Celebrating Inspiring Women 2025
The world is changing. Women today have more opportunities in society. However, they still very often face inequality, and struggle for parity with men. The theme of International Women’s Day this year is #AccelerateAction, underlining this need for change.
Today, in 2025, more girls go to school than ever before. Nevertheless, a quarter of the way through the 21st century, more than 122 million girls worldwide are still denied an education because of their gender. Since Summer 2024, women in Afghanistan no longer have the right to speak outside the family home, and 1.5 million Afghan girls have deliberately been deprived of their right to any education. We are incredibly fortunate to be educated in the UK, so it is our responsibility to grab whatever opportunities we have with both hands. Education is a right, but it is also a gift, which should be cherished.
Roedean was founded by the Lawrence sisters to provide girls with an education at least as good as that available to boys, and this vision still underpins the School’s ethos. Despite the changes in society, young women need exposure to inspiring and successful female role-models to empower them and confirm their belief that they will make a difference in the world. Our students deserve to be encouraged and engaged, and empowered to use their voices to effect change.
To mark International Women’s Day 2025, Roedean is proud to hold its Festival Celebrating Inspiring Women on Friday 7 March. The School is delighted to welcome a diverse group of twenty speakers to this event, all women, who are addressing the students on topics ranging from Scandinavian crime writing and deep-sea palaeontology, to technology, fashion, and Mayan archaeology. To hear from speakers who are at the forefront of the fields is exciting, enlightening, and, most of all, empowering.
Dr Ross Barrand – Deputy Head: Co-Curriculum and Partnerships
Doyin Abiola-Tobun OR
“Navigating Uncertainty”
Doyin Abiola-Tobun is the CEO of the technology company, ARK. She is an OR from Nigeria, and she will speak about managing uncertainty, using her experiences from when she was at School to being an entrepreneur – she describes this as ‘a career path which requires embracing uncertainty to survive let alone thrive’.
Dr Eugenia Cheng OR
“What I’ve Learnt...”
Dr Eugenia Cheng has had an unusual career where she set off aiming to be a standard Maths professor, but ended up with a wide-ranging portfolio career as an educator, author, columnist, pianist, composer, artist, and more.
A few things have stayed constant throughout, including her love of Mathematics, her dedication to sharing her love of the subject with those who have been put off Maths, and her piano-playing.
In this presentation, she will share some things she has learnt on this winding journey which took her from House 4 to Chicago via Cambridge, Nice, and Sheffield, during which she has achieved some, but not all, of the things she dreamt of, and also some things far beyond anything she ever imagined.
Isioma Collins
“Girls
Just Aren’t Interested In...”
Isioma is a Londoner, who is a Boeing 787 pilot, and therefore one of the 5% of pilots in the UK who are women. If you think that percentage is low, imagine what the figure is for Black female pilots.
Training to be a pilot is a rigorous and challenging process, and also an expensive one – another factor is that even avaition initiatives which have women as their target audience tend to portray white women in pilot roles.
Isioma’s talk will cover the under-representation of female pilots in aviation, touching on attitudes towards women in aviation, journeying into the industry, and the need for change!
Dr Keri Collins
“Engineers Save Lives (and Do Other
Cool Stuff
Too)”
Dr Keri Collins is a mechanical engineer by training, working at the University of Plymouth as a lecturer and researcher. She holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, which investigated bio-inspired underwater propulsion through physical modelling. Her research work has been in the marine renewable energy sector, and she has several years’ experience as her department’s Admissions’ Tutor.
Her talk will demonstrate the valuable contribution that can be made through STEM, focussing on the ways in which engineers positively impact people’s lives, all while getting to do cool projects.
and Natalie Flynn
Mandy Flynn
“Shaping My Life”
Mandy Flynn is a sculptor, who is the owner of Simply Rewired. She used recycled wire from thatched roofs to make stunning sculptures of animals.
This talk will be an introduction to her life and career as a sculptor, from her early years and its influences through to running a profitable business, selling her sculptures and being happy.
Patricia Fox
“Nothing
Matches
and Everything Goes”
Patricia is a style advocate and fashion ambassador. She writes, ‘My personality has always been strong, confident, fearless. My fashion/style has evolved over the years and is a great conversation starter. I love to interact with people who approach me on the street usually to give a compliment or to ask a question about my dress.
We learn so much from each other and I am flattered. Being “out there” is fun! Growing up with a Mother who acted out her “fashion icon of the moment” fantasies by dressing up and emulating them was strange, amusing and magical.
My wardrobe collection started in an opium den – like vintage clothing store that was across the street from where I was living on the Upper Eastside of Manhattan. I still wear some of those pieces. I am a colourful person living in a beige world – creative, whimsical, feeling confident. Become the creator of your own destiny.’
Her talk will be an interactive conversation – the students are invited to bring a fashion accessory which they dislike, or don’t know what to do with, or absolutely love! They will hopefully be inspired to develop their own personal style, and take risks and embrace their own individuality.
Fashion Ambassador
Elizabeth Graham Professor
“Maya Archaeology –What Good Is It?”
Elizabeth Graham is Professor Emeritus at UCL Institute of Archaeology, London. She has directed excavations at Maya sites in Belize, a former British Crown Colony, for over 50 years. Coverage extends from early trade networks (800 B.C. to about A.D. 400) to the powerful dynasties and cities of the 7th to 10th centuries, through dynastic collapse to a landscape of small but powerful cities and a rise in trade (A.D. 900 to 1500) to the Spanish (1536) and then British (ca. 1670) colonisation, to the present.
The Maya population today numbers about 10 million. There are Maya practices which have relevance for us today: high plant/low meat diets (no cows, sheep, goats, wheat, or oats!); green cities; and the long-term importance of urban rubbish (that is, what happens to what we throw away and leave behind). The talk will also touch on the Maya calendar and pyramids.
Dr Anne Grydehøj
“Women in Scandinavian Crime Literature”
Dr Anne Grydehøj is a Lecturer in Danish at University College London, where she teaches language, linguistics, translation, and literature within the Scandinavian Studies programme. Originally from Denmark, she has over two decades of experience teaching Danish language and culture, both in Denmark and the UK. Her research explores the intersection of literature and linguistics, with a focus on identity and the representation of minority groups, particularly through the lens of crime fiction.
In this talk, Dr Grydehøj will delve into the powerful world of Scandinavian crime fiction, where strong-headed female detectives and outcasts challenge authority, defy expectations and expose the cracks in seemingly progressive societies. What makes a female character truly strong? Are they role models, victims, fighters – or something more complex? This session will explore how these stories reflect and critique Nordic ideals of gender equality, using female characters to question power, justice, and social structures.
Scandinavian Literature Crime Drama The Arts
Claire Hawksbridge OR
“From Folly to Fulfilment”
Starting out in life looking for love, meaning, and purpose in all the wrong places, the negative had to transform into positive for Claire to survive. Healing her addictions came about from using her creative skills, including in the world of 3D animation, engaging her compassion for mental health issues as an Integrative Arts Psychotherapist, and building on her experience of death and lasting love to hold loving and engaging funeral and wedding services as a Celebrant.
Claire hopes to provide an insight into the various different worlds of work she has inhabited.
Also, from living in a caravan at the start of the Glastonbury Festival, to sculpting in a factory in Deptford, to working with refugees in the Caucasus, Claire draws on her experiences to illustrate what an adventure life can be once you move from destructive negativity to healthy, honest, and caring fulfilment.
Alis Huws
“Women in Classical Music”
Former Official Royal Harpist, Alis Huws is a freelance soloist, orchestral, and chamber musician. She regularly gives recitals across the UK and internationally, having toured to Japan, Europe, the US, Hong Kong, and the Middle East. Named on Classic FM’s 30 under 30 Rising Stars list for 2024, Alis is an exclusive Decca Classics recording artist, and her first EP will be released later this year.
Last year, Alis was privileged to perform at His Majesty King Charles III’s Coronation at Westminster Abbey. She performed Sir Karl Jenkins’ arrangement of Tros y Garreg (Crossing the Stone) for solo harp and strings, as well as being a part of the prestigious Coronation Orchestra, formed specially for the occasion.
Alis will discuss the place of women in classical music, and how certain instruments have a connection with women and others do not. She will also play as part of her presentation.
Music Harpist Women in Music
Adiba Ighodaro OR
“Growing a Career in Private Equity Investing”
Mrs Adiba (Anyaoku) Ighodaro was a founding member and partner of the international private equity firm, Actis, where, over a 30-year career she established and ran both the firm’s West Africa investment office in Lagos and, more recently, its Americas office for investor development in New York. She managed and raised capital for investing across key sectors in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Adiba now focuses on supporting public and private sector growth and investment activities across borders, through senior advisor, investment committee, and independent non-executive board roles in the UK and Africa.
As an advocate for inclusion and diversity, Adiba established and was the founding chair of the Actis Female Network. In 2019, Private Equity Africa gave Adiba a special recognition award as ‘one of the top women deal makers and fundraisers in the industry, recognising leadership over the past decade and positive impact on women’.
Adiba began her career in Law. She holds a LLB (King’s College, London), a C Dip Accounting & Finance (ACCA), and is a member of both the Nigerian Bar Association and the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn, UK.
Lisa Leaf
“You
Can Be a World Changer –Now!”
From hiding in cupboards to avoid Chapel at school, to pastor’s wife, Lisa has been on quite a journey of faith, but always knew that she wanted to make the world a better place.
This session will be interactive and engaging, covering big topics such as justice and global poverty; but what can we actually do?
Visiting Malawi in 2016, Lisa learnt that only 6% of girls graduate secondary school; as a mum of 3 this wake-up call forced the question, ‘what are you going to do about it?’ Returning in 2019, Lisa met teenage girls whose courage, resilience, and determination continue to inspire her to advocate for those living in global poverty.
Lisa works for Compassion UK, an international child development organisation serving 2.3 million children living in global poverty in 29 countries. An engaging communicator and passionate about justice, Lisa is excited to encourage everyone that we can be world changers, now!
and Mitchelle Dsouza Alison Marino
“Homelessness – What Does It Mean for Young People, and What Can We Do About It?”
Homelessness is a national crisis. We will look at the size of this problem for young people and the particular challenges they face. Alison manages the overall operations and resources of Sussex Nightstop, working closely with the Board of Trustees on the development of our strategic plan. Her role includes working with local partners, fundraising, the development of policy and procedures, and the management of our staff team to create a service that is safe, inclusive, and has the maximum benefit for those who need it and our volunteers who provide it.
Her previous experience led her to join Sussex Nightstop with a clear understanding of the power of volunteers to be a force for good, to bring about social change, and crucially to support, help, and reach out to their neighbours with kindness. You’ll hear about how our local charity, Sussex Nightstop, helps young people in this situation, and from there we’ll consider what difference we can all make in ending homelessness on an International Women’s Day which is asking us to #AccelerateAction.
Honour Mission
“March of the Mermaids”
Honour Mission is the ‘Figurehead’ for the official UK gathering of all mer-folk, including sea creatures, sea monsters, and seafaring folk.
Based in Brighton, they raise awareness for marine and beach conservation, and also therapeutic ocean-related charities.
Dr Rebecca Mitchell
“The
Art of Spinning Plates: Self-Belief, Adversity, and Creative Growth”
Dr Rebecca Mitchell is an affiliated lecturer in the departments of French and Linguistics at the University of Cambridge, specialising in African sociolinguistics. She is also a qualified translator and interpreter. She has travelled to 45 countries and studied 24 languages, launched the first National Linguistics Day in 2024, and constantly strives to acquire and share new and varied knowledge and skills.
Since 2010, she has also worked as a professional dancer in the British Afghan and Iranian communities, and she is the only Afghan dance specialist in the country. Her big break as a dancer came about largely through her own selfbelief; additionally, she is proof that a woman can be taken seriously both as an academic and as a creative in a male-dominated arts scene. In recent years Rebecca has had to confront some major personal setbacks, which she faced up to by turning them into opportunities for learning, development, and creative renewal.
Her talk will focus on harnessing the power of self-belief, the importance of lifelong learning and intellectual curiosity, and how strength, creativity and growth can result from even the most difficult situations.
Helen Randall
“Women in Tech: Busting the Myths”
Helen has spent 30 years working in the software industry and is currently Director of Research and Development at Netwrix, providing data security and governance solutions to enterprise clients around the globe. She also uses her experience to support and champion other women in the tech industry.
Helen initially studied for a computing degree, quite by accident, at Imperial College London, and graduated with a Masters in Computing with Artificial Intelligence. Since then, she has worked in various sectors, from telecoms, to investment banking, pensions, tax, and now data security. Using her technical skills and experience, she is able to build solutions in order to solve complex business problems. Her career has enabled her to travel the world and work with people on many continents and from different cultures.
Throughout her career, Helen has overcome many barriers, in what has always been, and still is, a male-dominated industry. She has some interesting tales to tell and a lot of myths and stereotypes to bust regarding the world of technology and software. She will also introduce you to some of the ‘heroes’ whom she has met along the way.
Saavedra-Pellitero Dr Mariem
“A Time-Travelling Journey Through Our Changing Polar Oceans”
Mariem Saavedra-Pellitero is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Portsmouth. She is a micropalaentologist, specialised in coccolithophores (tiny marine haptophyte algae) and calcareous nannoplankton (their fossil remains), which she uses to reconstruct palaeoceanographic changes at different timescales, with actual links to the climate of the past and to plankton ecology.
Mariem decided that she wanted to become a palaeontologist when she was 4 years old, and later on in life she found herself actually being one (a micro one!). She graduated and received a PhD at the University of Salamanca (Spain).
She has been involved in world-class international programmes, such as Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, and the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), which allowed her to take part in two-month oceanographic cruises to the Southern Ocean onboard the legendary Research Vessel JOIDES Resolution.
Mariem is also interested in art, outreach, and EDI initiatives. In 2023, she received the Todd and Low Award from The Micropaleontological Society for her efforts to foster a positive EDI culture within her workplace environment.
Hannah Shillito
“Destroy the Patriarchy Not the Planet – an Insight into what it means to be a Woman Working in the Arts and Male-Dominated Arenas Today”
Ms Shillito is a member of staff at Roedean, teaching English. She will be looking into what it means to be a woman working as a visual artist today, and how women artists have often been sidelined or eradicated throughout art history.
Her aim is to empower and inspire all young women and girls to be bold and get what they deserve in male-dominated environments, using the tagline of one of her best-selling pieces of art, ‘Destroy the Patriarchy Not the Planet’.
Lucy-May Tarafder
“105 Years and Counting –Celebrating Women’s Progress in Law”
Remarkably, it is only just over a century since women were actually permitted to practise law; indeed, a Court of Appeal ruling in 1914 in the case of Bebb v The Law Society found that the entire sex of women failed to fall within the definition of “persons”, which was then used to prevent women from qualifying as solicitors! However, the tenacity of pioneering women lawyers in the early twentieth century opened the profession to all and this talk will celebrate them, as well as current leading female lawyers.
Lucy-May Tarafder is Senior Legal Counsel for Sussex University. After graduating with a first class degree in Law with Politics from the University of Birmingham, Lucy-May has had an atypical career. She initially pursued a corporate career, then gained a position as a Researcher at the Law Commission working on legal reform. She then qualified as a solicitor and specialised in Real Estate in a large City law firm. After moving to Sussex, she taught A Levels for a short period while her twins were young before joining a local law firm. Six years ago, wanting a broader legal focus, she moved “in-house” to the University of Sussex and now advises on a diverse range of legal issues, as well as lecturing on property law.
Dr Natalie Tocci
“Navigating Contradiction: Europe in an Open-Closed World ”
We used to live in an open world, where interdependence was viewed as a source of peace and prosperity, progress was linear, economics dominated over geopolitics, and democracy and capitalism were considered two sides of the same coin. Since the turn of the century, Europe and the world have undergone successive stages of closure.
The security crisis triggered by 9/11, the economic crisis during the years of the great recession, the crisis of democracy with its different manifestations, from Brexit to the election of Donald Trump, the pandemic crisis, and finally the crisis caused by wars in Europe and the Middle East. But this does not mean that Europe now lives in a closed world, but rather in one in which openness and closure coexist. Against this backdrop, Europe must learn to navigate these contradictions by protecting its security, economy and democracy, while remaining engaged with the wider world.
Nathalie Tocci is Director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali, and she has held research positions at the Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels, and the Transatlantic Academy, Washington. Her research interests include European integration and European foreign policy, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, transatlantic relations, multilateralism, conflict resolution, energy, climate and defence.
Programme
Session Time Speakers
Helen Randall
Honour Mission
1 08:45 – 09:45
2 10:00 – 11:00
Break 11:00 – 11:30
3 11:30 – 12:30
Lunch 12:30 – 13:30
4 13:45 – 14:45
5 15:00 – 16:00
Lucy-May Tarafder
Hannah Shillito
Dr Natalie Tocci
Adiba Ighodaro
Lisa Leaf
Claire Hawksbridge OR
Doyin Abiola-Tobun
Prof Elizabeth Graham
Mandy Flynn
Dr Mariem Saavedra-Pellitero
Alison Marino
Dr Anne Grydehøj
Alis Huws
Isioma Collins
Dr Eugenia Cheng
Dr Rebecca Mitchell
Dr Keri Collins
Patricia Fox
Topic
Women in Tech: Busting the Myths
March of the Mermaids
105 Years and Counting – Celebrating Women’s Progress in Law
Destroy the Patriarchy Not the Planet – an Insight into what it means to be a Woman
Working in the Arts and Male-Dominated Arenas Today
Navigating Contradiction: Europe in an Open-Closed World
Growing a Career in Private Equity Investing
You Can Be a World Changer – Now!
From Folly to Fulfilment
Navigating Uncertainty
Maya Archaeology – What Good Is It?
Shaping My Life
A Time-Travelling Journey Through Our Changing Polar Oceans
Homelessness – What Does It Mean for Young People, and What Can We Do About It?
Women in Scandinavian Crime Literature
Women in Classical Music
Girls Just Aren’t Interested In...
What I’ve Learnt...
The Art of Spinning Plates: Self-Belief, Adversity, and Creative Growth
Engineers Save Lives (and Do Other Cool Stuff Too)
Nothing Matches and Everything Goes
Notes
Roedean School, Roedean Way, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 5RQ +44(0)1273 667500 roedean.co.uk Charity No.: 307063