EWIB, Empowering Women in Business, returns for a 12th triumphant year with guest appearances by unwitting ‘Tinder Swindler’ star Cecilie Fjellhøy, Formula 1 strategy analyst, Bernie Collins, wellbeing strategist Katie Maycock from the magnificently named ‘Get Your Sh*t Together’, and serial entrepreneur Rachel Murphy, developer of the ‘8 Figure Exit’ programme, at the Athena Events Venue, Leicester, on September 19, 2024.
Bringing women together
From its humble beginnings in 2013, EWIB, sponsored by Platinum Wave Franchising, The Franchising Centre and Morton Michel, has grown into an annual smash-hit event, bringing together businesswomen from across the UK, to celebrate their achievements, share best practice and learn from inspiring speakers.
Inspiring and motivational
‘One of the best business events in the calendar’, ‘The perfect blend of inspiration and motivation’ and ‘Every year I think, ah, but will it be as good as last year – and it always is”, are just a few of the hundreds of positive testimonials we have received over the years for EWIB and we’re just weeks away from doing it all over again. The few remaining tickets are available here.
‘It’s not a boring conference!’
EWIB is unlike any other business event you will have been to. Lucy Crabtree from babyballet sums it up when she described the 2023 event: ‘this isn’t a boring business conference, this is an inspiring, open, safe space for both you and your business to develop!’ Thanks Lucy, we couldn’t agree more. Our team works hard all year to bring you an event that entertains, informs and gives everyone the time and space to be their authentic selves. As one anonymous person in 2023 wrote: ‘EWIB feels like a safe space for women to be strong and vulnerable, all at the same time. I laughed and cried more than once throughout the day.”
An event just for women, really?
Year after year we hear people ask ‘do you really still need an event for women? Haven’t we got past that?’ and whilst we are not saying progress hasn’t been made, it has such a very, very long way to go that yes, we still need to hold EWIB. It’s also important to remember that EWIB isn’t just for women in franchising, where equality is better, it is for all women in business, including those outside of our sector, where frankly, things are still pretty dire.
Depressing figures about female leadership in business (aka, the reason we still run EWIB)
According to research:
- It will take at least 29 years to close the gender pay gap in the UK based on the rate of progress between 2011 and 2023[i]
- It will take 174 years until there is gender parity amongst chief executives of FTSE 250 companies[ii]
- Just 22% of UK mid-market businesses have a female chief executive officer (CEO) or managing director (MD), down from 30% in 2023. At this current rate of change, the mid-market will not reach parity on women in senior management roles until 2053[iii]
“The pace of change is too slow,” said Pavita Cooper, UK chair of the 30% Club, a campaign to boost gender diversity in senior corporate roles. “Organisations need to accelerate efforts to address the systemic barriers that face women at all stages of their career.”
Meet our keynote speakers
At EWIB we try to encourage and inspire all our attendees to believe in themselves, their abilities and their businesses. Each speaker has been carefully chosen for the event, to impart wisdom and knowledge, giving you actions you can take away and implement in your business and life the very next day.
Selected as one of the Forbes 30 under 30, Bernie Collins is a woman doing incredible things in the fast and furious world of Formula 1 motor racing. She has worked for a host of F1 teams supporting drivers such as Jenson Button and Nico Hulkenberg with her engineering and race strategy skills. She has worked on the Sky Sports F1 broadcasting team and still contributes to their digital channels.
Katie Maycock (Get Your Sh*t Together) will be running an interactive session on recognising the stages of burnout and how to make the changes needed to get your sh*t together.
For any of you who watched the Netflix documentary back in 2022, ‘The Tinder Swindler’, you may recognise Cecilie Fjellhøy who found herself duped out of thousands of pounds by Shimon Hayut, or Simon Leviev as he called himself at the time. Whilst at EWIB, Cecilie will share her story to bring awareness of fraud and financial problems.
Rachel Murphy, CEO of The Grafter will be having a ‘fireside chat’ about maximising the value of your business prior to sale, having sold her first business for an eight-figure sum over a period of 1000 days.
CEO of the BFA Pip Wilkins said: “The lineup of speakers for EWIB 2024 is absolutely fantastic and we are already nearly sold out of tickets, so I would urge anyone thinking of attending to secure theirs soon. Alongside these headline speakers we also have interactive panels, and I will be hosting group discussions on stage with highly experienced women from all walks of business. Although the figures above make grim reading, women are brilliant at pulling together and supporting each other, so I hope to see you, and your teams at EWIB in September, ready to turn those number around.”
