Shropshire event celebrates women in business
A group of inspirational businesswomen once again shared their expertise at an event to mark International Women’s Day.
They shared stories and top tips from their areas of expertise at the home of Shrewsbury Town FC on March 8.
As in previous years, this international occasion was marked locally in the Marches, with an event organised by local businesswoman and FSB West Midlands chair Hollie Whittles, supported by The Marches Growth Hub Shropshire, Federation of Small Businesses and Shropshire Chamber.
The event attracted more than 80 attendees who were treated to presentations from a diverse range of inspirational women in local business and political leadership roles.
They included Rachel Laver, chief executive of the Marches LEP, Trudie Adcock, global enterprise learning director at pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, Rayeesa Asghar-Sandys, owner of Hereford-based Indian food specialists Spiced by Rayeesa and Ann Johnson, equality, diversity and social inclusion consultant and managing director of Wave-length CIC.
Internet sensation and author Jackie Weaver – who shot to fame when a video of a controversial meeting of Handforth Parish Council went viral across social media – also made a special appearance via a bespoke video interview.
During the event there were also brief updates from The Marches Growth Hub Shropshire, Federation of Small Businesses and Shropshire Chamber, with each describing how they support equality of opportunity, women in enterprise and the local business community at large. The theme this year was 'break the bias'.
Hollie, who chaired the event, said: “It was great to get such a good turnout on the day, which was testament to the quality of the speakers we had lined up and also the efforts of partners in helping to shape and run a very successful event.
"We received overwhelmingly positive feedback from delegates about the format and content of the half-day session and also secured extensive print and social media coverage. This is fantastic news, quite literally, for us here in the Marches but also for the wider International Women’s Day movement."
