To celebrate International Women’s Day, we caught up with five brilliant women leading the way in business.
They all work in very different sectors, but each of these inspirational women are drivers of positive change, playing a hugely important role in the local community and their chosen field.
With the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day being Give to Gain, we asked them to share their insights and advice for other women building their careers.
Dr Hetty (Wenxian) Sun is Associate Professor and Associate Head of the Executive Business Centre, University of Greenwich. As well as her role at the Executive Business Centre, Hetty is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). Hetty is one of the judges at this year’s Best of Royal Greenwich Business Awards.
How does your organisation support or collaborate with other women (particularly in the borough)?
Give To Gain is about recognising that none of us grows in isolation – businesses, careers and confidence all develop within ecosystems. At the Executive Business Centre, we are intentional about strengthening that ecosystem for women across the borough through networks and initiatives such as Mums in Business and Women in Entrepreneurship.
Support is not only about funding or advice. It is about mindset, belonging, and creating environments where women feel seen, heard and capable of more than they initially believed. When we share knowledge, time and encouragement without competition, the gain becomes collective confidence and long-term impact.
One shared understanding that emerged from our discussions – and was echoed by the women we work with – was simple yet powerful: "If we want to go far, we go together."
What do you love about what you do?
Whether it is supporting a start-up, shaping a project, or building partnerships, I am inspired by the ripple effect of empowering others. What I have learned is that when you give without expecting anything in return, the gain can be extraordinary – strong mutual support, shared resources, a resilient mindset and most importantly, genuine joy. There is real power and fun in building together.
What challenges have you overcome?
One of my greatest personal challenges has been learning to balance ambition with realism. As a perfectionist, I have always wanted to deliver the best in everything - academia, business, projects, and family life. Accepting that I cannot always meet my own high standards has been difficult. However, I have learned that excellence does not require perfection. Growth, resilience and compassion, and especially towards ourselves, are just as important.
Do you have a tip for women who want to start their own business?
Drawing on my critical systems thinking background, I would like to encourage people to think in systems, not just in tasks. A business does not grow in isolation; it grows within an ecosystem of relationships, energy, values and timing. Work with people who share your values not just your goals. Focus on what you can influence now, rather than being held back by the past or anxious about the future. Be grateful with what you have because appreciation creates clarity, but scarcity creates fear.
Please remember that you do not have to prove your worth. Your value is not defined by comparison, speed or perfection. Sustainable success comes from alignment between who you are, what you build and how you build it. When you operate from that place, growth becomes natural and far more powerful.
Loretta Awuah is Strategic Business Support Manager at GLL and one of the judges at this year’s Best of Royal Greenwich Business Awards.
How does your organisation support or collaborate with other women (particularly in the borough)?
GLL is a worker-owned co-operative, so everyone has a say with regards to company decisions. The GLL board is also female dominated, and we have recently introduced policies that recognise the challenges that women may experience in the workplace, such as going through menopause, which reflects a thoughtful approach to employee health. I feel particularly valued in my role, working within GLL libraries that is largely made up of a female workforce, and has women in senior leadership positions.
What do you love about what you do?
I particularly love seeing the growth and successive wins of many of the businesses we have supported over the years from the beginning. In the last couple of weeks, there have been encouraging success stories from these businesses such as being awarded large grants, increasing their staff, entering valuable strategic partnerships and having the profile of their brand significant increased. I feel immensely proud of their journey and well-deserved successes.
What challenges have you overcome?
Luckily – and this may reflect the organisations I have worked at – I haven't faced many challenges as a result of my gender. On the contrary I feel supported and encouraged inside (and out) of work and haven't had to question if my gender has influenced any disadvantages. My experience however, doesn't negate the fact that statistically speaking there are still overt and covert gender disparities at work, that businesses and society at large still need to do more to address.
Do you have a tip for women who want to start their own business?
Yes! I have several. My top tips will be to research your business idea, test it, make the necessary changes and improvements before registering your business and trading. This will help you gain clarity of the value proposition of your business, understand who your customers are, your market and wider industry trends you should be aware of.
Moreover, accessing business support through services like Start Up Greenwich will help with improving the skills, knowledge, networks and confidence of an entrepreneur, which will consequently make their business journey a much more positive experience.
Tulasi Parmar is the founder and Creative Director of fashion brand TULASI. She won Entrepreneur Under 30 at Best of Royal Greenwich Business Awards 2024 and is returning this year as a judge.
How does your business support or collaborate with other women (particularly in the borough)?
This year, I find myself reflecting on the ways TULASI uplifts other women, especially since graduating in the borough. Fashion is full of brilliant female talent over 85% of graduates from top fashion schools are women, yet in the industry, only one in six actually hold positions in industry.
Through my work, I prioritise supporting and collaborating with female-founded sponsors for our events. It’s not just about business; it’s about creating a cultural synergy, a space where women can build, grow and shine together. Every partnership we foster is a chance to give, and in giving, we all gain.
What do you love about what you do?
I love being able to turn my ideas into something real, whether that’s a physical garment or a digital piece of fashion. Designing lets me experiment, tell stories from my heritage and family history and express who I am creatively. Building my own brand means I can shape my vision of what fashion should be, from embracing new digital tools to thinking about sustainability. I also love pushing boundaries in the industry and showing that female designers from diverse backgrounds can lead and innovate. What excites me most is seeing my concepts come to life and knowing they can inspire people, both in the real world and in digital spaces.
What challenges have you overcome?
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced is the lack of representation in the fashion industry. When I worked on design teams, I was often one of the very few women and there were even fewer people of colour in leadership roles. Seeing that made me realise how much change the industry still needs. Knowing the barriers that British-Asian women face in business, especially when it comes to funding and support for entrepreneurship, has pushed me to keep going and build my own brand, TULASI, so I could create opportunities and represent voices that are often underrepresented. On a personal level, being the first person in my family to go to university was another challenge. At one point, higher education felt like an unreachable goal. But working through that experience made me more determined to succeed and pursue a career in fashion.
What advice would you give other women entering fashion design?
For anyone who feels the odds stacked against them, keep pushing forward. Trust your instincts, believe in your ideas and never apologise for your ambition. Learn relentlessly, embrace innovation and don’t be afraid to break rules, whether it’s in design, in business or in how you tell your story.
Giovanna Speciale is the CEO is South East London Community Energy (Selce), a local energy co-operative dedicated to a cleaner and fairer energy future through generating energy locally, reducing energy usage and ensuring no one gets left behind
How does your organisation support or collaborate with other women (particularly in the borough)?
Collaboration is central to the way South East London Community Energy operates: we want to transform the energy system in southeast London from the grassroots to make it fit for the future. SELCE collaborates with households, community venues, and businesses to manage their lower cost – lower carbon retrofit and renewable energy journey. We work with anyone who is keen to join a coalition working towards a better energy future for southeast London – one where energy is generated renewably and locally, where energy is used wisely and efficiently and one in which no one is left behind. Many of those collaborators are women. For example, 72% of those who come to us for support with reducing their costs and carbon are women.
We have a relationship with community groups across the borough who also work to support vulnerable households. Many of those pioneering community organisations are led by women. Ever since our inception SELCE, has been female led. Today our Co-Chairs, the CEO, and most of our senior management team are all women. This is not due to any bias – these are the people who were best placed to lead. But by being women led, we have been able to provide an environment in which women are able to thrive. I also want to mention that we have always been respectful of gender diversity and have benefitted from contributions from trans colleagues. By being focused on what people can bring irrespective of their gender identity, we have been able to provide a welcoming environment for anyone who wants to contribute to the transition to a better energy future for southeast London.
What do you love about what you do?
I feel privileged that my community has allowed me to lead an organisation that is makes a difference to the lives of southeast Londoners that is working to combat one of the most pressing issues of our time: climate justice. What I love about what I do is that it makes a difference and that's all I have ever wanted. I love the daily challenge one minute wracking my brain to understand something about renewable energy technologies and the next minute having to listen with my heart, mind and my emotions to a story brought by a vulnerable client.
What challenges have you overcome?
In truth, the biggest challenge is to overcome my lack of self-belief. I have had to overcome a lifetime of being told in so many different ways that women can't lead effectively. Overcoming the voice in my head that says: “I can't do this!”
What’s your advice to other women who are looking to start a co-operative?
My advice to other women setting up a co-op is don’t let anyone get you down and know that you are enough. The first few months of getting SELCE started was all about going through a difficult in-depth process of working out our mission aims and values. This has stood us in good stead – it’s enabled us to stay focused on the change we want to make.
Kate Hipperson Greene is the People & Culture Director at AEG International.
How does your organisation support or collaborate with other women (particularly in Royal Greenwich)?
We’re incredibly passionate about supporting the communities around our venues and using our platform to help create opportunities for the next generation of women in the live events industry.
In fact, last week we partnered with The Power of Events and South London Careers Hub to welcome a group of young people to The O2. Led by members of our Women’s Employee Network Group, the day featured career talks where female colleagues shared their journeys and the realities of their roles, alongside a guided backstage tour to give a behind-the-scenes look at how live events come together. In addition to this, our team at The O2 have just launched a series Passing the Mic, amplifying the voices of women across the venue who are helping shape our industry.
Speaking of our Women’s Employee Network Group, they play an important role in this work year-round, championing women across the business while helping shape policies, practices and initiatives that support equity and opportunity. The group also creates spaces for allyship, awareness and connection through events and mentoring – embodying the spirit of Give to Gain by supporting others to grow, connect and succeed together.
What do you love about what you do?
Working in People & Culture for AEG, I love that every day is different! The to do list gets taken with a pinch of salt as things always change and no day is ever the same, getting to help people in all sorts of ways is what makes the job really rewarding.
What challenges have you overcome?
COVID was a huge challenge for us and the events industry as a whole. Everything shut down, but we bounced back, learned a lot about resilience, and came out stronger.
What advice would you give other women entering HR in the events and entertainment industry?
Enjoy the journey and celebrate every win, no matter how small. Things move fast in this industry, so it’s important to pause, reflect, and recognise the impact you’re making.