International Women’s Day celebration hailed a success
Over 140 people from across the South of Scotland and beyond have come together to celebrate International Women’s Day.
The sold-out event which we organised took place on Thursday 6 March at Smiths at Gretna Green, ahead of International Women’s Day on Saturday 8 March.
The theme of the day was connecting and empowering women to accelerate action and wellbeing.
Through a variety of talks, workshops and panel discussions, the event aimed to inspire attendees and leave them with tangible goals to deliver their business ideas.
Who took part?
- Alice Thompson, co-founder of Social Bite, Scotland’s pioneering social enterprise which created 600 homes for people experiencing homelessness, delivered a thought-provoking keynote speech on the ‘Fear of Failure’.
- The day was hosted by former US military commander, commercial executive and board director Yvette Hopkins
- Center Parcs’ Chief People Officer Cathryn Petchey who spoke about her experiences of being a female leader.
- Chief Executive of Women’s Enterprise Scotland, Carolyn Currie,
- Dumfries-based Karen Riddick of Second Nature Online
- Ettrick Valley-based businesswomen Shaz Morton
- Hawick yoga teacher Tamara Goldie
- SOSE’s Susan Harkins and Jill Millar.
The event also focused on SOSE’s pre-start Pathways pilot - introduced by entrepreneur, investor and author of the Pathways report, Ana Stewart.
Pathways is funded by the Scottish Government and is designed to help unlock new business ideas and reach under-represented groups of founders.
Young people from across the region also got involved through a competition to create a design to celebrate International Women’s Day and Women in Business.
Over 50 young people from across the region entered, with Joni Pattison - a first year student at Moffat Academy - submitting the winning entry.
Jane Morrison-Ross, Chief Executive of SOSE, said:
“There is a huge amount of talent, ambition and determination in the South of Scotland, and we are working hard to discover, support and ignite that.
“Through events like this International Women’s Day celebration, and our pre-start pilot Pathways, we are working to reach those who have fantastic business ideas, but wouldn’t usually be confident or comfortable coming to talk to us.”
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said:
“Ensuring women have equal opportunities and access to support, including to help them start, develop and grow a business is an absolute imperative, and one which the Scottish Government, and our partners including South of Scotland Enterprise, are committed to delivering.
“We are taking a close steer from Ana Stewart and Mark Logan’s report to encourage more women start their own businesses.
“We are building an end-to-end support network to ensure women entrepreneurs are helped at each stage of their journey, with the Pathways pre start pilot scheme in the south of Scotland, one of the latest ways through which we’re helping achieve this.”
Alice Thompson, who is now an Enneagram and Purpose Coach, added:
“Women in business rely on these events and communities to create the life they dream of and move forward in their careers. I’ve experienced first-hand that no one lifts women up like other women.
“Events like SOSE’s International Women’s Day celebration are vital for our economy and communities to thrive, creating opportunities of support, connections, education for women of all backgrounds.
“This event truly reflected what women want with relevant workshops and experiences from strategic thinking to sound baths!
“When we lift each other up through events like this, the ripple effect is invaluable.”
Joni Pattison added:
“Of all the competitions to win, I'm glad I won this one.
“I think all women should believe in themselves and have the right to equal opportunities in everything we do.”
Rachel Martin, Joni’s art teacher at Moffat Academy said:
‘'The art department at Moffat Academy is so grateful to South of Scotland Enterprise for providing this competition opportunity for our young people.
“They really enjoyed taking part and learning about such a valuable celebration. We are so proud of Joni for being the overall winner.”