International Women’s Day is held annually on 8 March to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It was declared as an official United Nations observance in 1975 and is a national holiday in many countries.
Manchester has a strong history of supporting gender equality, and at Alliance MBS we strive to support and celebrate women not just on 8 March, but all year round. Despite the ongoing pandemic, we have continued to host and sponsor a variety of events in the past year which seek to amplify women’s voices and recognise their contributions.
Women Leading in Business
Our Women Leading in Business (WLIB) events are held once a month, when like-minded women come together to hear from a prominent female business leader, and to share their knowledge and expertise. Financial Advisor Reena Mistry is a regular attendee and told us "Being a member of WLIB, it’s hard not to feel inspired or empowered. Being surrounded by women from different sectors, who discuss their business successes and struggles, who support you and are your cheerleaders, gave me the confidence to pursue things I normally wouldn’t, and one of these has been qualifying for the 'Top Rated Adviser 2021 Guide' compiled by VouchedFor and distributed in The Times in April". Watch a video of the best bits from the 2020 events and sign up to attend the next session.
She’s The Business
In November 2020 The Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MED) at AMBS hosted their annual She’s The Business event. Over 400 budding entrepreneurs and female leaders from across the campus and Greater Manchester came together virtually to listen and learn from a range of exceptional businesswomen.
Radical Thinking for Radical Times
Last year AMBS sponsored Radical Thinking for Radical Times, a series of discussions with remarkable women hosted by Queen Bee Coaching, a free leadership coaching service for women across Greater Manchester. The webinars were organised to fundraise for the Pankhurst Trust, and raised over £3000 to fund PPE needed for them to continue their work throughout the ongoing pandemic. Read more about this series and the women who were involved.
Entrepreneurs@Manchester
Cath Kidston, Founder of Cath Kidston Ltd, shared her secrets of success as part of the Entrepreneurs@Manchester speaker series hosted by MEC at AMBS. She joined MEC Director Lynn Sheppard in an open conversation to talk about her entrepreneurial journey.
Original Thinking Webinars
The Original Thinking Webinar series showcases the latest research and original thinking from academic colleagues at Alliance MBS. Speakers this year have included Dr Judit Csiszar, who has been running pandemic simulation workshops since before the crisis, and Professor Karen Niven who discussed how we influence people’s feelings. These webinars and others are available on our Original Thinking Podcast.
Northern Power Women Awards
This year AMBS are sponsoring the Northern Power Women Awards as part of our International Women’s Day celebrations. Find out more about this event and Northern Power Women.