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We’re having an indoor picnic，” says Sue Biggs excitedly as we sit in her office in 1）Wisley， Surrey. The sun is shining and the beautifully 2）manicured gardens that surround us are bursting with flowers， insects and children from the local school. “I hope you like sandwiches” she says， unpacking a brown paper bag crammed with food from the 3）garden shop. Biggs is the first female director of the 4）Royal Horticultural Society and took up her position in 2010 having spent 25 years in the travel industry， working for 5）Kuoni and then 6）Thomas Cook. She admits the switch was totally unplanned. “I wasn’t looking at the time， and my husband saw the advert. I said ‘oh， someone lucky is going to get a fantastic job’ and he said why not you？”
Despite her many years experience， which saw Biggs appointed the first woman and the youngest on the board at Kuoni， she admits she hesitated， concerned that she lacked the horticultural experience required. “It’s a confidence issue sometimes， it’s about actually daring to dream and until you try you never know. I think men perhaps are better at fear of failure， but I’ve always tended to follow what I’m passionate about， so the practicalities of being the right person didn’t get in the way in the end.” Her RHS membership of 18 years probably helped too. “I think I did put that on my 7）CV，” she explains with a wry smile.
But it’s very clear that horticulture is her passion， as she talks at length about 8）ash dieback， the declining bee population and the peat problem—all issues which the RHS is attempting to find answers for.
She very nearly set herself on the path to her current position while she was at school， although her plans were thwarted by what she describes as a typically English attitude towards anything out of the ordinary. “I wanted to do estate management at Reading University. I’d applied for it all and I remember being called into the headmistress’s study and she said： ‘You can’t do this， this isn’t something for somebody like you.’ She called my parents in the end and persuaded them， and sort of me. I had to agree to go and do English instead.”
That experience shaped her attitude towards ambition and achievement and still informs her views on the barriers women face in the workplace. “There are some genuine barriers，” she concedes， going on to explain that there are others that aren’t really there at all. “Have I seen situations where it’s more difficult to be a woman？ Yes，” she says， admitting that the amount of times she has suffered sexism throughout her career is laughable. “If you get huffy about it then it becomes a problem”， she adds. One example stands out. “I was invited over to 9）Geneva to celebrate joining the Kuoni board and when I arrived they presented me with a card and a bouquet of flowers. The card—so politically incorrect now—was a picture of a woman holding a glass of champagne and inside it read： ‘At long last we’ll have somebody to iron our shirts’.” She kept the card， explaining with a chuckle that she recently sent a photocopy back to the chairman of the board， who is now in his 80s， writing that she wished he’d sent it now so she could sue him for millions. “They did it because they knew me，” she explains. “They knew I would laugh it off.”
“An ambitious man is talented but an ambitious women is a career-bitch，” she says. “I have been labelled and it does bother me. You’d have to be fairly hard hearted not to think ‘honest， I’m not like that’.”
“It’s important to be respected，” she explains. “It’s icing on top of the cake if people also like you， but respect has to be there or you can’t be a successful leader.”
“There is a great thing about Americans， they dare to dream. We can all take the mickey out of Americans， but actually they celebrate aspiration. It’s quite sad in this country that we don’t readily do that， we’re much more likely to knock people down.”
当我们坐在苏·比格斯位于萨里郡威斯利花园的办公室里时，她兴冲冲地说道：“我们来一场室内野炊吧。”阳光普照，围绕在我们周围，修剪得整齐漂亮的花园里到处都是花、昆虫和当地学校的孩子。“希望你们喜欢三明治”她边说边从园艺店里取出一个塞满了食物的牛皮纸袋。比格斯是皇家园艺协会的首位女性会长，于2010年任职，她曾在旅游业磨砺25年，相继为瑞士旅业及托马斯·库克工作。她承认自己转行完全是个意外。“我那时并没在找工作，而我的丈夫看到了那则广告。我说‘哦，某个幸运的人要得到一份绝妙的工作了’然后他说，你怎么不去试一试？”
尽管比格斯有着多年经验，从她被任命为瑞士旅业董事会上的首位女将，也是其中最年轻的一员便可看出，但她承认她犹豫了，她担心自己缺乏所必需的园艺经验。“有时候这是一个自信心的问题，它实际上是关于敢不敢去做梦，而且你不试你永远都不知道。我觉得男人也许更容易应对失败的恐惧，但我却时常倾向于追随自己所热衷的东西，所以能否成为合适人选的忧虑最终没有成为我的阻碍。”比格斯18年的皇家园艺协会会员身份或许也帮上了忙。“我想我的确把那个写在简历里了，”她苦笑着解释道。
然而，很明显，园艺是比格斯所热爱的，因为她一讲起白蜡树梢枯病、蜜蜂数量持续减少还有泥炭问题来就滔滔不绝——所有这些问题皇家园艺协会都在尝试寻找解决之道。
当比格斯还在求学时，就几乎找准目标往现在的位置进发，但她的计划曾被她所描述的典型英国态度所阻碍——就是那种对待任何不寻常之事的态度。“我想到雷丁大学学习物业管理。我已经为之做了一切申请工作，而我记得我被叫到了女校长的研修室，她说：‘你不能这么做。这并不适合像你这样的人。’最终她叫来了我的父母并说服他们，也有点把我给劝服了。我不得不同意转而去读英文。”
那次经历塑造了她对于野心及成就的态度，而且还显露了她对于女性在职场中所面临的障碍的态度。“有一些切切实实的障碍，”她退一步继续解释说，还有一些其实并算不上是真正的障碍。“在很多情况下，身为女性会更加难一些，我见过这类情况吗？我见过，”比格斯如是说道，她坦言在其职业生涯中多次遭受的性别歧视都是很可笑的。“如果你对这种事儿火冒三丈，那就真的成问题了”，她补充道。
有一个很明显的例子。“我受邀去日内瓦庆祝加入瑞士旅业董事会，当我抵达时，他们送了我一张卡片和一束花。那张卡片——在当下的政治立场来说尤其错误——卡片上是一个女人拿着一杯香槟的图片，里面写着：‘终于有人帮我们熨衬衫了’。”比格斯保留着那张卡片，并轻声笑着解释说她最近给瑞士旅业的董事会主席邮寄了一份复印件，那人现在已经八十多岁了，比格斯还写了她希望董事会主席能现在将那张卡片寄给她，那么她就能起诉他而得到数百万的赔偿金。“他们会那么做是因为他们了解我，”她解释说。“他们知道我会一笑置之。”
“一个有野心的男人就是有才干，但一个有野心的女人则是一个职场悍妇，”她说道，“我曾被贴上标签，而且那也确实困扰到我了。你必须得相当坚定，别去想‘老实说，我该不是那样的’。”
“被尊重很重要，”她解释说。“如果大家还喜欢你，那便是蛋糕上的糖衣，但尊重必须存在，否则你不可能成为一个成功的领导者。”
“美国人民有一个伟大之处，就是他们敢于梦想。我们都能将米老鼠从美国人的心中拿走，但事实上他们赞美的却是抱负。在这个国家则很可悲，我们并不乐意那么做，我们更趋于泼人冷水。”
Despite her many years experience， which saw Biggs appointed the first woman and the youngest on the board at Kuoni， she admits she hesitated， concerned that she lacked the horticultural experience required. “It’s a confidence issue sometimes， it’s about actually daring to dream and until you try you never know. I think men perhaps are better at fear of failure， but I’ve always tended to follow what I’m passionate about， so the practicalities of being the right person didn’t get in the way in the end.” Her RHS membership of 18 years probably helped too. “I think I did put that on my 7）CV，” she explains with a wry smile.
But it’s very clear that horticulture is her passion， as she talks at length about 8）ash dieback， the declining bee population and the peat problem—all issues which the RHS is attempting to find answers for.
She very nearly set herself on the path to her current position while she was at school， although her plans were thwarted by what she describes as a typically English attitude towards anything out of the ordinary. “I wanted to do estate management at Reading University. I’d applied for it all and I remember being called into the headmistress’s study and she said： ‘You can’t do this， this isn’t something for somebody like you.’ She called my parents in the end and persuaded them， and sort of me. I had to agree to go and do English instead.”
That experience shaped her attitude towards ambition and achievement and still informs her views on the barriers women face in the workplace. “There are some genuine barriers，” she concedes， going on to explain that there are others that aren’t really there at all. “Have I seen situations where it’s more difficult to be a woman？ Yes，” she says， admitting that the amount of times she has suffered sexism throughout her career is laughable. “If you get huffy about it then it becomes a problem”， she adds. One example stands out. “I was invited over to 9）Geneva to celebrate joining the Kuoni board and when I arrived they presented me with a card and a bouquet of flowers. The card—so politically incorrect now—was a picture of a woman holding a glass of champagne and inside it read： ‘At long last we’ll have somebody to iron our shirts’.” She kept the card， explaining with a chuckle that she recently sent a photocopy back to the chairman of the board， who is now in his 80s， writing that she wished he’d sent it now so she could sue him for millions. “They did it because they knew me，” she explains. “They knew I would laugh it off.”
“An ambitious man is talented but an ambitious women is a career-bitch，” she says. “I have been labelled and it does bother me. You’d have to be fairly hard hearted not to think ‘honest， I’m not like that’.”
“It’s important to be respected，” she explains. “It’s icing on top of the cake if people also like you， but respect has to be there or you can’t be a successful leader.”
“There is a great thing about Americans， they dare to dream. We can all take the mickey out of Americans， but actually they celebrate aspiration. It’s quite sad in this country that we don’t readily do that， we’re much more likely to knock people down.”
当我们坐在苏·比格斯位于萨里郡威斯利花园的办公室里时，她兴冲冲地说道：“我们来一场室内野炊吧。”阳光普照，围绕在我们周围，修剪得整齐漂亮的花园里到处都是花、昆虫和当地学校的孩子。“希望你们喜欢三明治”她边说边从园艺店里取出一个塞满了食物的牛皮纸袋。比格斯是皇家园艺协会的首位女性会长，于2010年任职，她曾在旅游业磨砺25年，相继为瑞士旅业及托马斯·库克工作。她承认自己转行完全是个意外。“我那时并没在找工作，而我的丈夫看到了那则广告。我说‘哦，某个幸运的人要得到一份绝妙的工作了’然后他说，你怎么不去试一试？”
尽管比格斯有着多年经验，从她被任命为瑞士旅业董事会上的首位女将，也是其中最年轻的一员便可看出，但她承认她犹豫了，她担心自己缺乏所必需的园艺经验。“有时候这是一个自信心的问题，它实际上是关于敢不敢去做梦，而且你不试你永远都不知道。我觉得男人也许更容易应对失败的恐惧，但我却时常倾向于追随自己所热衷的东西，所以能否成为合适人选的忧虑最终没有成为我的阻碍。”比格斯18年的皇家园艺协会会员身份或许也帮上了忙。“我想我的确把那个写在简历里了，”她苦笑着解释道。
然而，很明显，园艺是比格斯所热爱的，因为她一讲起白蜡树梢枯病、蜜蜂数量持续减少还有泥炭问题来就滔滔不绝——所有这些问题皇家园艺协会都在尝试寻找解决之道。
当比格斯还在求学时，就几乎找准目标往现在的位置进发，但她的计划曾被她所描述的典型英国态度所阻碍——就是那种对待任何不寻常之事的态度。“我想到雷丁大学学习物业管理。我已经为之做了一切申请工作，而我记得我被叫到了女校长的研修室，她说：‘你不能这么做。这并不适合像你这样的人。’最终她叫来了我的父母并说服他们，也有点把我给劝服了。我不得不同意转而去读英文。”
那次经历塑造了她对于野心及成就的态度，而且还显露了她对于女性在职场中所面临的障碍的态度。“有一些切切实实的障碍，”她退一步继续解释说，还有一些其实并算不上是真正的障碍。“在很多情况下，身为女性会更加难一些，我见过这类情况吗？我见过，”比格斯如是说道，她坦言在其职业生涯中多次遭受的性别歧视都是很可笑的。“如果你对这种事儿火冒三丈，那就真的成问题了”，她补充道。
有一个很明显的例子。“我受邀去日内瓦庆祝加入瑞士旅业董事会，当我抵达时，他们送了我一张卡片和一束花。那张卡片——在当下的政治立场来说尤其错误——卡片上是一个女人拿着一杯香槟的图片，里面写着：‘终于有人帮我们熨衬衫了’。”比格斯保留着那张卡片，并轻声笑着解释说她最近给瑞士旅业的董事会主席邮寄了一份复印件，那人现在已经八十多岁了，比格斯还写了她希望董事会主席能现在将那张卡片寄给她，那么她就能起诉他而得到数百万的赔偿金。“他们会那么做是因为他们了解我，”她解释说。“他们知道我会一笑置之。”
“一个有野心的男人就是有才干，但一个有野心的女人则是一个职场悍妇，”她说道，“我曾被贴上标签，而且那也确实困扰到我了。你必须得相当坚定，别去想‘老实说，我该不是那样的’。”
“被尊重很重要，”她解释说。“如果大家还喜欢你，那便是蛋糕上的糖衣，但尊重必须存在，否则你不可能成为一个成功的领导者。”
“美国人民有一个伟大之处，就是他们敢于梦想。我们都能将米老鼠从美国人的心中拿走，但事实上他们赞美的却是抱负。在这个国家则很可悲，我们并不乐意那么做，我们更趋于泼人冷水。”