According to a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, women in traditionally male-dominated fields face a difficult hurdle and unique challenges, often they soon change in favour of more female-dominated or gender-balanced career paths. If however they do ‘succeed’ in a male-dominated field, studies suggest that their co-workers – both male and female – may unfairly see them as ‘unsociable’ and ‘difficult to work with.’
Put simply by Madeline Heilman, professor of psychology at New York University: “Success is OK for a woman if it’s in an area that is not [seen as] off limits to them.” Join us as we sit down with a panel of women who have broken down unfathomable barriers and now dominate industries where women are still a rarity – let alone encouraged to enter.

PANELLISTS

EMMA SAYLE: Adult Entertainment
Emma is one of the UK’s leading ‘sex-entrepreneurs’. She made her name launching the elite global adult-party brand Killing Kittens in 2005. An industry which is often described as ‘made for men, by men,’ Emma turned the industry on its head and created a brand that stood solely for women and want they wanted – the opportunity to feel in control and explore their sexuality in a safe environment. Killing Kittens now boasts a fierce following of over 120,000 members, and hosts events across the globe from London and Venice to New York and Sydney. In 2018, she led the business through a funding round. The first ever public crowdfund for an adult sector brand of this nature and closed the round at 118% overfunded. If disrupting one male-dominated industry wasn’t enough, Emma’s growing portfolio of female-empowerment tech brands now includes Sistr – a dedicated platform for women to connect, share and learn from one another, and Safedate – an app for anyone wanting to stay safe whilst online dating. Popular press regularly pronounces Emma a leader in female sexual liberation and empowerment – and her opinions are regularly covered in the Cosmopolitan, Guardian, Evening Standard, The Sun, and Telegraph.

KATE BELL: Inventor
Asked to name an inventor and most people start with Thomas Edison (lightbulb), Benjamin Franklin (biofocal glasses), James Dyson (bagless vacuum), Sir Isaac Newton (telescope), and Peter Hobbs (automatic kettle). Aside from great inventions what else do they have in common – they are all male. Around the world and across history innovative women have imagined, developed, tested, and perfected their creations – from fire escapes, solar energy, stem cell isolation to monopoly and computer software. Despite this, 93% of patents applications for inventions in the UK come from men. In a world where women who apply for patents are less likely to get them, Kate Bell represents the minority who have broken the mould. Part of a small community of female inventors – just 7% in the UK – Kate Bell founded Zip Us In – a patented Jacket Expander panel which allows wearers to extend their own coat through pregnancy and when baby wearing. Hitting-the-nail on the head with what the market was after, Zip Us In exploded into Europe, USA and Canada winning countless awards along-the-way and receiving a company valuation in the millions.

ELSA CHEN: Telecoms
While women make up 49% of the UK labour force, they account for just 17% of IT and telecoms professionals.
Defying statistics and stereotypes is Elsa Chen – who has carved out a successful career (spanning decades) in telecommunications to become a well-respected leader in the industry. Elsa is CityFibre’s Chief Customer Officer, leading the end-to-end customer experience strategy across all of the company’s verticals. Formerly CEO of CityFibre’s wholesale business Entanet, Elsa led the management buyout of Entanet in 2014 with the backing of the highly experienced mid-market investor Mobeus Equity. She grew the business organically to £37m revenue in the period and firmly established Entanet as a multi prestigious award-winning wholesale connectivity service provider in the UK. Elsa also oversaw the landmark mergers and acquisitions transaction in 2017 which made Entanet part of CityFibre Group. Not one to shy away from championing the need for diversity within the sector, Elsa has made a name for herself as someone who ‘gets the deal done’ through her customer-centric and people-focused approach to driving business performance.

While women in the UK outnumber men by around 1 million, there are twice as many male entrepreneurs as females.
For one evening only, a panel of leading female entrepreneurs will be getting together for an intimate and in-depth conversation to discuss how they are breaking the mould in the world of business.
The panel will share stories of trial, failure, risk and success, discuss what it really takes to be a true entrepreneur, and debate whether the risk outweighs the benefit. The audience will also have an opportunity to put their questions to the panel and get real-life advice from the experts.

PANELISTS

RAS DEOL: Founder of Build My Gift
Ras holds a Master’s degree in HR Management and has worked for luxury goods conglomerate LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) and the BBC, before setting up Build My Gift – a bespoke gifting business.
“When choosing a career path it was never my intention to start my own business or be an entrepreneur. I took a traditional route of degree, masters and then into my first job – a HR role. Working in HR for more than five years and progressing in my career, it wasn’t until I was hit with a light bulb moment that I decided I wanted more.”
Ras now ventures from store-to-store and travels from site-to-site, carefully selecting high-end items from luxury brands, to help aid the unique 3-step gifting experience. Identifying a true gap in the market, Build My Gift has featured on ITV’s This Morning, GQ, and The Metro – to name but a few!

MELISSA SNOVER: Founder & CEO of Remedy Group
A true visionary and trendsetter in the world of food technology and 3D printing, Melissa is a serial entrepreneur with numerous successful businesses under her belt. Melissa founded her first business, a financial services company, at the age of just 23. She then went onto launch her first confectionery start-up, Goody Good Stuff, which was the world’s first vegan and allergen free gummy range, making her a pioneer in the market for vegan sweets. In 2015, the Goody Good Stuff brand was present in 33 countries – making it one of the fastest growing consumer brands in Europe at the time. At its peak, the company was sold to Cloetta PLC. Melissa then turned her focus to developing the world’s first 3D printer for confectionery which allowed the consumer to become their very own Willy Wonka, with her business Magic Candy Factory. She is currently the founder and CEO of REM3DY Health Limited which pioneers personalised health solutions across nutrition and medicine under the brands, Nourish3d and Script3d. Nourish3d combines 7 different active ingredients into personalised nutrition stacks using patented 3D printing technology and a vegan encapsulation formula, and will be launched in the UK exclusively at the end of the summer. A legitimate success story, Melissa’s journey has been well documented in media including by Channel 4’s Food Unwrapped, Time Magazine, The Telegraph and Daily Express.

JOANNE BASS: Founder of XL Displays
In 2010 Joanne took the opportunity to set up her own company XL Displays – specialising in exhibition stands, pop-up displays, fabric displays and more – whilst on Maternity leave, at a time when the UK was still in recession. From the humble beginnings of starting her business from home, Joanne has grown her business to an annual turnover of £7 million, employing 50 people. XL Displays has grown to be a multi award-winning company and featured in the Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 league table. Founder Joanne Bass has won the UK National NatWest Every Woman Athena Award in 2016, Peterborough Female Entrepreneur Award from Women Leaders in 2017 and National Female Entrepreneur of the Year by Forward Ladies in 2018. The company, which boasts Virgin, Mercedes-Benz, Five Guys, Unilever, LADBible and Charlotte Tillbury as clients, has seen annual sales growth of 49 per cent over the last three years.

JESSICA LABHART: Panel Chair & BBC News Broadcast Journalist
Wolverhampton native Jessica is a Broadcast Journalist for BBC News Online, and has previously worked for the city’s Express & Star, London Evening Standard, and The Guardian. She trained to be a journalist at the renowned News Associates in London while working full time as the PA to the deputy chief executive of Arts Council England, after graduating with a Double First Class BA Hons degree in English and drama and a distinction in her subsequent M.Phil, both obtained from the University of Cambridge. In her spare time, Jessica co-directs a drama group for adults with learning disabilities and supports local charity The Homeless Period Wolverhampton. She recently delivered a TedX talk on her understanding of social capital and how making better connections with those different from us can positively impact our lives.