Laidlaw Foundation CEO speaks out on gender empowerment

The CEO of the Laidlaw Foundation has called for people to stop talking and start acting when it comes to advancing women in business.

Speaking at London Business School’s (LBS) Women in Business EQUALL Conference, Susanna Kempe said people had an opportunity to make a difference.

“Don't just tell everyone it's disgraceful, we have the choice to create change. Be aware of what your choices do and actually resolve to act.”

Her comments came just days before International Women’s Day on 8 March 2020.

The global celebration recognises the achievements of women across the political, social, cultural and economic spectrums, and calls for the realisation of women’s equality. This year’s theme was Each for Equal. 

Kempe said women should be prepared to walk away from employers who were talking about reducing their gender pay gap without a plan to actually realise it.

“Why be somewhere where you're not properly appreciated and miserable? Don't allow that organisation to carry on with their appalling practice by acquiescing to it,” she said.

The Laidlaw Foundation is leading the way in promoting social change in education and awarded LBS £3.69m last year to establish the Laidlaw Women’s Leadership Fund.

The fund aims to propel and support the School’s vision for equal representation across its degree programmes. It seeks to enable high-calibre women, who may not have otherwise be able to access a top-tier business education, to study at LBS and reach their full potential.

Each year, it awards full scholarships to four women pursuing their Masters in Management and seven women pursuing their MBA degrees at LBS. It also provides partial scholarships (50%) for five female MBA and four female EMBA candidates.

More information on the Laidlaw Women’s Leadership Fund and how to apply is available online.