Sunday, March 8, is International Women’s Day and LBN will mark the event with the return of its Friday Fifteen feature – putting the spotlight on some of Liverpool city region’s most remarkable women over the next five weeks. Jennie Lewis reports

 

This week sees the return of our Friday Fifteen programme, profiling professional women whose collective contributions are creating positive change.

First launched in 2025 to mark International Women’s Day (IWD), the series of features will highlight 15 women over five weeks with the aim of celebrating the success of Liverpool city region women on more than just one day.

IWD is a celebration of the progress women have made, but also raises the issue that there is much work still to be done to achieve gender parity – particularly in the workplace. This year’s theme is “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls”.

It highlights the many milestones marked by women across multiple industries while bringing into sharp focus the barriers that still exist — from workplace inequalities to challenges in education, leadership and representation.

But we also believe that IWD should serve to instil optimism and inspire positive action in the quest for equality. So this week we actually feature four individuals with two, sisters Georgia and Jade Morgan, founders of Propel PR sharing the spotlight.

This week’s cohort also includes Nic Byrne, founder of Girls with Dreams Club CIC, and Gail Farley, director of operations at housing maintenance specialist HMS.

All of the women on this week’s list have been actively involved in organising IWD 2026 events, bringing together and empowering hundreds of women and girls from across the city region.

Stay tuned to LBN every Friday for the next few weeks to see who else is on the Friday Fifteen list…

 

Georgia and Jade Morgan launched Liverpool-based Propel PR, a full-service PR and event management agency, in 2019 and the duo have built a reputation for delivering impactful campaigns across the region.

They have worked with some of the city’s most recognisable brands including Taskers, Wyld Sauna, The Lake House, Red Run, Baltic Market and Duke Street Food and Drink Market, as well as supporting national names such as The Ivy Brasserie.

Over the past year, Propel PR has continued its upward trajectory, leading on standout projects including The Ivy Asia Liverpool, Taskers, BOXPARK, Behind Closed Doors and DeLuca’s.

Specialising in PR and brand strategy, event management, content creation and social media, Georgia and Jade are passionate advocates for championing women in business.

This year, they will host their third IWD event at BOXPARK Liverpool, sponsored by Glamify Fashion, welcoming more than 300 guests in a celebration of female empowerment and collaboration across the region.

 

 

It will feature a panel of female entrepreneurs sharing their experiences in business, before the afternoon’s Party & Progress – a mini-marketplace of female-led businesses sharing advice, products and services to help guests find their centre and focus their goals.

The roster of speakers includes Abbie Lee Day, founder of Gypsabella; Morgan Bold, influencer and owner of The Positivity Platform; Beth Wainwright, founder of Boosted Tape; and Marni Lawler & Laurie Kee, owners of Blanca Sport.

Balancing motherhood alongside running a growing agency, Georgia and Jade continue to inspire through their commitment to supporting other women, using their platform to shine a light on female-led businesses and “create opportunities for connection, visibility and growth”.

 

Nic Byrne describes herself as an “accidental entrepreneur”, admitting there was never a clear roadmap into business. Instead, her journey has been shaped by instinct, community values and a belief that if something doesn’t exist, sometimes you have to build it yourself.

Growing up in Liverpool, Nic was surrounded not by corporate boardrooms but by strong examples of civic life. Trade union voices, community activism and women who organised, spoke up and made things happen were part of the landscape around her.

That sense of civic responsibility, and the belief that people can shape the places they live, has influenced everything she has gone on to build.

Before becoming a business owner, Nic worked in urban regeneration and economic development. More than two decades ago she co-founded Urban Calm, a wellness and beauty business that has grown into a recognised name in Liverpool. It operates across three sites and employs more than 30 people.

Nic later founded Mini Madams, the UK’s first children’s spa concept, creating a completely new type of experience for young girls centred on confidence, creativity and self-expression.

 

 

That insight led to the creation of Girls With Dreams Club, a purpose-led organisation focused on helping girls build confidence, develop self-belief and see new possibilities for their futures.

That belief has grown into Scouse Girl Social, a large-scale event where hundreds of young girls and their families come together alongside female role models from across the city. Held last Sunday, 28 February at BOXPARK, Scouse Girl Social 2.0 attracted more than 700 girls and their families in the second sell out event in as many years.

At the heart of Nic’s work is a simple belief: when girls see women from their own city building businesses, leading conversations and shaping culture, the distance between “people like me” and “people who do that” becomes much smaller.

In 2025, Nic was also appointed to the Imagine Liverpool board. Alongside 11 others, Nic is tasked with driving development within the city over the coming decade.

 

In her role as director of operations for HMS, a standalone division of Liverpool housing association Torus, Gail Farley oversees the work of more than 600 staff.

She worked for former National Lottery operator Camelot before moving into the construction sector via a temporary role with Lovell Construction, who were at that time doing some work for Liverpool Mutual Homes (now part of Torus).

Gail originally started work at HMS on a temporary basis as a customer liaison officer before moving up the chain to become head of customer experience and then into her current role in October 2025.

“I’m passionate about getting women into the construction industry and when I started at HMS we had one female trade in position, we now have 19. As a percentage of our trade workforce it is higher than the national average” said Gail.

Her work has led to a string of accolades including Top 100 Influencer – Women in Construction 2022, 2023 & 2024; Winner of Local Hero North West Award 2023; Winner of Ally award 2024 Ambassador for Nat Fed of Builders; and Community Hero Design & Build UK 2025.

Gail is an active participant in IWD, and this year brought together 150 women from the built environment at Everton’s Blue Base. The evening featured talks from Rugby League referee and former hooker for St Helens, Tara Jones MBE; MND campaigner Lindsey Burrow; and restaurant entrepreneur Nisha Katona.

 

 

Gail added: “None of this would have been possible without the support of HMS. One of the best aspects is bringing together people from across our group and valued partners to enjoy an evening to celebrate but also raise awareness or much needed funds for some of the amazing local charities.

“I try to use International Mens and Womens Days as the key calendar events. This week brought together 150 ladies for an evening of celebration with some inspirational guests who have done amazing things particularly in the face of adversity at different levels.

“I am just really lucky to have the support of HMS to be able to put together events such as this and just grateful that everyone spared the time to come and enjoy themselves while supporting a good cause.”