International Women’s Day (IWD) grew out of the labour movement to become an annual event recognised by the United Nations. This year, the theme is embracing equity. But what exactly does that mean? What does International Women’s Day mean? How far has women’s equality come? What still needs to be done? Business News Wales pitched these questions to several Welsh businesswoman and leaders to allow them to tell their personal stories and to share their expertise.
The reach of this worldwide occasion is enormous – its mission is to create a gender-equal world that is free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. IWD is celebrated across all areas of life – but none more so than in the business sector.
In a special Business News Wales podcast, our CEO, Heather Anstey-Myers is joined by three experts in their field, Dr Louise Bright, Executive Director for Engagement and Enterprise at the University of South Wales; Gemma Casey, NatWest’s Cymru EcoSystem Manager for Wales and Catherine Griffith Williams, CEO for Constructing Excellence Wales. This podcast focusses out what women’s equality and equity looks like to them in their sectors and why International Women’s Day is so important.
In another Business News Wales exclusive podcast, join Technology Connected’ s Managing Director Avril Lewis who is accompanied by panellists Dana Williams, Operations and Project Manager at the Welsh Automotive Forum and Clare Johnson, a Cyber Capability Consultant at ITSUS Consulting. This podcast takes a closer look at an equal career share in STEM and the reasons for encouraging, empowering and celebrating women.
Education specialist and Director of GoLexia, Eileen Taylor, tells us why age is no barrier. Having spent 50 years in education and irrespective of your gender, if you work hard, surround yourself with good people, believe in yourself and be proud of your achievements, she explains that anything is possible.
Hear from the new CEO of Chwarae Teg, Lucy Reynolds, who feels there needs to be more substance behind the support from businesses for women. If we are to create a more ‘equal Wales’ we need to ask questions and review female representation in the workplace.
Debra Williams, Chair of GCRE Limited, takes us behind the scenes of the women working in a man’s world to develop the Global Centre of Rail Excellence and explains the importance of those working in rail to sign up to the EDI Charter.
Ambition North Wales continue to be confident and cohesive by focusing on improving the region’s economic, social and environmental well-being. They give their insight into why International Women’s Day can enable a more diverse workplace which will benefit both businesses and society.
In the start-up space Louise Harris, Co-founder & CEO of Tech Tramshed, discusses how gender equality can be accelerated and how to actively encourage and mentor young women to pursue opportunities in STEM.
Lesley Williams, of Welsh ICE explains why we need to pay close attention to how we can break down barriers for female entrepreneurs and why it will boost the economy long-term.
Fran Zenati, Head of Business Solutions at Call of the Wild, presents an opportunity to ‘shine a light’ on empowering women in the workplace; the positive culture that International Women’s Day brings and how she would love to see a more diverse workforce going forward.
In the world of finance, Jess Phillips, British Business Bank, discusses equality and equity within small business finance markets and the position of women within entrepreneurial systems. We also have the inspiring story and reasoning behind the Development Bank for Wales’ Angel Invest programme.
In retail, Sara Jones, Head of the Welsh Retail Consortium, highlights 3 key areas of supporting International Women’s Day which is the opportunity to celebrate women’s achievements, recognising what still needs to be done (with gaps still present in equality) and a call to action to highlight challenges that can be overcome collectively. She also explains the importance of seeing more women in senior roles within retail.
Tess Blazey, Director of Policy and External Relations at Floventis, discusses what attracted her to the renewable energy industry and how we can recruit more women to that sector which currently has only 19% female representation.
From a male perspective on equality and equity, Phil Jones, Chief Executive at Business in Focus, provides us with an engaging written feature about the inequality he sadly witnessed in the Armed Forces over the years, along with why Business in Focus has been so successful due to its high female representation of staff.
The CEO of FinTech Wales, Sarah Williams-Gardener, shares her thoughts on what International Women’s Day means to her; which female figures have been the most inspirational in her life; the attitudes towards women in the tech industry and what can be done to make the workplace and society in general inclusive of all genders and other personal characteristics.
Finally , here at Business News Wales the majority of staff are female. We discuss what International Women’s Day means to us in a working capacity and on a more personal level.
