International Women’s Day series inspires local students

By Hayley Turner-McIntyre, Project Manager – Education, ELBA

ELBA’s Education team kicked off March with our annual prefect interviews at Sarah Bonnell School (an all-girls secondary school in Stratford). Thirty-six volunteers came to interview 105 Year 10 students.

Students were asked a series of questions about their passions and visions of being a prefect, which decided whether the students would pass onto the final selection phase conducted by their teachers. It was a fantastic event with multiple returning volunteers, plus new ones too! A massive thank you to Aviva, Standard Chartered and Accenture amongst others who dedicated their time to a great cause.

The following two days were also jam-packed with inspiring events. On 4 March, students from Royal Docks Academy took a trip to 22 Bishopsgate for a day immersed in networking, soft-skill development and spectacular views at Horizon 22! They started the day networking with female professionals from various departments, engaged in a task of designing their own workplace – taking inspiration from components at 22 Bishopsgate – and even got to show off their architectural skills through Lego.

On 5 March, we once again collaborated with Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft LLP (CWT) to organise another Girls in Finance session for Little Ilford School. This session was all about encouraging young female students to pursue careers in the finance sector by exposing them to elementary finance lessons and introducing them to successful women who have chosen that career path.

This series of International Women’s Day events culminated on 12 March with Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer hosting an immensely inspiring and engaging day for Year 10 students from Sarah Bonnell. Over 20 passionate employees shared their unique educational and career journeys through a speed networking activity, offering invaluable advice on confidently navigating professional life as women. They also supported the students in groups to collaborate on creating a presentation pitch on innovative ways to educate and motivate young girls about diverse career paths and vital employability skills.

A huge thank you to every organisation that championed IWD this year, encouraging ambition and inspiring the next generation of young women to pursue bold and diverse futures in their education and careers!

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