“Give to Gain”: Reflections from International Women’s Day with Smart Works Greater Manchester

As we celebrate International Women’s Day 2026, we reflect on this year’s powerful theme, “Give to Gain.” To mark the occasion, we’re sharing insights from an inspiring panel discussion hosted by Smart Works Greater Manchester, and what it taught us about empowering women in the workplace.

Last week, our remarkable colleagues attended the International Women’s Day event hosted at The Alan and sponsored by N Brown. Representing Morson were: Jennifer Brown, Sam Price, Sophie Lavers, Daisy Walker and Jacqui Jones.

The event brought together women from across industries to share experiences, discuss challenges, and highlight the power of supporting women into employment.

The panel featured three exceptional speakers who each shared their personal journeys and the challenges they overcame to reach leadership positions.

Meet the panel

Emma Neville, founder of “This is Me” and an accredited menopause coach, shared her personal experience of navigating premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), which led to early menopause at age 40. The average age of menopause in the UK is 51, and Emma described how isolating and confusing the experience initially felt.

With little information available at the time, Emma began educating herself, connecting with others facing similar challenges, and ultimately creating the online community “This is Me”. Today, she supports women through menopause education, advocacy, and counselling.

Jane Shepherdson, CEO of Whistles and a prominent figure in fashion retail, spoke about her journey through the industry. Having previously served as Brand Director at Topshop, Jane worked her way up in a sector where women dominate the workforce but remain underrepresented at board level.

Jane highlighted the continued need for gender balance in leadership and the importance of diverse perspectives in decision-making.

Victoria Price, founder and Co-CEO of luxury womenswear brand Emello, also shared her powerful story. Before launching her business, Victoria spent over two decades in professional services leadership, including leading EY’s EMEIA Private Capital Tax business for the Consumer Products and Retail sector.

Becoming a teenage mother meant Victoria had to work even harder to progress in her career. Today, alongside building Emello, she actively supports youth development and mental health charities, demonstrating her commitment to empowering the next generation.

Key takeaways from the Smart Works Greater Manchester International Women’s Day event

1. Confidence matters

Confidence was a central theme throughout the discussion. Building confidence can be challenging, but recognising and celebrating both personal achievements and the successes of others plays a crucial role.

Encouragement, recognition and shared celebration help create environments where people feel empowered to grow.

2. The commercial risk of losing experienced women

A powerful statistic shared during the discussion highlighted that 4 in 10 women leave the workplace during midlife.

Often this is due to a lack of understanding or support around the physical, hormonal, emotional and personal changes many women experience during this stage of life. Many workplaces are still structured around traditional career models that do not account for these realities.

With imposter syndrome affecting around 7 in 10 people at some point in their lives, mentoring and sponsorship were highlighted as key ways organisations can retain talented women.

Victoria Price shared how she has built parts of her business around the needs of women, including ensuring that team events take place during working hours, making them accessible to everyone.

3. The strengths women bring to business

The panel also explored the unique strengths women contribute to organisations.

These included:

• emotional intelligence
• problem solving
• communication
• strong prioritisation skills

Women often balance multiple responsibilities both inside and outside of work. This isn’t about multitasking in the traditional sense, but rather the ability to prioritise effectively and manage complexity, a skill that adds significant value in professional environments.

Jane Shepherdson also emphasised the importance of diversity in leadership teams and the value of listening to the newest voices within organisations.

4. Self-kindness is a crucial life skill

Another important theme was self-kindness.

The panellists stressed the importance of recognising when to ask for help and carving out time to recharge. As Emma Neville explained, this becomes particularly important during life transitions such as menopause.

You cannot give from an empty cup, and learning to prioritise wellbeing is essential for sustaining long-term success.

5. The importance of male allies

The discussion also highlighted the vital role male allies play in supporting women in the workplace.

Supportive managers, supervisors and colleagues who ask questions, listen openly, and provide constructive feedback help create more inclusive environments.

Being an ally means:

• opening doors to opportunities
• challenging bias and stereotypes
• providing meaningful feedback
• advocating for fairness

Importantly, change cannot rely solely on women raising these issues. Male allies play a critical role in calling out bias and driving cultural change.

Supporting women at work

The event at The Alan in Manchester city centre provided an opportunity to connect, reflect and feel inspired, while supporting Smart Works Greater Manchester’s mission to empower women into employment.

For Morson, supporting women at every stage of their careers remains a priority.

We are actively helping female students and graduates enter STEM fields, championing equity, diversity and inclusion, and working to remove the barriers women continue to face in the workplace. This includes advocating for better support for parents and raising awareness around menopause in the workplace.

More recently, we’ve also become a headline sponsor of the Greater Manchester regional Smart Works Unemployment Index, continuing our commitment to helping create pathways for women to thrive in employment.