Women of Impact

CEO of Superstruct & ex‑Channel 4 CEO

Under Alex Mahon's leadership, Channel 4 introduced the industry’s first menopause and pregnancy loss policies - pushing the media industry (and others) to recognise these issues in workplace policy.  She has also been vocal about representation, closing the gender pay gap, and increasing impact in the UK’s nations and regions to broaden who can participate in creative/media roles beyond London.

At Channel 4, Alex provided models for other employers and helps normalize these policies which have fed into future legislation or stronger guidance.

Alex was also the 'third musketeer' without whom, the Women In Work would not exist!

(aka MotherPukka)

Anna Whitehouse has been a powerful campaigner for flexible working “Flex Appeal”, arguing that flexible working is crucial not just for parents but for closing the gender pay gap and keeping women in work past age 40. Anna has also spoken up about menopause at work, emphasising that many women ‘step out’ of careers because employers fail to understand menopause’s impact.

Her campaigning around flexible working and menopause helped shift public awareness and employer practice, feeding into acceptance that these should be covered under guidance (e.g. via CIPD / Acas) and considered under employer policies.

Founder, Pregnant Then Screwed

The Founder Pregnant Then Screwed, after personal experience of pregnancy discrimination, campaigned for the rights of pregnant and parenting employees. 

Joeli Brearley was instrumental in policy change, influencing investment in childcare (£5.2bn), reform of flexible working laws, tribunal time limits & redundancy protections. She also organised a mass protest “March of the Mummies” to highlight parent/work equity.  

Sam McAlister broke ground as a senior TV news producer in a male-dominated media landscape, using her tenacity and behind-the-scenes influence - showcased in Scoop - to highlight the power of women shaping high-stakes journalism and negotiating access at the highest levels.

Entrepreneur

Debbie Wosskow is a prolific angel investor and Co-Chair of the UK Government-backed Invest in Women Taskforce. Appointed by the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, she has raised £250 million to support female-powered businesses - the largest fund of its kind globally.

She is Co-Founder of WJV, championing diversity and economic empowerment, Executive Chair of The Better Menopause, and a Non-Executive Director of Channel 4. She also serves as a Senior Advisor to McKinsey & Company and is co-author of the business bestseller Believe, Build, Become.

Debbie sits on The Mayor of London’s Business Advisory Board and The Women’s Prize for Fiction, where she Chairs the Development Board. She was awarded an OBE in 2016 and the Freedom of the City of London in 2019.

A celebrated medical doctor and academic, Dame Jane Dacre has been actively involved in addressing the gender pay gap in medicine, leading a review into pay disparities.  Her work led to recommendations for improving job evaluations, reducing pay scales and providing flexible working options to support women in their careers.  She is also a prominent advocate for women in the medical field, supporting initiatives that promote equality and recognition of women’s contributions to healthcare.

CEO, 50:50 Parliament

After having her first child, Lyanne Nicholl became a powerful advocate for postnatal care and later wrote Your Postnatal Body, raising awareness of the gap in support for women in the postnatal period. She also works in the charity sector helping small & medium charities on fundraising, research etc., giving voice to women’s experiences after childbirth. 

UK Chair,‍ 30% Club

A culture and diversity executive with over 30 years in blue‑chip firms, Pavita Cooper chairs the 30% Club UK, a long‑standing campaign pushing for greater female representation in boards and senior leadership. She also campaigns for the inclusion of “hidden talent”, women, ethnic minorities & people from non‑traditional backgrounds, and has spoken publicly about how people from minority backgrounds often feel they must adapt their personality to fit in.

Joint Managing Partner, Lewis Silkin

A partner at Lewis Silkin, Jo Farmer has championed gender equity through her role in making the firm the first UK law firm to offer equal parental leave for all employees. She is also a passionate advocate for social mobility, working to open up access to legal careers for people from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds.

Former Estée Lauder Companies President, UK & Ireland

Sue Fox is the former President of The Estée Lauder Companies UK & Ireland and a global beauty leader with over 30 years at ELC, having led key markets including Japan, South Africa and Travel Retail EMEA.

A strong advocate for employee wellbeing, she launched a landmark initiative offering complimentary annual mammograms to women over 40, setting a model for preventative workplace healthcare.

She is widely recognised for championing diverse talent, purposeful leadership and sustainability, and continues to mentor the next generation of industry leaders.

Former WPP UK President

Karen Blackett CBE has helped reshape leadership in Britain. With over 30 years at the top of business, including as UK President of WPP leading 13,000 people, she proved that commercial success and cultural change go hand in hand.

A powerful advocate for inclusion, Karen expanded representation at senior levels and embedded equity into how business is done. As the first businesswoman to top The Power List and co-founder of the Black Equity Organisation, she continues to drive structural change and generational progress.

Karen exemplifies leadership that widens opportunity, redefines ambition and makes it easier for the next woman to rise.

Portfolio Chair and Non-Executive Director of leading businesses

Rita Clifton CBE is a portfolio chair and non-executive director across major businesses, start-ups, and non-profits, as well as a writer, speaker, and board mentor.

A Cambridge graduate, she began in advertising, becoming Vice Chair and Strategy Director at Saatchi & Saatchi, then London CEO and later Chairman of Interbrand for ten years. Her current roles include Deputy Chair at John Lewis Partnership and Chair at Simplyhealth, alongside numerous past board positions. She also co-founded BrandCap in 2013, later selling it to management.

Her pro bono work has included roles with WWF, the UK Sustainable Development Commission, Green Alliance, and The Conservation Volunteers; she now chairs Forum for the Future.

Rita is a regular media commentator and author of several books, including The Future of Brands and Love Your Imposter. She was awarded a CBE in 2014 and became a Visiting Fellow at Oxford Saïd Business School in 2019.

Founder of Octopus Electric Vehicles & Earth Set 

Fiona Howarth founded Octopus Electric Vehicles - part of the entech unicorn Octopus Energy Group - to make driving electric easy and affordable. Since launching its leasing business in 2021, the company has raised over £2 billion, helped 50,000 drivers and 7,500 companies, and earned recognition as a Sunday Times Best Place to Work.

Passionate about the planet, Fiona also founded the climate community Earth Set and serves on the boards of TransitionZero and Open Climate Fix, both using AI to accelerate clean energy systems globally.

At the heart of it all is the belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to thrive - from different genders and backgrounds, today and in future generations. This includes creating environments where everyone can work, lead and just be brilliant; and creating products that are great for customers, employees and the wider community.

Founder, Mums and Tea & Five X More

Tinuke Awe has spent years turning lived experience into structural change. As co-founder of Five X More, she helped lead a petition on Black maternal health that gathered over 180,000 signatures and brought the issue to a full parliamentary debate. The organisation’s landmark report, drawing on the maternity experiences of more than 2,400 Black women across the UK, became a catalyst for direct collaboration with the NHS Race and Health Observatory, shifting how the health system approaches race and maternal care.

Maternal health sits at the centre of Tinuke’s work, but her advocacy extends across the full landscape of women’s health and neurodiversity. As a late-diagnosed ADHD woman and mother of an autistic child, she is a powerful voice for the women who fall through the gaps of systems not built with them in mind. Through her writing for Stylist, her TEDx talk, and her community platform Mums & Tea, she brings these conversations into the mainstream with honesty and precision.

More recently, Tinuke has been exploring the intersection of women’s lives and artificial intelligence, specifically how AI tools can reduce the invisible load carried by mothers, neurodiverse women and caregivers. It is the same question she has always asked, just with new tools: what does support look like when it is genuinely designed around women’s real lives?

CEO of YMU

Mary Bekhait is CEO of YMU, the international talent management company representing cultural leaders across entertainment, sport, music, publishing and the creator economy. Under her leadership, YMU has expanded globally, diversified across multiple verticals and launched YMU Ventures to back talent-led IP and businesses. Bekhait has driven meaningful equity initiatives – including closing the gender pay gap – and strengthened YMU’s commercial capabilities to help creators convert influence into enduring intellectual property, from books and podcasts to brands and ventures. Her strategy positions artists and creators not just as performers, but as founders and owners in the new cultural economy.

Founder and Chair of Lucky Voice, President of the British Chambers of Commerce

Baroness Martha Lane Fox, Founder and Chair of Lucky Voice, President of the British Chambers of Commerce Martha is one of the UK's most influential voices on technology, business, and social equity. As a crossbench peer in the House of Lords, she sits on multiple boards including British Airways as a non-executive director and serves as Chancellor of the Open University. Martha co-founded lastminute.com in 1998, pioneering online travel booking, and later served as the UK's Digital Champion from 2009-2013, helping create gov.uk. A fearless advocate for responsible technology and inclusive leadership, Martha has become increasingly vocal about the dangers of unregulated tech power and its impact on democratic institutions and workplace equity. Through her role on Twitter's board during its sale to Elon Musk, she witnessed firsthand how concentrated tech power operates. She continues to challenge tech leaders on diversity and accountability while building sustainable businesses as founder and chair of Lucky Voice. Her recent parliamentary speeches and writing focus on the urgent need for tech regulation, digital literacy, and protecting democratic values from billionaire influence.