COEL and Birketts event finds out what matters to women in business
COEL and Birketts hosted an event to celebrate the role of women in business and asked the audience to vote on which recent equality regulation they felt was most important to them.
The event was titled ‘Why International Women’s Day Matters’, and presenting the regulations were a range of eminent activists who all had experience in the framing and/or outcomes of equality legislation.
They are:
- Katy Searle – ex-senior controller at BBC News and now partner at Coulson Partners, speaking on women’s right to vote.
- Lord Simon Woolley – principal at Homerton College, on women’s right to go to university.
- Shantha David – The Lawyer’s Hot #100, Liberty Human Rights Lawyer and partner at Unison Law on women’s right to equal pay.
Maria-Christina Peyman, partner at law firm Birketts, and Lizzie Bradbury, communication and engagement manager at workplace designer COEL, opened the event. The session was chaired by Jane Hutchins, the director of Cambridge Science Park. As the votes were being verified, the audience heard a talk by award-winning portfolio GP Dr Julie Hammond and registered midwife and NHS clinical entrepreneur Gemma Poole on their mission to provide equal healthcare for all women, with a special emphasis on pregnancy and childbirth.
Jane announced the results during the event at Birketts’ office on Station Road: women’s right to vote claimed first place, with women’s right to go to university and receive a degree and women’s right to receive equal pay coming in a closely-tied second and third place.
Lizzie Bradbury said: “‘Our celebration of ‘Why International Women’s Day Matters’ brought home how recently many of our regulations providing equality have been passed through, how they should be acknowledged and protected.
“Our incredible speakers are activists who have dedicated their lives to paving the way for a fairer society. It was a privilege to host the event with Birketts and the response from the audience was extraordinary – a very positive day and we would like to thank all who supported the event.”
Maria Peyman added: “It was an honour for Birketts to play a part in this event and even more of an honour to hear from the esteemed speakers. Birketts has a strong track record as a law firm in terms of gender equality, with 41 per cent of the partners at the firm being female and a target of 50 per cent female partnership by 2030 but hearing about the vital milestones women have reached on the path to equality was a poignant reminder of the need to ensure the continued conversation about gender equality.
“The event also raised important funds for the work of Cambridge Global Health Partnerships.”
This year the event raised over £600 for Cambridge Global Health Partnerships, a charitable programme based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus which establishes global health partnerships across Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, resulting in their volunteer healthcare professionals improving healthcare delivered to millions of patients.
