In celebration of International Women’s Day taking place on Monday 8th March with the theme being #ChooseToChallenge, we wanted to celebrate this symbolic day and rejoice all the inspirational business women of Yorkshire & North East.

International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

International Women's Day (IWD) has occurred for well over a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. Prior to this the Socialist Party of America, United Kingdom's Suffragists and Suffragettes, and further groups campaigned for women's equality.

We are pleased to be joined by IoD Director General, Jon Geldart. We will then hear from a panel of speakers.

Please note, we very much encourage men to attend. So please join us, bring your colleagues, clients and friends and be a part of what is set to a fantastic event!

Speakers:

Jon Geldart, Director General, IoD

Jonathan was appointed Director General of the Institute of Directors in October 2019. Prior to this Jonathan spent 30 years working in the professional services sector, most recently at Grant Thornton International Ltd responsible for the organisation’s interest in China and previously as a global board member responsible for the brand.

Jonathan has a long-standing connection with the IoD, as Chair of IoD Yorkshire and North East region prior to his appointment as Director General. He is the author of three books on China and in addition to being a Fellow of the IoD he is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

He studied Geography and Archaeology at St. Andrews University specialising in underwater archaeology. Outside of work, his interests include hill walking and fell running. He was the navigator in a rally team for 20 years and following two years of training in extreme environments walked to the North Pole in 2016. He has completed other expeditions in Norway, the Canadian Arctic and the Everest region.

Panelists

Nagma Ebanks Beni MBE, Commercial Director, Prima Cheese

Nagma started her career in the fashion industry, but quickly realised the ethos of the sector was not for her. A strong entrepreneurial streak saw her follow her dreams and, even with no hospitality experience, she set up a restaurant from scratch in Islington, London called Angel of the North. She ran it successfully for seven years until she decided to start a family and moved back to her much-loved native North-East where she joined the family company Prima Cheese.

The company had not previously exported its products outside of the UK, and this is where Nagma saw huge potential and started their export journey in 2010. Using a strong commercial and marketing focus, Nagma continues to help drive the company in its direction and strategy for both domestic and international markets, currently supplying 52 countries worldwide, leading to her being honoured with an MBE in 2019 for services to International Trade.

Emma Hardy MP, Member of Parliament for Kingston upon Hull and Hessle

Emma Hardy was born and brought up in the East Riding – a few miles from the seat of Hessle and West Hull that she now represents in Parliament. Before becoming an MP, Emma was a primary school teacher for over ten years.

She left teaching in 2015 to become a full-time organiser for the National Union of Teachers and served as Deputy General Secretary of the Socialist Educational Association before being elected to Parliament. Following her election in 2017, and subsequent re-election in 2019, Emma has risen in the Labour Party to become Shadow Minister for Further Education and Universities in 2020.

Teaching and education are at the forefront of Emma’s agenda and she is constantly fighting to ensure all of our young people receive the educational provision and support they need.”

Emma Conroy, Founder & Director, Inclusive Consulting Ltd

Emma is the owner and director of Inclusive Consulting. Established in 2019, Inclusive is an innovative company that focuses on both attracting and retaining talent across the Yorkshire region. Emma has over a decade’s experience as a manager and director of a global recruitment group and is now using her expertise to proactively engage with the changing priorities of both companies and individuals when it comes to recruitment and career management.

Emma’s company offers a fresh, honest and unbiased approach to supporting professionals and assisting organisations in building and developing their talent. Emma and the Inclusive team are developing a range of services to offer their client base including coaching, well-being workshops, D&I consulting, business strategy and mentoring programmes. A busy mum of 2, Emma is passionate about equality and truly believes that if you surround yourself with the right people, anything is possible.