Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, joined us at SBUSixth today (Friday 13 March) for our International Women’s Day talk and celebration.
The MP was among a panel of six brilliant women from various walks of life, who spoke to over 100 female students on the theme of “Give to gain” – encouraging a mindset of generosity, collaboration and support among women in workplace and educational communities.
The other panellists were Philippa Cartwright (West Ham United), Dr Abigail Amoah (LSBU), Professor Jacqueline Cheltenham (University of Law), and Natalie Collcutt (Watkins Payne), with Lizzie Rendell (LSBU) chairing.
The speakers addressed examples from their own lives of when women’s support and mentorship has been valuable to them. Each also offered tips to the audience on how to both ask for and give support and advice to others. Examples included how to develop effective mentoring, providing opportunities for women entering new career areas, and how to provide support and advocacy for equality.
The event was organised by Delma Russell, SBUSixth’s Head of Student Wellbeing, who said: “The intention of this event was to show that every conversation and opportunity shared helps to open a door for someone else. With such a diverse range of professional expertise on the panel, our female students have heard how this is created in practice, and we hope it will have inspired them to seek out supportive colleagues and mentors for themselves. Some of our recent leavers have already become mentors for current students and we are delighted to see this happening more through our events and networks.”
- Watch a short interview with Bell Ribeiro-Addy at the event on Youtube here
