Feature
T
here’s never been an event like this in the
UK,” Christie Day tells EN. “There are a
lot of conferences and awards but not a large-
scale expo.”
Day is the group event director for the
Women Business Expo, a new launch by
Hub Exhibitions coming to Farnborough
International in October 2019. As the
name might suggest, the event aims to give
guidance, inspiration and business services to
women at any stage of their career or business
journey.
“We saw that there was all this wasted
talent in Hampshire and the south of
England,” continues Day. “Women who were
maybe mothers and wanted to continue their
career but didn’t want to do the rat race and
go back into central London.
“They needed a work-life balance. There
were educated, experienced, talented women
who weren’t working to their full potential
and not enough things that were available
locally, so that was where the idea came
from.”
The show targets four different groups
of women in business: women looking for
a career change who want to work for an
employer; women looking to start a business
or invest in a franchise; women who already
have a business who want advice and guidance
for growing it and making it more efficient;
and mothers returning to work after having
children.
“We want to identify a problem,
then have an action plan and
solution at the event”
Right
place,
right
time
The Women in
Business Expo
will be launching
later this year to
provide career
opportunities
and guidance to
women, EN finds
out more
EN asks if the event is equally open to both
men and women.
“Everyone asks me this,” she laughs. “The
event is open to all. It’s a business event
for women, however a lot of employers are
coming to the event to be educated on how to
diversify their workforce or to be educated on
the gender pay gap. If people don’t know the
challenges and the issues that women face in
the workplace then they won’t know how to
change them.
“Also, for the franchise investment it’s
targeting couples because a lot of women who
are in a marriage or partnership wouldn’t tend
to make an investment without discussing it
with their partner.”
The event focuses largely on three key
areas: women in tech, women in finance and
women in franchise.
“Why do only 17 percent of women work in
the tech space?” adds Day. “Why is the finance
industry, which is one of the most lucrative
industries, not an advert for women?
“We’ve got brands like Vodafone, who are
exhibiting to recruit female talent and also to
sell their products and services to business
owners and female directors.
“We’ve got franchisers who are looking to
meet franchisees. And with a lot of the banks
and the financial giants they’re looking to sell
services like loans and credit cards and also to
recruit female talent.”
The timing and location of the event both
play a key role. The location of Farnborough
gives the organisers access to the southwest
demographic they want to target as well as
the tech businesses that have migrated out of
London to places like Reading, Bracknell and
Hampshire seeking cheaper office space.
The timing coincides with the aftermath of
the ‘Me Too’ movement, which drew global
attention to gender inequality, and also the
fact that large businesses now have to declare
their gender pay gap as part of a UN pledge to
close it by 2030.
But, says Day, the real focus of the event is
finding the perfect career match for women
who attend, whatever that may be.
“We spend more time at work than with
our families,” she concludes. “So it has to be
something that you love and are passionate
about.” EN
May — 41