INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY ISN’T JUST FOR THE GIRLS

This month the world marks International Women’s Day, an annual celebration of inspiring women that has (surprisingly) been going on for more than a century.

More recently, the day has also marked a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.

While great progress has been made over the most recent decades for women’s rights across much of the Western World (and we use this geographical reference on purpose to acknowledge the recent shocking attacks on women’s rights in Afghanistan), there is still a way to go.

Scroll through LinkedIn and most of the top jobs are still held by men. But things are changing as more family-friendly working practices are being increasingly adopted by both corporate and commercial companies.

And fewer women feel the need to conform to stereotypes. Many of those who have risen to the top in their various professions no longer have to wear fiveinch heels and sharply tailored dresses to show they mean business (although plenty do, particularly in the City of London, but that’s another business culture altogether).

From a business perspective, encouraging women in business is a no-brainer. The Rose Review, commissioned by the government in 2019 which shed light on the barriers faced by women starting and growing businesses, highlighted that if women started and scaled new businesses at the same rate as men, up to £250 billion of new value could be added to the UK economy –money that this country could certainly do with.

Last year a Rose Review progress report was published, and there are positives.

Two years into the pandemic, female entrepreneurship has proved exceptionally resilient. More women than ever are starting new businesses.

More than 140,000 all-female-founded companies were created last year, and this figure is growing by more than a third each year. It means that more than 20 per cent of new firms are now led by women, a record high.

And there are more women on the boards of the UK’s listed companies too.

When James Bowling retires as Chief Financial O cer at Coventryheadquartered Severn Trent in July, Helen Miles – currently Capital and Commercial Services Director at the water company, will take over. She will join chair Christine Hodgson and CEO Liv Garfield.

This means the three top jobs at one of the UK's biggest water companies,will be held by women – the first company in the FTSE 100 to appoint an all-woman top leadership team.

We can drive change through example. In this feature we highlight female leaders from across the region who are blazing a trail – and not always in stilettos.