Speakers for International Women’s Day

Mary Ann Sieghart

The former Assistant Editor for The Times and Newshour presenter explores the unconscious bias that underestimates and overlooks half of the population in her book The Authority Gap. From children to high-achieving leaders her research highlights how women continue to be seen as lesser, despite girls consistently outperforming boys in education and gender-diverse companies being more profitable. 

Baroness (Tanni) Grey-Thompson

Britain’s best known Paralympian, Tanni amassed eleven gold medals in five consecutive Games. She also won six London Marathons and achieved a total of thirty four world records. Since retiring from competitive sport Tanni has taken an active role in the Lords, particularly on campaigns and legislation around disability. She believes that disabled people still face barriers that need to be removed, and calls for more genuine engagement rather than political rhetoric: “Public perceptions are changing.”

Dame Meera Syal

The Goodness Gracious Me star has appeared in Broadchurch and US comedy, The Brink, and taken to the West End. She’s also penned three bestsellers (two of which she’s adapted for the screen).

Maggie Alphonsi

As England rugby vice-captain Maggie won a record-breaking seven consecutive Six Nations titles, and got to the final of the World Cup twice, winning once. In speeches she covers leadership and performing under pressure.

Mandy Hickson

Mandy was one of the first female pilots to serve in a front line Tornado GR4 squadron, taking an active role in the Iraq conflict. In presentations she reveals the lessons learned, and how she had to react in the most high pressure environment of all - “I slammed my throttles forward, rolled the aircraft 120 degrees and pulled 4G towards the ground. That’s four times your bodyweight. The reason: a surface to air missile had been fired and we were its target.”

Hon Julia Gillard

As Prime Minister of Australia, Julia revamped education at every level, expanded access to healthcare across all ages and oversaw major investment into telecoms and broadband infrastructure. She is now Chair of the Wellcome Trust, the world’s second largest charitable funder of medical research into improving human health. Julia draws on her time in office to cover lessons on leadership, diplomacy, gender equality and mental health, while also highlighting the Trust’s work in combating climate change and preventing the spread of infectious disease.

Professor Hannah Fry

Having studied fluid dynamics and working briefly in F1, Hannah returned to academia, studying human behaviour and urban space, and now as the University of Cambridge's inaugral Professor of the Public Understanding of Mathematics. She’s also a science broadcaster, bringing numbers, science and data to life on TV, radio and podcasts including The Joy of Data, The Secret Genius Of Modern Life, and The Rest is Science. She examines how maths underpins almost everything, the power and limitations of data, and the realities of and problems with AI.

Helle Thorning-Schmidt

After serving as an MEP, Helle led the Social Democrats for a decade, and served as Denmark’s first woman Prime Minister. After leaving Danish politics she led the international humanitarian charity Save the Children. As well as advising many international bodies and NGOs she is a co-chair of Facebook's Oversight Board which leads reviews into the company's content policy.

Kate Richardson-Walsh

The most capped woman player in British hockey and the international captain for over a decade, Kate guided the team through tough times, a revolution of personnel and culture, and on to Olympic glory. With lessons in leadership, teambuilding and vision, Kate reveals how a group of competitive individuals can come together to defy expectations.

Claire Williams

Claire is the former Deputy Team Principal of the Williams Formula 1 racing team. Her late father Sir Frank Williams was the founder of the Williams Grand Prix Engineering F1 team. During her tenure, she was a keen advocate for greater diversity and inclusion across the sport. Claire is now Brand Ambassador to Williams F1 team offshoot, WAE Technologies.

Dame Inga Beale

After working in senior global leadership roles in some of the world’s largest insurance companies, Inga took over the helm of the 330-year-old City financial institution. Taking on many of the traditions that had held the organisation back, Inga expanded their global markets, and introduced strategies including the Lloyd’s Innovation Lab, and the Dive In Festival, an industry-wide, international diversity and inclusion event. She considers the balance struck between history and modernisation when implementing change, the vital importance of inclusion in the workplace, and concepts of trust and ethics in business.

Sam McAlister

Having secured exclusive interviews with the likes of Sheryl Sandberg, Justin Trudeau, Bill Clinton, Elon Musk, and Eric Schmidt, Sam most notably led negotiations for the ground-breaking Newsnight interview with HRH Prince Andrew. She reveals what these types of interviews say about leadership, reputation and communication in the modern age. She also examines the personal and professional relationships behind the scenes; the persuasion, compromise and empathy required to develop trust and understanding between all parties, and knowing what questions to ask (and which ones not to).

Laura Bates

Laura Bates is the founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, a safe space created to document sexism and raise awareness. Her books Misogynation, Men Who Hate Women and Fix the System, Not the Women, explore the institutionalised beliefs rooted within society that leads to everyday discrimination and looks at what we can do to tackle them.

Sara Davies

Entrepreneur, investor and Dragons’ Den star, Sara founded Crafter’s Companion from her student bedroom and built it into a global business. Now a bestselling author and television personality as well as a business leader, she shares insights on spotting opportunities, scaling businesses, and leading with purpose, offering an authentic and inspiring vision for success.

I. Stephanie Boyce

I. Stephanie is a solicitor and the Former President of the Law Society of England and Wales. She became the 177th president of the society and the first person of colour to be appointed to the role. She has been on the Power List of 100 Most Influential Black People, the Governance Hot 100, and was awarded the Burberry British Diversity Awards-Inspirational Role Model of the Year.

Jill Scott

In an illustrious eighteen-year playing career with England, Manchester City, Everton, Sunderland, and Aston Villa, Jill became one of the country's most decorated players, and in 2022 added the European Championship to her list of achievements. Now seen on everything from Sky's A League of Their Own to I'm a Celebrity... she reflects on resilience, teamwork, and transferring your skills from one role to the next.

Tina Brown

When Tina was Editor of Tatler she transformed it into a modern glossy magazine, commissioning celebrated photographers and writers. She gained further prominence as the Editor of Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker, and revitalised sales through her understanding of contemporary interests. She also founded The Daily Beast, which twice won the Webby Award for Best News Site, and the Women in the World Summit.

Winnie Awa

Winnie is the Founder & CEO of Carra, an AI-driven digital hair health platform helping women to care for their textured hair. She started her career in the corporate world at IBM and Ernst & Young before moving to the world of start-ups, spending the majority of her career building cutting edge consumer apps at ASOS, Net-a-porter, and LVMH - most notably, Givenchy’s first mobile app.

Alex Mahon

Alex was the first woman to serve as Chief Executive of a major UK broadcaster. After a career embracing TV production and technology, she led a company that is as respected for its creativity and independent spirit as it is for its pioneering commitment to diversity and social issues. She now leads one of the biggest, and most innovative, brands in live experiences and festivals. Alex explores how to be a values-led, authentic leader, even in tough times, how technology disrupts established models, and the myths and realities of managing and catering for Gen Z.

Rt Hon Dame Penny Mordaunt

In her 14 years as an MP, Penny held a number of positions in Cabinet - including being the first woman to serve as Defence Secretary, as well as playing a key role in the negotiation of post-Brexit trade agreements in her role as Trade Minister.

Rt Hon Baroness (Harriet) Harman

One of the longest-serving MPs in Parliamentary history, Harriet spent over 40 years in the Commons where she built a widely-respected reputation as both a campaigner and an effective minister. She played key roles in reforming legislation around employment rights, equality and welfare, led the Labour Party twice, and chaired the influential Privileges Select Committee. She remains active in politics and campaigning, including as a co-host of the Electoral Dysfunction podcast.

Dr Julia Ebner

As a leading voice in the fields of online radicalisation and threats to democracy, Dr Julia Ebner covers how extreme rhetoric is becoming more commonplace in the real world, and how this is enabled by technological and cultural developments - as well as covering what can be done to combat its spread.

Sarah Wynn-Williams

A global public policy expert now working in technology, geopolitics and AI, Sarah has spent much of her career working behind the scenes in diplomacy and as Director of Global Public Policy at Facebook. She became headline news when her book, Careless People, about her time at the social media giant, laid bare the behaviours, attitudes and personalities at the company.

Rt Hon Angela Rayner

Angela Rayner is a former Deputy Prime Minister, Cabinet Minister and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. Going from care work to national government, she embodies authenticity and resilience in modern politics. Named among the BBC’s 100 most inspiring women, she speaks candidly about leadership, decision-making and restoring trust in politics, offering audiences an honest, human insight into public life, dealing with scrutiny, and the power of determination to create change.