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Honoured to be invited to chair a fashion retail event with these two very inspirational women this week. Jane Shepherdson CBE & Sim Scavazza 75 senior execs in high street retail attended the event, organised by Claire Beasley and Sue Willis at Court & Spark Consulting, to hear Jane and Sim’s experiences transitioning to non-exec, trustee and advisory roles. Despite women dominating the workforce in fashion and retail, the boardrooms tell a different story—more men, less diversity, and fewer opportunities for women to make key decisions. 🤦♀️ Let's get real. When women make up the lion's share of the workforce, why are there so few in the boardrooms? It’s certainly not lack of talent or ambition as the women in the room proved! The issue here is systemic. It's not just about putting women at the table; it's about changing the shape of the table altogether. Gender should never be the deciding factor for a seat at the board, but talent, skills, and contribution to the industry should be. It’s the same when it comes to setting up a small retail business. The majority of founders are women, yet the lion’s share of the funding goes to the men! A massive shoutout to Jane and Sim for sharing their experiences at the event. We need more voices like theirs, encouraging and guiding aspiring female leaders to change the way retail operates. #womeninleadership #fashionindustry #retailindustry

Some concerning trends highlighted in this The New York Times article about recent retail #CEO transitions. Retail has long been considered an industry where women are especially well-suited to lead as they largely make the spending decisions for their households and drive purchasing - plus, the majority of the entry-level work force is women, giving ample opportunity to develop diverse #succession pipelines. There could be a few things going on here, as the article points out, but the bottom line is we must continue to press for more progress in recognizing the #PowerofALL!!

This great study by Fancy, LLC show that most women want brands to go further. Take action, make change and be LED by women. It's NOT fancy to ignore this advice. Women buy it all. Hopefully Adweek is talking about this. Excerpts below. Boundary Pushers (33% of respondents) believe in the power of brands to create social and cultural change. These women want society to be more honest about women’s bodies, even if it makes people uncomfortable to talk about it. They do not believe some topics are too personal for brands to discuss. ... Not only do they like to see brands discussing sensitive topics, but they also say brands carry responsibility for doing so.  Their core motivation is revolution. These women buy into brands that are changemakers, and you’re more likely to build brand equity with them when you do your part to create an equitable world for women. They expect brands to show up and show their cards. Female Favorers (29% of respondents) prioritize women in their lives and buying choices.  They prefer to support brands led by women and believe brands need to be led by women to truly understand women. These women say brands think “pink it and shrink” is sufficient to market to women, and they disagree.   Their core motivation is empowerment. They’re more likely to invest in brands that uplift women’s voices and take actions to reflect women’s desires and lived experiences in their marketing and advertising. read more: https://lnkd.in/gDYWweRg

While the percentage of women running Fortune 500 companies has doubled in the past five years (rising to 10.4 percent from 4.8 percent), 10.4% seems shockingly low. Most household purchasing decisions are made by women. Of the 86 retail companies in the Fortune 1000, 13 had a female CEO as of July 2023, down slightly from the year before. Meanwhile, 72% of cashiers are women and 50% of retail salespeople are women. Retail leaders that recently appointed or will soon appoint female Presidents or CEOs include: Walgreens (Rosalind Brewer), Under Armour (Stephanie Linnartz) , Levis’Store (Michelle Gass) , Madewell (Adrienne Lazarus) and J.Crew (Libby Wadle). I don’t know what comparable statistics are for the Advertising, AdTech/Martech, and Marketing Services industries. Datonics recently participated in the Ad Age Leading Women event. I wonder if this topic will be on the agenda at eTail™ Boston 2023 this coming week — Christine Souchack & Michael Felsman will be there representing Datonics so reach out if you will be there. #retail #empoweringwomen

🌍💼👩🎓 Happy International Women's Day 🛍️🏆💪 On this special day, I want to take a minute to celebrate all the women out there! This day isn't just a global celebration of women's achievements; it's a powerful reminder of the strength, creativity, and resilience women bring to every business. - Also, as a retail expert, I especially want to pay tribute to the incredible strides women have made in the retail sector. The ever-evolving retail industry has been shaped by the effective contributions of women. - From innovative product launches to groundbreaking marketing strategies and leading sustainable practices, women have not only led with vision but have also been instrumental in redefining the retail landscape. - Let's celebrate the pioneers who opened doors, the leaders who inspire change, and every woman who steps into this dynamic industry. Their accomplishments not only improve the world of retail but also pave the way for future generations of women to dream bigger and aim higher. - Let's all shine a spotlight on the achievements of women in retail. Tag a woman you want to celebrate in retail below! 🌸 - #InternationalWomensDay #WomenInRetail #Empowerment #Leadership #Innovation #RetailRevolution #retail #retailnews #retailindustry #consumertrends BrandBomb PR International Retail Group, LLC

Why are women leaving CEO positions in retail? Modern Retail interviewed six female retail executives, including Trove’s CEO Gayle Tait, to explore reasons behind women leaving their roles and strategies for cultivating a diverse leadership pipeline. These conversations illuminate the hidden challenges women executives encounter, from concealing pregnancies and lower pay to unresponsive investors. With leadership roles at L'Oréal and being the first woman to hold a director role at Google in the European, Middle East, and African regions, Gayle says that leadership is shifting to a softer, more balanced approach: “I think the vision of the CEO was defined by this masculine view of the leader, someone who works incredibly hard and this sort of Elon Musk character. It has to be really painful and sleep is for losers,” she said. “And I think there’s been this sort of transition toward a much more balanced view of these intense roles, and actually taking care of yourself is really important to doing the job.” Read more about Gayle’s beliefs in the importance of diversity (half of Trove identifies as BIPOC and 42% are female or nonbinary) and her thoughts on where leadership is headed in Melissa Daniels’ insightful article: https://lnkd.in/gGJgTgDw. #womeninleadership #DEI #womenintheworkplace

You've heard the talk about personal brand, but why's it important, and what does it mean to build one? Join in as these three women sales leaders share exactly that, as well as how it's benefitted their careers:

You've heard the talk about personal brand, but why's it important, and what does it mean to build one? Join in as these three women sales leaders share exactly that, as well as how it's benefitted their careers:

You've heard the talk about personal brand, but why's it important, and what does it mean to build one? Join in as these three women sales leaders share exactly that, as well as how it's benefitted their careers:

You've heard the talk about personal brand, but why's it important, and what does it mean to build one? Join in as these three women sales leaders share exactly that, as well as how it's benefitted their careers: