International Women’s Day – Take THREE
International Women’s Day – Take THREE
Today is International Women’s Day!
To celebrate, we’ve been asking some great women - business leaders, clients and colleagues from around the world - about their motivation and inspiration as women. Today, to round off a series of three posts, we’re asking about something that’s key to everything this day is about -
What you are doing within your organisation or outside of work to empower girls and young women?
‘FBMI stands for the Fatima Bint Mohamed Bin Zayed Initiative. Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mohamed Bin Zayed of Abu Dhabi founded FBMI in partnership with Tanweer Investments. We help women and children in Afghanistan and beyond by teaching them the ancient art of hand knotting / weaving carpets. We pay them a very good wage (most of our women are the main breadwinners in their family), we deliver the wool to their homes, train them to become artisans and provide free healthcare and education for their families. And the beautiful handmade carpets are sold in our FBMI showrooms with all profits being reinvested in the initiative. FBMI’s impact has made a true ripple effect across Afghanistan’s economy, benefiting not only FBMI employees, but the children and relatives of FBMI artisans, as well as farmers and other blue collar workers. The success and exciting future of FBMI is a testament to the vision and commitment of HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mohamed Bin Zayed and to Afghanistan’s women’s relentless desire to improve their lives and reignite the light which has been dim for so many decades.’
Shatha Olayyan
Showroom Manager, FBMI (Fatima Bint Mohamed Bin Zayed Initiative)
‘Coast and Koi is a team effort and I draw on the talents of gifted craftspeople. With apprenticeship on the decline around the world, I take seriously my role in skills- transfer, especially to the younger generation of female artisans. Specifically in South Africa, where unemployment is so high, I seek out chances where I can employ, upskill and empower young women. Often, the modest income from Coast and Koi, makes all the difference for a family on the margin.’
‘I hope to always champion a culture that empowers women I work with at Istoria Group and the young entrepreneurs I mentor, to all be the rock stars they were destined to become.’
‘At William Reed I love our positive culture and environment. We never stop trying to build on this to make it a great place to work for everyone, whether that be through our development opportunities or parental and flexible working policies. Our ever-growing wellness programme includes female focussed projects such as menopause support and awareness.
Outside of my job I work closely on a voluntary basis with an inspiring organisation called The Survivors Network. This Sussex based organisation offers support to survivors of sexual abuse and I’m incredibly proud to be a part of it. As well as the range of support services offered the organisation has launched a #OverToYou Kitemark for businesses to demonstrate active work they are undertaking to challenge sexual harassment in the workplace.
I’m also raising feminist sons and a daughter and if I get that even a little bit right then it will be by far my greatest achievement.’
Jenny Stone
Group HR Director, William Reed Business Ltd
‘I support SUPERFOXX a platform to empower young women to hear their voice and educate them on career opportunities & gender equality, all this through the vehicle of music and parties!’
Katie Bennett
Brand Manager, Galderma
Twitter | #Inspiredbyyou
‘I haven’t mentored formally, but throughout my career I’ve been a sounding board and listened out for and to the issues of younger women in the workplace. So many times, that issue has boiled down to confidence. I also like to make connections and open doors and have done that for quite a number of young women over the years. I especially like to help those taking a major leap beyond their background or comfort zone into the unknown.’
Caroline Collett
Founder, Caroline Collett PR Ltd
Website | LinkedIn | Twitter
‘It is important to me to empower all women to be change makers and feel confident in themselves. Women everywhere know that the time for leadership is now! Stepping up as a woman is no small thing; it requires support. I regularly mentor young designers, all of which are young women.’
Ella Doran
Designer and Founder, Ella Doran Homewares
www.elladoran.co.uk | www.elladorandesign.co.uk
Instagram | Twitter
‘As former chairwoman of Central London’s largest all-female netball club, we nurtured semi-professional player talent, established a thriving youth squad and encouraged women who wanted to return to netball.’
‘As an organisation we are hoping to empower more women to be active by providing a genuine alternative to traditional swimwear.’
Lisa Montague
Founder of Blackfish Swimwear
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
‘It’s important to empower all people regardless of gender. Our training course is very much about empowering the next generation of operations professionals with knowledge. #knowledgeiseverything #operationsfoundation’
Lou Kiwanuka
Director, The Shaper Group
Twitter | #operationsfoundation
‘I always try and find opportunities for young women to get a foot on the ladder in the career of their choice by helping them with contacts and CVs. I’ll always prioritise someone who didn’t have the opportunities at school or who weren’t encouraged by their own family.’
Sue Hills
Founder, Ancestral Footsteps
Website
‘We offer free mentoring sessions to young people to educate and encourage them into digital and specifically project management. Previously I have worked with The Girls Network, via other work groups, and with groups such as Wired Sussex to promote this.’
Nadine Schofield
Managing Director, Project Management On Demand
‘99% of my business is made up of women, from 18 to 80 (my granny). My team are tenacious, hard-working, intelligent and brilliant. There is not a job within our business where there isn’t a woman that can’t do it. We work together as a team. We support each other, we laugh and we praise each other.’
Daniella Draper
Director, Daniella Draper Jewellery
Twitter | #danielladraper
‘I tell young women not to be afraid to be who you are. Inspire and empower yourself, own it. If I can do it, so can you.’
Val Garland
L’Oréal Paris Global Make-up Director
Author of VALIDATED by Val Garland
Winner of Best TV Judge for BBC Glow Up
Twitter | Instagram | #ValGarland #VALidated
I am hiring them. From assistants to the head of development for my new production company I have hired women. I also volunteer at my son’s school to speak to the diversity club. It’s a forum where kids of all genders can begin to understand how we can make changes within our chosen fields. Empowering boys, trans youth and girls together, means that (hopefully) all boats will rise with the tide.
Minnie Driver
President, Huge Fan Productions
Twitter | Instagram | #hugefanproductions
‘65% of healthcare employees are women, yet they only make up 33% of senior executives and 13% of CEOs. Male-dominated leadership in the industry has led to a lack of innovation specifically geared toward supporting women. For this reason, I feel strongly about creating a sense of solidarity between women in the space. Supporting one another at every step of the way is key for everyone’s success. I definitely felt this during our fundraising stage at Elvie. It was these initial contacts that helped introduce me to the right kind of investors. Those who had the same vision and values as I had for Elvie. We now have some great female investors including the Allbright Fund, led by Debbie Wosskow and Anna Jones, which brings together female angel investors.
It's this level of solidarity that showcases female empowerment at its best - women supporting other women to succeed in often very male-dominated worlds. For young girls who are thinking about their futures and deciding where their passion lies, I'd like to think that female role models like this can help to show they can do anything they put their minds to.’
Tania Boler
CEO and Founder, Elvie
Instagram | Elvie Instagram
‘At Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield we have an established STEM program which I have been an active role model volunteer for a few years now, as part of these sessions I participate in mentoring, share a career insights and experience with local female students and attend events such as Monster Confidence; which I have been a guest panel speaker.’
Jenny Lau -Fuller
Senior Retail Design Manager, Unibail– Rodamco – Westfield
‘We are establishing a mentoring scheme for young women wanting to work in the arts and creative industries.’
Amy Long and Laura Elgar
Long & Elgar
Amy Long Instagram | Laura Elgar Instagram | #longelgar
‘According to the latest figures from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, women made up 57.7 per cent of the total workforce in retail in two years ago, but only 10.8 per cent of retail CEOs or heads of business were women. And those stats aren’t improving much. As a female business Founder of Real Pretty Kind ™ Tween streetwear label and mama of a young girl, promoting gender equality and inclusivity has been paramount in all we do. So that when you shop with us you’re shopping as the name suggests. REAL PRETTY KIND. We do this via our supply chain and also paying it fwd to our Next Gen community.
Production-wise, we believe mama shoppers have the power to be standing with their fellow mama makers. To that end our Indonesian makers are a majority female collective working from home, paid double and in some cases triple the standard rate in an active push towards gender wage parity and stand against the factory exploitation so rife to date in the Fashion industry. And we provide English books to their children (English as a second language being one of the most empowering tools they can receive) as part of our Tweens standing with their fellow Tweens ethos. To support our customer base we ensure all our Streetwear and the label’s content arm: the ‘Reality Bites’ tween zine - is operationally geared to empower young women both in the Body Positive design of our products and the % profit donations we give to The Butterfly Foundation.
1 in 3 people in Australia report being teased specifically about their appearance - majority female – so in this light our charity donations to combat negative body image and its associated eating disorders, can definitely be viewed as a feminist act. We believe equality as a human right belongs to all of us TOGETHER, to change. And each of us has within us, the power to make those changes through our brand and partner choices. And also in the things that cost us nothing: a kind word, advice, introductions to our fellow women in business, follows and engagement rating on social media and writing a business or product endorsement. Which is why I act individually as a mentor and advocate for other female run businesses. Because collectively every positive action makes a difference.’
Katie Rockliff
Founder and CEO, REAL PRETTY KIND ™
Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | #thisisrealpretty #peopleandplanetkind #realprettykind
‘Unfortunately, it’s not yet ready for public announcement, but I am working on a very exciting female-focused initiative to help younger women in my industry with inspiration and mentorship.’
Hannah Jardine
Group Business Manager, Istoria Group and Board Member, ESSA
‘As a forward-looking intellectual property (IP) firm, we have a long history of empowering women; Margaret Dixon joined Mewburn Ellis in 1929 and qualified as a Patent Agent in 1936. According to our records, she was only the second woman to qualify and the first to practise as a UK patent agent. Today, our partnership is one of the youngest and most vibrant in Europe, including 13 women partners based across all five of our offices. Looking to the future, just over half of our associates, trainees and part-qualified attorneys are women.
However, given the deep-rooted male dominance over the legal profession historically, there is more that needs to be done. The firm therefore encourages involvement in groups and organisations promoting the role of women in IP. We have actively supported AIPLA Women in IP for the last 4 years. One of our partners, Sarah Kostiuk-Smith, is an active member of the AIPLA Women in IP Law Executive Committee, co-chair of its Global Networking Event, and co-chair of its Presence and Branding sub-committee.
Sarah is also a member of the IP Inclusive Women in IP committee. I personally feel strongly about supporting the work of IP Inclusive, a network of IP professionals working to make our community more equal, diverse and inclusive. Their Women in IP community provides support and networking for women already working in the IP professions, and encourages the next generation of female IP practitioners.
I also work hard to try to encourage young people into the profession. I give talks to law students at Southampton University on careers as a trade mark attorney and am always pleased to see how well the students engage with the concepts I’m discussing. I have also organised an open day at the firm, inviting students from all over the country to attend to learn more about trade marks, the firm and how they might get involved in future.’
Rebecca Anderson-Smith
Senior Associate, Trade Mark Attorney, Mewburn Ellis LLP
Twitter | #MewburnEllis
LinkedIn | Mewburn Ellis LLP LinkedIn
‘I’ve recently applied for the Bloom mentorship programme which aims to empower women within the creative industry.’
Lucy Snell
Co-Founder, Cherry
Twitter | #lucysnellonline
‘We have a program called Vulva Talks which is a pleasure positive sex education course. A lot of us grow up feeling a lot of shame around our bodies and we carry that into womanhood. We either inherit someone else’s insecurities or bad experience or we don't get to access important information because there wasn't enough research or the teacher who taught sex-ed just didn't care about the topic enough.
There is a huge amount of misleading and incorrect information on women's bodies and sexuality that surrounds us in the media. We want Vulva Talks to help women know their bodies better for the sake of their health and for more pleasure in their lives. Pleasure shouldn't just be the icing on the cake in our lives. We should all be enjoying ourselves and having orgasms and knowing what we like and knowing from a very young age that we have a right to ask for that. It gives us more autonomy and I believe women will put up with a lot less shit if we step into that power.
‘Outside of work, I am supplementing my yoga teaching offerings with new courses and learnings all the time. In April I will work with Uma Dinsmore in Bali. Her training focuses on teaching yoga specifically for women's bodies; our cycles and our life stages - I am so passionate about us all learning to honour and respect our menstrual cycle more as individuals and in society! I can't wait to share this with my female students.’
Sinnead Ali
Community & Content Manager, Smilemakers
Twitter | #soulguided
Smilemakers Twitter | #discoveryourself
‘Many of our product ideas have come from listening to our children. My three daughters have learned from an early age that their voice is important and of worth. We are currently working on a range of products to help teenage girls have confidence during a make or break time that can shape the woman they become.’
Willis Homewood
Founder, The Little Doo Company
Instagram | Twitter
‘Coaching, mentoring, bringing female interns and graduates into our work teams. I have visited primary schools and shared information about our industry and my career with them. I have appeared on Sky Property TV in a programme following the careers and career advice of women in property. I have also joined senior girls’ schools ‘networking’ events, for example at Redmaids High in Bristol along with other business leaders to give girls and young women aged 15-18 the opportunity to develop business and networking skills.’
Sarah-Jane Osborne
Head of Workplace, Arcadis
Instagram | #arcadis #improvingqualityoflife