To mark International Women’s Day 2020, the female partners at Saint & Co turned our ‘out of office’ on and spent the day of Friday 6th March celebrating what it means to be a woman in the workplace.
Countries around the world have been observing Women’s Day since the early 1900’s, until an official International Women’s Day was proclaimed by the UN in 1975. On March 8th, the UN invites all its member states to acknowledge Women’s rights and celebrate international peace and equality, to ensure the future for women and girls is bright, equal and safe.
This year, we did our bit to make a difference by holding a series of talks by women for women on various topics relating to the female experience.
Guests spoke passionately about the importance of making a professional will, having difficult conversations and dealing with menopause in the workplace.
The audience were particularly interested to hear from Lynsey Buckle, Development Manager at Carlisle Youth Zone, about the comparison culture in young girls and the action and support the youth zone are giving to young girls to empower them and build their confidence.
Here’s the full list of speakers on the day:
- Linsey Buckle, joined us from Carlisle Youth Zone – Lindsay is a Development Manager at Carlisle Youth Zone, and came to talk about her work with the young people of Carlisle. Her focus was on comparison culture in girls.
- Katherine Pretswell-Walker, Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors – Katherine spoke about her experience as a woman in business and in particular, how to deal with tricky conversations! Katherine is an Associate Solicitor at Cartmell Shepherd, handling all aspects of agricultural law, including agricultural and estate conveyancing, advising on mineral and sporting rights, overage and clawback agreements and options for renewable energy projects.
- Debbie Tollitt, Davidson HR – Debbie has been providing exceptional professional and practical HR consultancy and training for nearly 20 years, to over 250 clients across Cumbria, South West Scotland, Lancashire and the North East. Debbie focused on menopause in the workplace in her talk to the group.
- Rachael Stephenson, Burnetts Solicitors – Rachael is a Partner and heads the Wills, Trusts and Probate team at Burnetts. Her specialisms include advising on charitable and private trusts and personal planning for business owners. She shared with the group the importance of getting a Will drawn up professionally.
“Having a young daughter myself, I realise the importance of ensuring the next generation of women have a bright and equal future ahead of themselves. It’s important we let them know that they can achieve anything they want, irrespective of their gender” said Lindsay Farrer, Partner at Saint & Co.
Earlier in the day, we invited a mix of female clients and professional friends to join us at Carlisle’s Lumber Lounge for an axe throwing session (open toed shoes were left at home). After a demonstration by the owners, the group were able to have a go themselves and hone their technique.
“There was a wide range of axe throwing styles resulting in some entertaining games” Pauline Jackson, Partner at Saint & Co commented.
Many of the guests got their axe throwing perfected, and after a series of games, two winners were declared, winning prosecco and chocolates.
Lunch was enjoyed at The Penny Blue, enabling guests to find out more about each other. Later in the day, the team also held a raffle and a game of stand up bingo, all in all raising £500 for Carlisle Youth Zone.
