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Writer's picturelauraquelchdesigner
Apr 18, 20239 min read

What If Women Ruled The World?

Updated: Mar 30

What with Bloomfest last year, and now Women in Data this year I AM HAVING A BLAST. Who knew being surrounded by kind supportive people felt so amazing, right? I wish every day was like this!


This got me thinking, they say to be the person you want to be, you have to act like it, so what about the World you want to live in, how can you make that possible? So, I decided to start doing more of what I want to see: supporting women, shining a light on them and giving them the thanks they deserve. This is how I got my idea to celebrate women every day, using Women's History Month (naturally) as my month to kick start it, because these women (and allies) have made history for me.


My first incredible woman has to be my Bloom UK Mentor Charl O'Hare. Thank you Charl!


For the second day of Women's History Month, I am taking it back to my Fareham College days. The kindness and support I experienced here had a HUGE impact on how I viewed myself, and gave me the confidence to pursue my next steps, so thank you.



For the third day of Women's History Month, I'd like to thank the amazing ladies at Tourism South East, Excursions Group Travel Show. My first "proper" job out of uni, I was naïve about the world, but you were all very supportive and kind. Thank you! I'm really happy for all of your successes, you deserve it!



After having a lovely Volunteer Voice session for Diversity Role Models, I'd like to thank these lovely ladies for all their support so far. Thank you for everything you do to make the world a better place! 😊



Although this month I am shouting out to women who have made history for me, I'd like to make a special post (and throwback!) for Zahid Ghadialy.


Thanks for being so supportive when you didn't have to, thanks for inviting me to cool stuff, and for helping me grow in my career. Thanks for being amazing! 👏


Women in Data® was a long day. Susan Walsh - The Classification Guru can attest to that! But I wasn't tired. In fact, I saved a lot of my energy compared to any other event. How?


🦋 I wasn't tired from trying to find another woman in the crowd.


🦋 I didn't have to search the agenda for a female speaker.


🦋 I wasn't tired of only seeing men at the exhibition stands.


🦋 I didn't have to defend myself as a professional.


I loved the overall theme of support and reassurance at this event. Especially from Hertility's talk. Nothing feels better than being reassured with an awesome pun! This experience has definitely started something for me, I will always be chasing that high of seeing women succeed.


Like the amazing Martha Lane Fox says in response to the annoying question "Where are all the women?" HELLO, I SEE YOU 👋 By the time Dame Stephanie Shirley CH came on stage, I was close to tears. So many supportive people, so much kindness, I found it overwhelming (in a good way). I see a Steve in every lady I meet, strong, powerful, brave, and the ability to transform this world. As Payal Jain said, I want to "continue to adapt and challenge the norm". We can't have change if we don't challenge the status quo! Thank you Women in Data® ❤


Of course, I can't thank Women in Data® without thanking the amazing Susan Walsh - The Classification Guru and Sabine Lovegrove.


Words cannot describe how grateful I am to have you in my life! You have, without a doubt, made history for me, thank you 😊


Today I'd like to give 3 SPECIAL SHOUTOUTS to women whose actions helped me keep going:



Thank you for helping me believe in myself, you really helped me see myself through your eyes 😊 I used to look back on those moments and feel ashamed, that I was being naïve, that I was saying silly things, that I should have known better, that I was wasting your time. But you didn't say those things to me, instead you provided support when I needed it. Thanks to these ladies I learnt being vulnerable isn't a weakness. Being vulnerable is a sign of strength 💓


Last night's 'fireside' chat on Power, Privilege and Priorities was AWESOME. I'm so glad I went. Thank you for posting about it, Hertility 😊



Some great insights from Saheela M.,Tharni Vasavan, Sheana Yu, Tatiana Panzeri, Clara Montes, and Matilde Solares.

Here are my key takeaways:


✨Try to change the rules or change your environment

✨The wave of Women Founders is rising!

✨Remember the work you've done, what you've achieved

✨Personal Power is infinite!

✨Everyone has some level of privilege...

✨Facing adversary helps you become more empathetic

✨Your health is number 1!

✨The power of saying no: think to yourself, why am I saying yes?

✨Author - Nedra Glover Tawwab on boundaries

✨We don't talk about it (periods) enough, we need to change that, we have come a long way, but there is still much progress to be made.

✨Talk about periods, own the discomfort to pave the way for others!


For today's Women's History Month post I am shouting out amazing women I met thanks to Bloom UK. Please give them a follow! 💜👇



I'm so glad I decided to do my own special women's history month campaign, especially this one, as I didn't give myself time to breathe when around #Bloomfest happened, so didn't go back over my notes of the day and make sure I connected with everyone! Better late than never. 😅


Has it really almost been a whole year since I was parted from the friendliest, most supportive team ever? 😥 Today's -made history for me- post is to women I met while on a huge path of rebirth. Thanks for being great people!


Special thank you to the best manager, Lena Juncaj, for helping me set and maintain boundaries - your health is number 1! 😊 As always, I encourage you to give them all a follow, they are amazing!



Of course, shoutout to Zahid Ghadialy, Noah Lavallee, Brian Walsh, Pratik Tammewar, and Jay Ranjalkar for being awesome allies! 💪


And throwback to over a year ago now, celebrating every single woman that was at PW. This FB link is all I could find of my precious IWD post. There's no way I'm scrolling back over a year ago on LinkedIn 😅 https://lnkd.in/eibtbUX5


Shoutout to these women, I've learnt so much from you, thank you!



I'll be honest with you, even though GSMA was the biggest company I've ever worked for, sometimes I felt lonely, sometimes I found the sheer amount of people in one working space overwhelming! Especially having come directly from a fully remote role...


Thank you to these women for giving me even just 5 minutes of their time to chat and make me feel seen 😊



We had our Think and Grow Rich session on Chapter 6 and 7 today, so it makes sense to make my -made history for me- post today for Annelies James 🎥✨, Victoria Odey, Revd Sass Adams, and of course Daniel Wood for being an awesome ally!


Shoutout to Revd Sass Adams for standing up for someone in need. I hope I can be as brave as you! 💜


I've got to do a shoutout today to Shola Kaye. I really loved her talk at Women in Data® on Empathy, DEI & Leadership. She was spitting such facts, I was struggling to keep up 😅 I wrote a quote 'We have value, no matter what'


I found it interesting to learn about the 5 types of bad listeners, and to discuss these with the lovely Weiting Xu 😊 I really enjoy interactive talks!


Visualising bad energy flowing through and out of me was really effective for me, as I tend to become a bad listener when I've been transported to another time and get stuck in my head. Now I can imagine the feelings pass through me, and stay present with them.


Here are a couple of my takeaways 👇

🌟 Compassion is about DOING something about it.

🌟 Fill up cup, get into the gain mindset.

🌟 Have an attitude of gratitude!

🌟 Use "I" statements to be powerful. Use "You" statements to be curious.

🌟 Books to check out: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, The Gap and The Gain by Dan Sullivan


I'll finish this post the way Shola completed her talk with the Oprah Winfrey quote - "Love yourself, because only people who love themselves have enough love to give the rest of the world."


Thank you to the lovely Copy & TV crew for the great conversation about Consumer Duty Friction last week, I had lots of fun! 😊👇



So, is it Friend or Foe? It's Friend! (In the right time and context).


As a marketer and designer, my priority has been on a smooth customer journey. I've always thought about what might stop them from making that decision, or what would be the defining moment to sway them. As a person, I've always looked to how we can help others, is this decision really the best one for them? So, I loved learning about the power of good working in financial services.


Here are my key takeaways 👇


✨ confident customers are loyal customers

✨ point of purchase - show transparency

✨ need more education and awareness!

✨ reduce marketing spam...


Special thank you to Claire for seeing potential in me when no one else did, for giving me an opportunity when I was struggling. I realised it wasn't the right time, but it kick started my dream of being a freelancer, and now here I am! Look how far we've come! Thank you for making history for me 😊


✨ Celebrate Women EVERY Day ✨


Thank you so much to Beatriz Suárez Hontoria for being my work friend in a time when I was told "Your colleagues are not your friends"...


Thank you for making the days so much fun. I looked forward to going to work in the mornings, I smiled on my way in thinking about our great chats. Thank you for teaching me a value I hold dear: you can have friendly conversation amongst business talk, work can be enjoyable! 🤣


I'm always the one who brings the energy, who motivates others, so thank you for being my pick me up when I needed it.


Thank you, as well, for not looking down on me, for taking the time to teach me, and for speaking with me on the same level. I miss you so much Beti, hope you are doing so much better, and got all the success you deserve!


-


There you have it! Looking forward to adding more amazing women and allies to this 😊



Disclaimer: There are no ill intentions with this post. I am shining a light on amazing people. All copy and visuals are taken from a March 2023 LinkedIn campaign. If anyone is uncomfortable being mentioned here, please reach out and I will remove your inclusion. All opinions are my own. I acknowledge and respect that you might have different thoughts to me.

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