Celebrating International Women’s Day with WISH South East

Celebrating International Women’s Day with WISH South East

Earlier in March, WISH South East celebrated International Women’s Day with more than 40 brilliant women working across the housing sector.

The event was held at Southern Housing Group’s offices in Horsham with members enjoying a chance to network before kicking off the afternoon with three fantastic speakers.

After a welcome from Lauren Chivers, a member of the WISH South East Board, we heard from our first speaker Carol Rosati OBE. Carol is Senior Independent Director at Southern Housing Group and focused her talk around making yourself heard. From thinking about how you make your first impression, how you present yourself and how to share your success with others rather than waiting for recognition, Carol left members feeling inspired with actionable ideas to take forward.

Next up was Holly Boullé, Southern Housing Group’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Advisor. Holly spoke about the need for workplaces to adapt and highlighted how organisations with above-average gender diversity and levels of employee engagement outperform companies with below-average diversity and engagement by 46% compared to 57%.

Finally, we were joined by Southern Housing Group’s Property Services Director, Sasha Harrison. With six in ten women sharing that the menopause impacts their day at work, Sasha focused her talk around how women can raise awareness of the menopause at work. Talking about how employers can support women and what Southern Housing Group has already implemented, members all left feeling like it was time to “break the silence”.

After an inspirational afternoon, guests and members enjoyed canapes, prosecco and a chance to network with industry peers.