THE Vale of Glamorgan Council held an event to celebrate International Women’s Day at Penarth Pier Pavilion.

The all-female event was fully funded by sponsors The Waterloo Foundation, ISG, and CJCH solicitors and supported by Big Fresh Catering.

International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. This year’s theme is #EmbraceEquity.

Hosted by the Council’s Leader, Cllr Lis Burnett, the event featured keynote speakers exploring the campaign theme ‘why equal opportunities are no longer enough’.

The speakers were Heather Stevens CBE, Chair of the Trustees of the Waterloo Foundation, Jane O’Leary, Sector Director for Education at ISG and Kellie Beirne, Director, Cardiff Capital Region City Deal.  

All of the women who spoke shared their experiences of being treated differently at work and overcoming prejudices to progress in their careers, and all spoke of their commitment to progressing equitable opportunities for women.

Opening the event Cllr Burnett said: “We can look back at how far we’ve come but we also need to look at how far we have to go.

“I’m very proud that we have a gender balanced Cabinet and Council. I am one of four female Leaders in Wales, which sounds very good but there are 22 local authorities.”

And on closing the event she added: “We couldn’t have come together today to celebrate without the generous support of our sponsors who fully funded the event and our speakers who have been inspirational. Thank you.”

There were also musical performances by students from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama whilst guests enjoyed an Afternoon Tea.