Last Saturday I had the privilege of attending the Laidlaw Elevate Conference for Women in Business. It was aimed at the Women in Business Scholars, but I was delighted to be selected as one of the undergraduates offered a place. I spent the day surrounded by remarkable women, each so passionate and driven about their own dreams and goals.
We started the day with a couple of welcome speeches, which included some sobering statistics. It will take us 134 years to close the gender pay gap. Only 7.4% of FTSE 250 CEOs are women. Female CEOs are 45% more likely to be fired than their male counterparts, even when performance is accounted for. These genuinely shocked me. I've been lucky to be surrounded by strong, career-driven women my whole life, so it never occurred to me that my gender could be such a significant barrier. That bubble has burst a bit in recent years, but even so, it was hard to feel disheartened when I was around such determined women.
The next session, dream sharing bingo, only strengthened my hope. I heard such ambitious plans, from starting a scholarship fund for underprivileged women to opening a health clinic in rural Africa. It set a really optimistic tone for the rest of the day.
After that, I got to be part of a double session with Delia Lloyd, a communications consultant and social scientist. We spent 90 minutes (phone free!) learning how to present and speak publicly. Hand on heart, it was the most valuable Laidlaw session I've ever had, and I don't say that lightly given the calibre of sessions we get at Leeds. I learned so much and can't wait to put it into practice.
In the afternoon I joined a career circle on media and tech with Daniela Boquette and Yingxin from Paramount and Liberty Global, where we talked about the impact of AI, reorganisations and mergers. We then heard the keynote from Helen Steers MBE about her journey as a woman in the male-dominated private equity industry. I particularly enjoyed the discussion around the challenges and extra labour often expected of women. Susanna Kempe then gave a powerful talk on protecting our dreams, focusing on stress management and resilience. I found this especially relevant because I often overwork myself and try to be the best at everything, when actually stepping back and protecting my dreams might be better for me.
Overall it was a brilliant day, spent with even more inspiring women. As always, thank you to the amazing Matt and Beccy, who run the Laidlaw programme at Leeds, and to Susanna Kempe and Lord Laidlaw for the endless opportunities. Stay tuned for my LiA!