Celebrated in March each year, International Women’s Day seems all too fleeting. So, this year LBN will spend the next few weeks focusing on just some of the countless inspirational and hard-working women in Liverpool city region.

International Women’s Day (IWD) is now a firm fixture in the business calendar, marking the merits and the milestones of remarkable women across the globe.

Despite progress for women in society and in business the work is far from done. Women remain far from “equal”. According to the World Economic Forum, it will take until 2158 – or another five generations, before full gender parity is achieved and equal opportunities for women realised.

It was back in 1909 when the Socialist Party of America celebrated the first National Woman’s Day, after some 15,000 women marched the streets of New York in protest against poor working conditions and low pay.

The following year, German women’s rights advocate Clara Zetkin, proposed the idea of a global International Women’s Day. This became a reality with the first IWD taking place in 1911.

The theme for IWD 2025 is ‘For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment’ – and a campaign being launched by LBN this Friday aims to reflect just that.

A 2024 report from the Economic Observer highlights that whilst women account for nearly half of adults in employment in the UK (49%), only 10 of the 100 chief executive officers listed in the FTSE 100 are female.

The same report cites prejudice, pipeline, care giving and confidence as possible causes for the gross underrepresentation of women in top roles.

Owner and managing director at LBN, Jennie Lewis, says: “I never really thought myself as a feminist. For me the word had developed negative connotations – women burning their bras, pointlessly picking fights with men and whining about the wage gap.

“In fact, what I have realised over the years is that I am a feminist in its truest sense. I am a supporter of women. I am an admirer of women. And I am an ally to women. Those women who have come before me, those women on the path alongside me, and those women who will follow in our footsteps.

“Women must continue to use their voice, their position and make a unique contribution so that those women setting a first foot on the ladder might just climb all the way up the to the top – the FTSE 100 – and long before 2158.”

Along with our strategic partners, LBN has compiled The Friday Fifteen – a list of women working and operating in the Liverpool City Region who are making a demonstrable difference. They are all extraordinary in their own way and are succeeding across multiple sectors.

READ MORE: New co-working space opens in Baltic Triangle

READ MORE: £1.5m Enterprise Arcade is close to completion

Jennie adds: “The Friday Fifteen has been designed to reflect this year’s IWD campaign by showcasing ALL women from all walks of life and at different stages in their career.

“It aims to shine a spotlight on those women going quietly under the radar but creating a lasting impact. So often women can be made to feel like a cog in the machine, but without those women many machines would grind to a halt.

“Every woman on the list possesses the power or potential to positively shape the landscape for future generations of women in business. It’s something I love to see, and I hope our readers do too.”

We will feature three women in a special Friday feature for the next five weeks.