Last week’s Allbright event coincided with International Women’s Day. We were invited along to City Hall to share in a celebration of successful female founders and entrepreneurs, proactively tackling the gender gap in London.
Opened by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, the morning was filled with inspirational speeches and discussions, led by top names from a multitude of industries. ‘Be Bold For Change’ was the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day and this resonated throughout the morning. It was amazing to hear from so many strong, entrepreneurial women, including Kelly Hoppen, Emily Forbes, Cat Gazzoli, Aneeqa Khan.
During the morning, Khan introduced Skills For Londoners. A major aim of this scheme is to enable young people, who may not otherwise have access to the required resources and finance, to realise their potential. He explained his plans to ‘make sure Skills for Londoners taps up chief executives, entrepreneurs, successful women, to go to [speak at] assemblies at schools and further education colleges across London’, thus inspiring an aspirational generation of young women that understand what they are capable of achieving.
Debbie Wosskow, co-founder of Allbright and a member of Khan’s advisory board also delivered food for thought. Men continue to dominate the investment space, and so she brought to light the significant impact that female presence can have upon a board, with figures suggesting that a mixed team of directors can deliver a 36% better return on investment. Wosskow also emphasised the mutual role that men and women need to play in this challenge of the gender gap. She pointed out that, for things to change, we all need to be proactive to create a real impact.
The morning sparked many fresh ideas and left us feeling empowered and energised, looking forward to future developments and upcoming Allbright events.