World Business Women

UK and international colleagues met to discuss the exciting outcomes from the first #WBWDay and agree plans for 2021 and the WBW Caucus meetings which will happen on the 2nd Tuesday of every second month, beginning in February.

After a wide-ranging discussion, it was agreed that the first WBW Caucus will focus on Technology, with subsequent spring Caucus meetings concentrating on Education and the Creative Industries. 

Delegates were asked to share their thoughts via a mentimetre poll on the business outlook for 2021 and it was encouraging to see that many are optimistic, despite current challenges. The key to future activities continues to be collaboration, opportunity and inclusion, which are at the heart of SAVVITAS.

Winter Soirée

 Ambassadors celebrated at a very different Winter Soirée this year, with the theme of Hollywood / Bollywood it was a fabulous occasion for which to dress up and glamour was the order of the day!

Lots of interesting conversation over bubbles of various kinds, then we enjoyed a quiz on inspiring women, from history to the present day, followed by an award for the most interesting attire judged by Deputy Senate Chairman Susan Greenwood. Many Congratulations to our winner Brenda King MBE! 

It was a fun event and excellent start to the festivities.

NatWest Everywoman Awards

Each year the NatWest everywoman Awards herald the start of the festive season and this year was no exception. 

With a polished, professional and engaging online event hosted by everywoman, we were inspired to hear from all the incredible award nominees and winners, highlighting the extraordinary success of female founders of all ages and sectors across the UK.

It was also a wonderful opportunity to remind ourselves of past events!

Enterprise Award for Helene Martin Gee at #GEW2020

The inaugural Awards of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Inclusive Entrepreneurship were a glittering affair, despite being held on Zoom rather than the Palace of Westminster. Hosted by the group's Chair, Dr Lisa Cameron MP along with Jacqueline Winstanley, the driving force behind the group as a key part of its Global Entrepreneurship Week activities. 

After inspiring words of welcome we enjoyed a showcase video from a the wide range of talented and successful entrepreneurs, accompanied by music from the highly talented James Holt. 

Then the Awards were presented, including to Ambassador member Lady Sharon, owner of the wonderful 'Glam Sticks' company.

 Our founder Helene Martin Gee was recognised for her outstanding contribution to women's enterprise with a much-deserved Award presented by Dr Cameron.

Savvitas founder Helene Martin Gee joins #GEWUK2020 Wrap-Up

The final session of the highly successful #GEWUK2020 was a panel discussion chaired by GEN UK lead Elaine Gold and including our founder Helene Martin Gee. Following an engaging and passionate keynote from Lord Bilimoria, the panel reflected on the wide variety of activities during the week, clearly very different this year with everything taking place online including our own White Paper launch. 

GEW2020 was however judged to be a big hit, and as Helene remarked, it actually made for a more inclusive and collaborative week. The panel shared some of their personal highlights and considered ideas for 2021.

                          

Launch of the Economic Blueprint White Paper

As longstanding partners of Global Entrepreneurship Week, we were thrilled to launch the Savvitas NatWest White Paper. 'Leveraging Opportunity for UK Female Entrepreneurs' as part of the week's activities.

The culmination of a national roadshow supported by NatWest, recommendations in the White Paper come direct from more than 400 of the nation's women business owners.

Pink Shoe On Air: Sharniya Ferdinand

For the latest in our series of 'Phenomenal Women' we spent an inspiring evening with Sharniya Ferdinand award-winning Business Inclusion Manager for NatWest. An awesome advocate for entrepreneurs and business owners from every culture, background and sector, Sharniya also managed the national EB Roadshow on behalf of NatWest and Pink Shoe.

We heard about Sharniya's career, her passion supporting and engaging with entrepreneurs from every sector, and the exciting and innovative work of NatWest in supporting diverse business owners.

Pink Shoe On Air: Parliament Week

For Parliament Week this year we were delighted to hear from Jill Pay about her role as Serjeant at Arms in the House of Commons, the history behind the work of a Serjeant, and some of the many protocols and ceremonies of the House, including State Visits and the State Opening of Parliament.

World Business Women's Day #WBWDay

The inaugural World Business Women's Day was a resounding success. Women and men from 25 nations and 5 continents came together with one goal in mind: to share best practice and improve life for all women in work.

With a welcome from the Rt Hon Theresa May, introduced by Helene Martin Gee, and opening remarks from Alison Rose and Julie Baker of NatWest, the event was deftly chaired by Sue Lawton MBE. 

Put together in just 5-weeks, having been brought forward due to reports from the IMF, World Bank and others about the greater adverse impact of the pandemic on women in work. The aim was to share solutions for women in corporate or public life and as business owners. 

Pink Shoe On Air: Lynne Copp

For Work Life Balance Week we were #OnAir with the inspirational Lynne Copp, founder of The Worklife Company for ‘Balance: The New Normal’. Lynne captivated us with a special preview of her forthcoming book and fascinating insight into the feminine leadership model and it’s compelling magnetism for women leaders.

Pink Shoe On Air: Sue Lawton MBE

Sue Lawton shared her extraordinary career journey with us, from social work to moderator at the UN High Level panel. Having set up WEConnect in the UK, bringing together women business owners with major corporate organisations, Sue inspired us all with her breadth of knowledge and passion for women in enterprise both nationally and globally.

Pink Shoe On Air: Carol Cooke of Scrumptious Productions

Carol Cooke joined us #OnAir from Texas to talk about her inspirational videos of global female entrepreneurs, with Scrumptious Productions she is literally ‘turning movies into movement’.

We also heard about Barefoot in Business, Carol's unique and incredible mini enterprise programme empowering women in Uganda. The women make stylish and practical tote bags from local fabrics and there was much enthusiasm during #FizzTime as members were keenly buying their #TotesFabulous bespoke bags!

Not only that, but UK schools are linking with the project to create micro businesses within the school to sell the bags, learning about enterprise and entrepreneurship while supporting local women in Uganda.

Find out more here: http://www.barefootinbusiness.com/

Pink Shoe On Air: Anna Hughes of Flight Free UK

Sustainable living was the inspiring message for this week’s #OnAir with adventurer, author & sustainability campaigner Anna Hughes. 

Anna has lots of great anecdotes about cycling and then sailing round the whole of the UK coast as well as her incredible success in the Iron Man competition! We then got some useful tips on how to do our bit to cut carbon emissions, which everyone was keen to do, such as reducing flying and eating less meat. 

Anna has given up flying forever and set up Flight Free UK to encourage more people to take the step to fly less. We learned a lot about the fun and opportunity of traveling via alternative methods such as by train and Anna's enthusiasm inspired two of our number, who signed up and have pledged not to fly for 12-months, see:  https://flightfree.co.uk/about_us/

Follow Anna on Twitter @EatSleepCycle 

To find out more and get one of Anna’s fabulous books full of adventure, cycling tales and insights into the wonderful British Isles, go to https://www.annacycles.co.uk/books

 

Pink Shoe On Air: Christine MacKay of Salamandra

A stimulating and inspiring presentation for this week's #OnAir, with one of the UK’s Top 100 female entrepreneurs, Christine MacKay founder of award-winning animation and design studio Salamandra who joined us along with her fabulous animated friend ‘Sal’.

Christine shared her passion for animation and showed us what a huge difference it makes to energise a brand, giving us bags of fresh ideas on creating visual brand stories. Animation is highly effective at fully engaging and capturing the audience, which we certainly were!

Pink Shoe On Air: Diana Eugeni Le Quesne and Vuscichè

The phenomenal Diana Eugeni Le Quesne joined us #OnAir to share the inspiration behind her sustainable circular couture brand Vuscichè. Based between London and Italy,  creative director Diana is also a qualified architect, ballet dancer, yoga teacher and writer who has worked across major fashion publications.

Diana absolutely delighted us with a very special preview of her latest Vuscichè Edition, a delectable range of fashion including dresses, coats, shoes and bags all made from beautiful recycled vintage fabrics. Highly recommended!

Pink Shoe On Air: Anita Corbin and First Women

Photographer Anita Corbin inspired and delighted us #OnAir with a taste of her remarkable First Women project. 

Ten years in the making, this series of photographs of British Female Firsts celebrates women from all sectors and professions, including our own Jill Pay, all taken by Anita in a setting especially chosen to highlight the woman and her achievement of being the first woman in her field.

Anita shared a range of brilliant images from her exhibition, which is both online and at galleries around the UK. Having just left Brighton, the First Women exhibition is soon to visit Exeter. We also had the chance to purchase a special signed book of her First Women photographs. Not to be missed!

Pink Shoe OnAir: Sara McKee and Life: Full Colour

We enjoyed a unique #ONAir preview from the fabulous Sara McKee FRSA of the stunning Life Full Colour gallery and creative space in Caernarfon opening over the August bank holiday weekend. 

After a highly successful business career, Sara is now realising her lifelong dream of owning a gallery; and as all her hard work comes to fruition she shared her passion for the art and artists she has chosen.

This extraordinary and very yellow space is packed with beautiful art works from highly-talented local and national artists - water colours, sculpture, pottery, paintings, there is wonderful art here for everyone. We’re all dashing to Caernarfon to visit Life:FullColour!

Pink Shoe On Air: The Long Road to Equal Pay with Dr Mari Takayanagi

Parliamentary Archivist Dr Takayanagi gave an absorbing illustrated talk on the Long Road to Equal Pay, commemorating the passing of the Equal Pay Act which is 50 years old in 2020. The title chosen because the struggle for equal pay began long before 1970. 

Mari brought the topic of Equal Pay to life for us with a lively and engaging talk and unique images from the archives and from contemporary publications and records. Relating instances of women doing identical jobs to men but receiving far lower salaries. Difficult for us to envisage today perhaps but the reality not so long ago.

As Mari told us, one trigger was the 1968 strike at the Ford factory in Dagenham. 850 female sewing machinists went on strike because they were paid 15% less than men. She highlighted these amazing women and the film made about their struggle.

In May 1970, Labour Employment Minister Barbara Castle, who had backed the Ford sewing machinists, introduced the Equal Pay Bill which received Royal Assent on 29 May becoming the Equal Pay Act. During Q & A Mari explained that EU Membership also had an impact on equal pay. 

From subsequent general discussion it was felt that despite parity on pay for doing the same work, in some industries a gender pay gap remains to this day.

Theresa May’s Government introduced mandatory Gender Pay Reporting, when employers with 250 or more employees must publish and report specific figures about their gender pay gap; almost all complied. Unfortunately due to Covid-19 this was suspended for the current year (2020). We look forward to its early return.

BoardAble Tea &Talk: NED & Public Appointments

An invited group of BoardAble alumnae joined the current cohort for a seminar on Public Appointments and NED roles. 

We got expert tips and insights from Mohan Yogendran, Director of Rockpools on Board level CVs and working with headhunters and recruiters.

It was especially helpful to learn from Mohan how to manage our profile to best effect and getting the most out of LinkedIn. Excellent advice on how to stand out from the crowd and some very helpful leadership know-how from Vanda Green.

The next BoardAble programme is scheduled for autumn 2020 but its likely it may be postponed until spring 2021. Meanwhile we'll be hosting regular online interactive sessions where alumnae are able to mix with their peer group, public appointees, senior NEDs and other experts.

To find out more about the BoardAble programme and our online seminars please email Pink Shoe Leadership Director Vanda Green: Vanda@pinkshoeclub.com

Pink Shoe On Air 13th Birthday Celebrations!!

Our latest On Air was a fabulous celebration, each of us with our own personal party-in-a-box fullof goodies to help us celebrate in style! 

After a warm welcome and canter through 13 great years of achievement from founder Helene Martin Gee, we heard from Jill Pay and Vanda Green about recent highlights. Amita Krishna announced our new Speaker Hub, to be launched later this year ,and Helene shared more exciting projects coming up.

Then with a drum roll from Lynn Turner it was party time!! 

Party boxes  were opened as led by Lyndon we each made our fabulous 'Pink Shoe' cocktails of fizz and Chambord, 

or a tasty mocktail of Nonsescco and strawberry. 

Breaking into zoom rooms we chatted over Cornish Charcuterie pates and other lovely nibbles, then back to the main room for amazing live music from Lynn who played Glen Miller with gusto. 

Following the musical interlude it was time to judge 'most interesting attire' with winners announced as Jacqueline Winstanley,  who had woven red roses into her hair, and Lynn for her funky pink wig!    

Finally, candles were lighted on our yummy Birthday cakes as we all sang happy Birthday, then with a final toast we were played out by Lynn and all joined in for a chorus of 'We'll Meet Again'. 

Pink Shoe On Air: A Phenomenal Woman - Dr Maggie Semple OBE

Inspired by Maya Angelou’s poem, we launched a series of talks from Phenomenal Women with the inspiring friend of Pink Shoe, Dr Maggie Semple OBE.

Maggie talked to us about her early life and a happy childhood with parents who were supportive and expected her to succeed; singing in the choir with her sister was an early introduction to music which translated to her successful career as a professional dancer and dance teacher, and later onto the boards of the National Youth Music Theatre and Ballet Rambert.

Although she did experience some racism, Maggie was never deterred and as we heard she has a clear maxim for life. Creativity is at the heart of all she does, which is a huge amount! From her own consultancy and with Maggie Semple Limited, now 10 years old and highly successful with wonderful couture clothes for women; pivoting lately to create colourful face coverings; and producing the Semple Edit which now reaches 10 million readers. 

Maggie also sits on a number of boards and has a wide variety of NED roles, charity and public appointments.

With a wonderfully melodious and recognizable voice; softly spoken yet extremely powerful Maggie gets her point across without the need to shout. She gently challenged each of us in her inimitable way, to consider what we want from life and how we intend to get there, outlining the importance of having goals and taking practical steps to meet them. 

At the core of all her activities, ethics is the absolute foundation of Maggie’s life and career. She is quite rightly extremely focused on values and works only with those who share her high ethical standards. Maggie’s final message is the importance of smiling – something she demonstrates in abundance. A truly Phenomenal Woman.

To see the wonderful range of Semple clothes and the latest colourful face coverings visit: https://maggiesemple.com

Pink Shoe On Air: Stylish Brand Strategy with Holly Jade O'Leary

Pink Shoe was #OnAir this week with the amazingly creative Holly Jade O'Leary, co founder of Alinea London exploring ‘A New Train of Thought – a stylish perspective on Brand Strategy’

Holly shared some great case studies on brand strategy, outlining how vital it is to have the values of the business at the heart of the creative process; showing us Alinea’s beautiful ‘Floral Souls’ luxury campaign with jewellery designer Olivia Madigan-Shea. Holly then outlined how to generate a creative treatment by identifying the pillars of your brand and establishing a central concept.

With Alinea, Holly and her co-founder represent a range of international luxury brands and artists, alongside offering a unique consultancy combination of legal expertise and creative flair. From providing client insights on Brexit and its impact on business opportunities to sustainable couture fashion.

With a brilliant blend of art, fashion, business and style, Holly was so inspiring!
To find out more go to: https://www.alinea.org.uk/

Pink Shoe On Air: A Generation of Collaboration with Nolly Maseko

Nolly Maseko took us on an inspiring On Air journey to share her story from a childhood in Africa to when she moved to the UK, her work mentoring other young leaders and the impact of her own role models and mentors plus lots of hard work achieving success in financial services.

Nolly is a Young Women’s Trust (YWT) Ambassador and a true role model to other women. We heard that mentoring and coaching has been key to Nolly's success. She encourages everyone to get a mentor and then to give back and mentor or coach someone else on their career path. 

Nolly explained that the YWT provides a free CV assessment service for young women applying for jobs. A practical way for Pink Shoe colleagues to help the next generation is to volunteer to give practical advice and feedback on CV and job applications. 

To find out more about how you can help a young woman see: https://www.youngwomenstrust.org/what_we_do/apply or email info@pinkshoeclub.com and we'll point you in the right direction.

BoardAble Tea & Talk on NED & Public Appointments with The Cabinet Office

For our first Tuesday Tea & Talk we were hosted by Helene Martin Gee who welcomed everyone and outlined the format for the day. 

Louise Greenrod, Deputy Director for the Public Appointments team at the Cabinet Office (right) let us know about the wide range of opportunities available for public appointments, the current roles and the impact of Covid. 

Louise provided a unique perspective into the type of roles to look for and the hugely diverse range of organisations. She outlined some very useful insights and practical take-aways for the audience, all of whom were BoardAble alumnae or currently on the programme and actively seeking a public appointment.

Dr Maggie Semple OBE, NED at Jamaica National Bank and Queen’s Council panellist gave us a fascinating insight into her experiences of non-executive appointments in the private sector as well as her many and varied public roles.

We also heard from Vanda Green, Director of the Pink Shoe BoardAble programme who outlined her top leadership tips for NEDs - the differences between executive and non-executive leadership and some of the pitfalls to avoid in a first board position.

The session was followed by informal Q&A excellently chaired by Jill Pay and an overview of the BoardAble programme from Helene, before interactive virtual socialising over a cup of tea.

To find out more about Public Appointments and current opportunities visit: https://publicappointments.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/

Pink Shoe On Air: Lifting Ourselves Higher with Val McKie

Another amazing session in which we were fully absorbed for 'Lifting ourselves higher’. This week's On Air with catalyst and corporate cheerleader Val McKie. 

Val shared  lots of practical measures on overcoming imposter syndrome and gave us an insight into how we can each shine a light in the new world in which we live.

Pink Shoe On Air: The World of Fine Art with Alina Hannah

This was a truly fascinating On Air session 'An Introduction to the World of Fine Art and Art Dealing’ with renowned art expert Alina Hannah Head of Russia and Middle East at White Cube, one of the world's leading contemporary art galleries. 

Alina gave us a brief history of art through the centuries from Renaissance to Neo-classicism to Romanticism then to modern art. 

We gained a unique insight into some of the worlds’ leading contemporary artists and it was interesting to see how creative tastes have changed over time.

Also intriguing was to hear about art auctions, how things work behind the scenes and some exciting auctions with art works achieving record-breaking sums. Perhaps not surprisingly, none of the top-ten selling artists in terms of sale at auction is a woman; but of course there are notable contemporary female artists.

Alina told us of a magical moment when selling a world-famous painting in New York, and having the privilege to spend time alone in the gallery with the magnificent art work. Absolutely unforgettable.

Pink Shoe On Air: Tales of the Countess with Cali Bird

For our latest Pink Shoe On Air we were joined by the fabulous Countess of Kennington, Cali Bird, to preview her risque and exciting new book 'Tales of the Countess'.

 








Cali read an extract from this marvellous modern day story of love, work, handbags and romance. 



We can all relate to the Countess and her life in London with too many boozy nights and the irresistible draw of the MSL (Man She Loves). We were captivated from the start as this is an unputdownable book! 

To order your copy of Tales of the Countess go to: https://calibird.com/

Pink Shoe On Air: A New Era of Human Potential with Sarah Matthew

Exploring and expanding human potential was the subject covered by Sarah – no mean feat in about 20 minutes!  First Sarah gave us an insight into her extraordinary career and success as an entrepreneur, despite meeting and overcoming some very tough times both personally and in business.

From a scientific background to behavioural and spiritual beliefs, Sarah then asked key questions from whether we mediate (yes - see previous On Air events) to whether we believe we’ve chosen to be here or if its more random than that. Not only does this 'New Era' have great impact on our businesses but literally on how we live our lives, more relevant than ever in these times. 

All present agreed we will continue these discussions in a future forum, there is so much to consider. To find out more, in the first instance please email us: info@pinkshoeclub.com 

Pink Shoe On Air: Resilience to Transformation with Jill Pay & Lynne Copp

This week’s On Air was a powerful session with two inspiring leaders. Firstly Jill Pay shared with us the secrets of being resilient based on her unique experience as Serjeant At Arms in the House of Commons. 

This involved being prepared for any and every eventuality, with a protocol and process in place to ensure the smooth running of our democracy no matter what occurs. Taking us to the present day and Jill’s role of Chairman of Trustees for Coram Beanstalk, where the charity is working flexibly to continue its vital activity with schools and supporting children's reading. See: https://www.beanstalkcharity.org.uk/

We then heard from transformation specialist and founder of the Worklife Company, Lynne Copp who is working extensively across the NHS with her consultancy playing a key leadership role. 

Lynne also shared insights from her award-winning book – Dancing Round the Handbags. A culmination of many years work, the title itself was a ‘lightbulb’ moment and the book explores different facets of life relating to the various contents of our bags. 

To purchase a personally signed copy please contact Kevin Copp: Kevin.copp@worklifecompany.com

Pink Shoe On Air: The Semple Wardrobe Edit with Dulcie

Creative Director of Maggie Semple Ltd, Dulcie joined us for a fascinating insight into style and how to create the perfect wardrobe. Dulcie took us through the steps to follow if we wish to ensure we’re perfectly turned out for every occasion and shared with us the magic of the jacket. 

We also gained great tips on how to refresh or remodel our clothes – Semple is even able to alter or replicate favourite pieces. To book your personal (currently virtual) Edt go to: https://maggiesemple.com/wardrobe-edit/

And in keeping with these times, Semple also now offers stylish face coverings in a range of colours. Find out more here https://maggiesemple.com/semplefacecovers/

Pink Shoe On Air: Meditation with Vena Ramphal

Spiritual teacher and wellbeing specialist Vena Ramphal led us in a wonderful mediation session which both lifted our spirits and gave each of us a sense of energising calm. 

Alongside her work in wellbeing and as a TV relationship expert, Vena trained in classical Indian dance. We are very fortunate that Vena performed for us some years ago for a Pink Shoe Birthday celebration at the House of Lords. 

Vena holds weekly ‘InPowerment' meditation sessions each Monday evening on FaceBookLive. To find out more go to: https://www.facebook.com/TheShapeOfStillness 

Pink Shoe On Air: Managing Finances with Anna Sofat

We enjoyed an excellent On Air session with Anna Sofat, founder of Addidi, angel investor, creator of the #AreYouIn Movement and Associate Partner with Progeny. Anna shared lots of practical expert tips on how best to organise our finances in these challenging times and as always her insights were professional and accessible. 

Anna took us through the options available to us, from personal pensions to Government schemes and what to look out for depending upon our circumstances. 

Anna also suggested there may be those for whom there hasn't been a financial challenge so if we're fortunate enough to be in that category it would be a good time to consider charitable donations, as many charities are being hit by the lockdown. 

See: https://theprogenygroup.com/about-us/our-team/anna-sofat/
For expert wealth management advice please email anna.sofat@theprogenygroup.com

Pink Shoe On Air: Perfecting online meetings with Noreen Cesareo

A fascinating On Air session with Noreen Cesareo took us through the art of perfecting virtual meetings. With a focus on the most popular – Zoom - Noreen shared with us the techniques to make each meeting run smoothly.

From complete novices to those using Zoom all the time, there was something for everyone. It was especially helpful to discover the best way to protect security, how to align our brand, and tips on keeping the meeting running smoothly. And don't forget to look at the camera not the screen!

As a strategic marketing expert with her own international business, Market Accents, Noreen runs many successful virtual sessions so to find out more please contact her via: http://marketaccents.com/ or follow her on Twitter @MarketAccents

Pink Shoe On Air: Building Immunity with Lyndon Gee

Our latest Pink Shoe On Air session featured healthy food expert and food futurist Lyndon Gee. Lyndon stressed that healthy eating is the basis of good health and it was clear everyone taking part was already doing this. Alongside maintaining a healthy balanced diet, we got top tips on the best vitamins and minerals to boost immunity. Invaluable advice right now.

Vitamin D was recommended as a good place to start, it helps boost immunity and while it comes naturally from sunlight, many people in the UK don’t get enough for much of the year. Oily fish, which we should aim to eat at least twice a week, is an excellent source. Vegetarians can get a good supply from eggs or diary foods and for vegans, some mushrooms provide a useful source. However Lyndon advised that a vitamin D supplement is a good idea, he takes one himself. 

Find out more via http://www.lyndongee.co.uk/ or at Twitter @LyndonGee or Instagram lyndon_gee 

You can also see many of Lyndon's recipes here: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Recipes