12:50pm Friday 12th March 2010
By Emily Roberts
INSPIRATION and self-confidence were hot topics at a celebratory event to mark International Women’s Day.
Women from across the borough gathered at Basingstoke College of Technology (BCOT) to showcase their businesses and products.
At the same time thousands of other ladies all over the world took part in events to recognise the special day.
Organiser Annie Noble, director of Education Solutions Direct, a specialist education consultancy, said: “International Women’s Day is a global day and it’s been 99 years since the first celebratory event took place.
“I’m trying to bring people from different cultures together. There’s still a glass ceiling for a lot of women. You can get so far in an organisation but you can’t go any further.
“Women are often exploited with low wages and are passed over time and again for promotion. We have to show that women can be successful and they can achieve and should be given the same opportunities as men.”
Students from BCOT held up placards with questions such as ‘why are women still on lower wages than men?’ and ‘why do two women die everyday from domestic violence?’ Inspirational speaker Arifa Ahmad addressed the problems faced by the women of Islam.
She said: “There are so many misconceptions about why women wear headscarves and people believe women who wear them are oppressed and are forced to cover their head. We are not made to cover our heads, we do it because we want to.”
Visitors took part in taster salsa dancing lessons with LetSalsa or were pampered by staff from Bodywise Health and Beauty.
People management expert Lynda Cant of Lead at Work opened the event and told the audience how she had worked her way up in a company from a typist to board director, before launching her own business helping other women to fulfil their potential.
She said: “I want to help women find their inner confidence. Many women have been programmed to believe things which aren’t true. If someone says something negative it sticks. We all need to stick together and help each other.”
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