becoming the first group to win The X Factor, Jesy Nelson announced she had left Little Mix.

Throughout her career, Nelson has been subject to a torrent of vile abuse, all of which hinged on highlighting how different she is from the other members of Little Mix.

Last year, Nelson released a heart-wrenching documentary, Odd One Out, which detailed the years of cruelty she has been subjected to by online trolls, leading her to make an attempt on her own life. She revealed the devastating impact the attacks have had on her mental health.


The documentary struck a chord with viewers who felt Nelson had raised an issue that isn't talked about enough – social media and its implicit connections to debilitating mental health conditions. She met the family of a young girl who had taken her own life due to the way she was treated online and the relentless cyber-bullying she was at the mercy of. Nelson's visceral reaction to the family's ordeal created an instant connection between her and millions of viewers at home. Suddenly, she wasn't a global pop star; she was an innocent person who had become yet another target for this form of abuse.

Nelson's willingness to share her struggles have been a lifeline for her young fans, who all too often face similar challenges. Little Mix has a large LGBTQ+ fanbase and worked to protect this community from the internet's harsh treatment. Her openness and honesty have created an environment in which she has empowered people to speak out and seek help for whatever they are going through.

However, fans were left shocked when, following the release of their sixth studio album, Confetti, Nelson absented herself from the group's promotional obligations, including performances and the final of their talent contest TV show, Little Mix: The Search. The reasons for her disappearance were kept relatively quiet, but, given her history, many loyal fans worried she was struggling again.

After weeks of the band appearing as a three-piece, Nelson shared an emotional announcement via Instagram explaining her difficult decision to leave the group. She explicitly referenced the toll being in the band had taken on her mental health and felt it would be the best decision to begin a new chapter.

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In choosing to leave Little Mix, Nelson is showing every person who feels crippled by the weight of their own mind that it's ok to stop doing something if it's too difficult. It's ok to say no and set boundaries. The decision, although heart-breaking for her fans, is powerful and important.

Her choice to prioritise herself, rather than do what will please the masses, is a battle-cry to anyone suffering to put themselves first. Her departure is a result of abhorrent treatment from trolls and the high expectations of online critics. It could be the catalyst for a productive conversation on tackling the trolling that infiltrates online platforms to such a dangerous degree. The burdens that come with opening social media are frequently too much to handle.

Nelson's decision to leave Little Mix underscores her humanity. It is a necessary reminder that we are all human and aren't built to withstand the storms that the strains of modern life often bring. For now, no one knows what her next steps will look like. Perhaps she will release music as a solo artist, or she will never record music again. Many hope she will continue her important work raising awareness for mental health issues.

The most important thing is that whatever she chooses to do next should be whatever is right for her.

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Women founders continue to come up against common challenges and biases

Written by Kelly Devine, Division President UK & Ireland, Mastercard

Starting a business may have historically been perceived as a man’s game, but this couldn’t be further from reality. Research shows women are actually more likely than men to actively choose to start their own business – often motivated by the desire to be their own boss or to have a better work-life balance and spend more time with their family.

The recently published Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurship 2021 found that in the category of 'Aspiration Driven Entrepreneurship’ – capturing those who actively choose to start their own business – women in the UK surpass men: 60% vs 56%. And Mastercard research from February 2022 found 10% of female business owners started their business in the past two years compared to 6% of men – meaning women were 67% more likely to have started a business during the pandemic.

Yet, there are common challenges that women founders continue to come up against - not least the gender imbalance in the household and long-held biases which are still prevalent.

In the UK, women are almost three times more likely to be balancing care and home commitments than men, and this was exacerbated during the pandemic as the additional barriers of school closures and lockdowns meant that the care time of dependents rose significantly on a day-to-day level for women. In addition, women were less likely to have access to a home office, greatly impacting the work they were able to accomplish when working from home was the only option.

It's also widely known that female business owners are still more likely to struggle to access funding for their business ideas. According to Dealroom, all-women founding teams received just 1.4% of the €23.7bn invested into UK start-ups in 2021, while all-male leadership teams have taken almost 90% of the available capital.

Without financial support, and when juggling significant time pressures both at home and at work, how can women grow their companies and #BreaktheBias (as this year’s International Women’s Day termed it)? What tools or support can save them time and money, and give them the headspace they need to focus on building their business?

With female owned businesses collectively estimating revenue growth of £120 billion over the next five years, solving this problem is bigger than supporting women – it’s about supporting the national economy.

Using tech to level the playing field

There are clearly societal issues at play that need to be resolved. But when we look at the rise in technology businesses during the pandemic, we can plainly see an alternative source of support critical for business growth: digital tools.

A third of female business owners say new technologies will be crucial to the success of their business in the future and one in five say it is the most important thing for business growth.

With new technology comes new ways to pay, create, and work. And yet there are barriers that prevent business owners accessing this technology. Women are significantly more likely to say they want to use more digital tools but don’t know what is best for their business and also more concerned about the security of digital tools.

When technology is adopted by businesses – whether using online accounting solutions or messenger services for communicating with staff – it saves them time, allows them to maintain and grow their customer base, and ultimately increases cost savings and profit.

By drastically improving the training and support that is available to women-owned business to access and utilise technology we will allow these businesses to grow and succeed. And we know there is demand for it.

Research done by the IFC and Dalberg shows that female entrepreneurs are more likely to invest time and money in business development. This includes product development, customer base expansion, and digital tools and training and there are plenty of services available offering this type of support – many of them for free.

One such programme is Strive UK – an initiative of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth – which aims to reach 650,000 micro and small business owners across the UK and empower them with the tools they need to thrive in the digital economy through free guidance, helpful tools and one-to-one mentoring.

Working together with small business experts – Enterprise Nation, Be the Business and Digital Boost – we hope to ensure hundreds of thousands of UK female business owners have the tools they need to succeed and reach their ambitious goals. Because this ambition remains strong in the UK, with female business owners largely optimistic about the future despite the multitude of challenges they are facing. Four in ten say they will grow their business in the next five years – compared to only a third of male business owners – and they’re also 35% less likely than men to say they plan to downsize or close the business.

But if we do not empower female entrepreneurs to access the tools and technology they need to grow, there is a risk this optimism could be misplaced. Support programmes that provide business owners with guidance and mentorship can help ensure this isn’t the case, allowing female entrepreneurs to not only survive but thrive in the months and years ahead.