Bury business leaders come together for International Women’s Day

Three of Bury’s most prominent female business leaders appeared together at a panel discussion today (Friday 8 March) to discuss their experiences in business to coincide with International Women’s Day 2019.

Hosted by GC Business Growth Hub in partnership with Bury Council, the Recharge Bury event took place at The Fuselier Museum this afternoon.

The panel consisted of;

• Angela Davies, CEO of testing laboratory MSL
• Julie Ann Forbes, sales & marketing director at property management company Hamilton Heath
• Elizabeth Clarke, CEO of award-winning advertising technology company Dream Agility Ltd

Coral McFarlane, marketing manager at GC Business Finance, was also part of the panel discussion, which was chaired by Hilary Centeleghe of GC Business Growth Hub.

The discussion was lively, funny and frank, with each panellist’s business journey, the innovation challenges faced by businesses in the UK compared to other countries and Brexit among the range of topics covered.

In particular, all of the panel addressed the continuing gender pay gap, saying that pay levels in companies need to be transparent and based upon skill, while also making a point of encouraging the next generation of female business leaders to continue striving for equal representation in what can still be a male-dominated business world.

On this point, Julie Ann Forbes summed up the feelings of the panel when she told the audience: “Be brave, be confident and don’t be intimated.”

Hilary Centeleghe said: “It was a joy to chair today’s panel and highlight the fine work and outstanding contributions all of today’s panellists have made to the business community in and around Bury.

“For me, two things should be clear following today’s event; opportunities exist within a wide range of sectors in the Bury area, and these opportunities are open to everyone on merit, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexuality or any other identifying characteristic.”

Businesses looking to access specialist support can visit www.businessgrowthhub.com for more information about the organisation’s extensive range of services. This and other GC Business Growth Hub projects are part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the GM Business Growth Hub project designed to help ambitious SME businesses achieve growth and increase employment in Greater Manchester.