International Women's Day 2025

Last Friday we hosted a lunch, in partnership with Goho, for International Women’s Day at The Chapel Bar in Islington. Our bespoke menu was crafted for the occasion by MasterChef finalist, Emma Foley who runs the Two Sisters Supperclub.

It was a great chance to get together with like-minded women who act as change makers in their space. From Local Government, Food and Beverage Companies, Marketing agencies, the FMCG sector and small business owners. Each woman in attendance individually impacted their sector.

International Women’s Day comes round every year as part of Women’s History Month, and this year, the theme is #AccelerateAction. To help level the playing field and accelerate progress for women in business, it’s crucial to recognise the underrepresentation of women in leadership roles within the public sector.

• Currently, only 36% of local authority councilors in England are women.
• However, when focusing on leadership roles, gender representation declines, with women making up only around 17% of local council leaders nationwide.
• Women hold almost half (47.3%) of positions in the UK's Senior Civil Service.
• Representation is even lower for women from ethnic minority backgrounds, who account for only 3.88% of senior civil service leaders.

(Source: Data from The House of Commons Library and Women in Public Sector Leadership 2024).

For 114 years, IWD has been an opportunity for women to reflect on our position in the world - to see the progress we’ve made and what challenges we need to overcome.

During the lunch, we engaged in meaningful discussions about the influential figures who played a pivotal role in the journey toward equality. We had a host of stories, from well-known historical figures who championed change for generations to come, to personal heroes in our lives - mothers, sisters, grandmothers, and even the Lionesses.

Women have always been agents of change. In today's climate we need to be resilient, supportive and ready for action.

Food was served in a sharing style, to honour the spirit of women coming together - a powerful force that transcends borders, cultures and generations. In almost every culture, the act of preparing a meal is a role often taken up by women.

Leaving you with some final words from Councilor Anntoinette Bramble: “The next time you're in a room of other powerful women, remember history isn't ten years ago, history is as simple as an hour ago.

Make history”.