Influential women from the worlds of music, media, charities, art, acting and politics came together yesterday for a lunch hosted by journalists and editors on behalf of strategic advisory consultancy BLJ London.
Each year on the 8th March, International Women’s Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women around the world, and serves as a call to action for people to do what they can to make a positive different for women.
The event, held at Daphne’s restaurant in South Kensington, was the second annual lunch organised by BLJ London to celebrate International Women’s Day and is likely to become a regular fixture.
The theme of International Women’s Day 2023 was Embrace Equity, which challenged the women in attendance at the lunch to distinguish between equity and equality and to talk about why equal opportunities are no longer enough. The theme also encouraged women to challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, draw attention to bias, and discuss how they can forge an inclusive world.
The group of women discussed topics including the rise and impact of toxic social media influencers, the treatment of women by mainstream media and the unique challenges faced by women across all sectors throughout their careers. They shared stories personal to them, and spoke on the equity and equality of opportunities available to women across their respective worlds.
Speaking after the lunch, one of the guests said: ‘As you’d expect from this group of incredibly accomplished and driven people, the discussions over lunch covered a wide range of topics which affect women of all walks of life. Conversations were lively, illuminating, entertaining and sometimes controversial! We didn’t all agree with each other on everything which is how it should be, but by voicing different points of view in this forum means that we can come together to better understand the challenges facing women today, and how we do something practical to help, through mentoring, support and keeping those in power to account.’
BLJ London, founded by former newspaper editor Sir Nicholas Lloyd, is an international strategic advisory consultancy with more than 20 years’ experience in communications, campaigning, crisis management, public affairs and international legal consultancy. BLJ provides discrete strategic advice to shape individual communications programmes and manage reputations across all forms of channels.
Written by Claire Miller
