International Women’s Day 2025

International Women’s Day (8 March) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.

Join us for our annual celebration when we’ll come together to share stories, insights, knowledge, connect and support, with the 2025 theme being ‘Accelerating Action’.

Enjoy a networking lunch after hearing from inspirational speakers and participating in small group activities.

Allies welcome!

We welcome all genders to this event – show up as an ally, support your colleagues, hear some inspirational stories and build valuable connections.

Sponsorship

Bring a banner for £200 (plus VAT) – your ticket to attend included! Email us at events@cambscci.co.uk to secure this opportunity.

Headline Sponsorship is also available – get in touch to find out more.

Speakers

Keynote speaker

Louise Hulland

Sony Award winning journalist, TV & radio presenter, documentary maker and author

Louise is the Regional Afternoon presenter on BBC Local Radio across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

Louise’s TV credits includes BBC One’s The One Show, Watchdog, Watchdog Daily, and Inside Out,  ITV London News, ITN, Channel 5’s Celebrity Trolls: We’re Coming to Get You and Live with Gabby. Louise also appears on the Travel Channel USA in the hit show Mysteries at the Museum, which has won her a loyal fan-base all over the States. In addition to this, Louise also fronted two investigative crime documentaries (which she also devised and produced) for London Live.

On the radio, Louise presents the Regional Afternoon on BBC Local Radio across East Anglia, after presenting Friday and Sunday Breakfast for the BBC across Cambridgeshire. She has been heard on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, as well as freelancing for the BBC’s World Service. Prior to this Louise could be heard on BBC 6 Music News, BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat, and BBC Radio 2’s Art Show with Claudia Winkleman, and as a showbiz reporter across the commercial radio network. Louise has also been a stand-in presenter on BBC Local Radio, across BBC Manchester, BBC Lancashire, BBC London, BBC Essex, BBC Oxford, BBC Berkshire, BBC Bristol, BBC Devon and BBC London.

As a journalist, Louise has more than a decade of experience in news, current affairs and documentaries. As a reporter & news producer for the BBC and ITN, Louise has worked on some of the biggest stories of the last decade, and her experience and versatility means she is as at home reading news bulletins as she is producing 24 hour rolling news. Louise also writes for Independent Voices and the Huffington Post.

Behind the scenes, Louise has worked for BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2, including as a producer for Steve Wright and Sir Terry Wogan. She was named an Up and Coming Radio star by The Independent when her first documentary won her a Gold Sony Radio Academy Award.  Missing the Message was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and won rave reviews, and she went on to produce a BBC Radio 4 documentary called Ladies on the Door. On TV, Louise has produced two highly acclaimed documentaries for ITV2 on the death of Amy Winehouse, and in 2015 Louise produced The Krays: The Prison Years for Discovery.

Louise published her first book, Stolen Lives, on human trafficking in the UK (Sandstone Press).

Panel host: Faye Holland

Chair, Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce

Founder and Director of multi-award winning PR and Marketing consultancy, cofinitive

A prominent and highly regarded figure in Cambridge’s business community, Faye is known for her ability to influence and connect on multiple levels.

After a 20-year career in tech marketing – spanning roles in both startups and large corporations – Faye founded cofinitive in 2015. This multi-award-winning PR and marketing consultancy is dedicated to telling the stories of innovative and disruptive businesses, from early-stage startups and scaleups to established corporates, with a strong focus on technology and innovation.

Since January 2025, cofinitive became part of Cambridge Management Consulting. Faye now holds dual roles as Managing Partner for Client PR and Marketing and Managing Partner for the Cambridge office.

Faye is also widely recognized as the founder and organiser of the prestigious #21toWatch Technology Innovation Awards. Additionally, she co-hosts the Cambridge Tech Podcast, a platform that delves into all aspects of technology from the UK’s leading tech hub

Beyond her work in PR and technology, Faye serves as Chair of the Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce Board, where she plays a vital role in promoting the region’s economic and inclusive growth.

Councillor Daisy Blakemore-Creedon

Daisy is the youngest Labour Councillor and one of the youngest in the country.

Daisy was elected to Peterborough City Council in May 2024 for the Fletton & Woodston ward with 940 votes.

A week after her success, Daisy sat her A-level exams.

We are looking forward to Daisy sitting on our panel, with an insightful point of view from the next generation and a policy background.

Alex Schaafsma

Partner, Birketts LLP

Under Sheriff of Cambridgeshire

After joining Birketts in 2017 as their first ‘pure’ finance lawyer, Alex became Partner in 2019 and has since grown the Banking and Finance team to a multi-million pound business with 15 people.

Alex is also Trustee of Cambridgeshire Community Foundation, Trustee of the Bobby Scheme (Cambridgeshire Police Shrievalty Fund) and Under Sheriff for Cambridgeshire.

Alex has undertaken many challenges whilst raising money for charity, including cycling from John O’Groats to Land’s End, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, abseiling off the JP Morgan building in Canary Wharf, motorbiked around southern India and walked through the Alps.

When Alex was diagnosed as dyslexic at 8 years old, her parents were told that she would never go to university and it was unlikely that she would do A levels.

With an impressive career history and hard charitable work, Alex also has other interesting hobbies, such as Bobsleighing. She used to do skeleton bobsleigh, but has also ridden in a four man bob and breaked a two man bob. She has done track luge (i.e. on an ice track) and naturalbahn luge (which is going down a track down the side of a mountain), whilst also (at least) once the fastest woman down a bobsleigh track on a drinks tray.

Kate Willsher

Institute for Manufacturing (IfM)

Kate leads on organisational culture, recruitment, and retention for IfM Engage. She is responsible for operational management and is the Director for IfM Engage’s Operations, Events, Marketing and Communications activities.  She looks after external collaborations and partnerships with key industry bodies and groups and has an interest in increasing impact in the community.

Kate is Chair of the Women in Manufacturing UK initiative. She is also a career Ambassador for Form the Future, who help young people understand their future employment options and an experienced judge on industry awards. She was listed in The Manufacturer’s 2024 Top 100 as a Sector Activist.

Rachel Nicholls

Inspire Education Group

Principle and CEO of Inspire Education Group (IEG), Rachel ascended through the ranks, accumulating extensive experience across eight colleges. Rachel’s leadership has propelled the organisation to ranking in the top 3% of General Further Education Colleges nationally for GCSE English and Maths results and led significant investment in the Centre for Green Technology expansion plan, which launches early this year.

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