Radio show hears inspiring stories from inspirational women

To mark International Women’s Day 2022 (Tuesday 8 March), regular Open 4 Business presenter Adrian Pryce on NLive Radio vacated the ‘hot seat’ for an evening to make way for special guest host, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law Karen Jones.

Karen picked the kicking tune – fellow countrywoman Dame Shirley Bassey singing I Am What I Am – and her guests also chose theirs, summing up how they feel as individual women in leadership roles.

The theme of International Women’s Day 2022 this year the theme is Break the Bias and Karen was joined by four women who occupy various roles across the town and county who spoke about their unique professional or academic backgrounds. They discussed the challenges they have faced, what inspires them and how, despite the huge strides made toward gender equality, there is still some distance to cover.

Colleen Rattigan, Chief of Staff at Northamptonshire Police spoke about her strategic role which is at the executive level in the police force and her journey into this senior role from a varied background, including public health and as an early years practitioner. She adds that Northamptonshire Police has done and is continuing to do a lot to tackle gender-related work challenges.

Following Colleen was Rufia Ashraf, Northampton’s first-ever female Mayor of Northampton a role historically usually held by men. She talked about working with communities and individuals as the ‘first citizen’ of Northampton and how meeting people is inspiring her. She added how being a woman brings different, new qualities that are helping to elevate the role.

Morcea Walker – who hails from Jamaica and came to the UK at the age of nine – spoke about how she dealt with racism when she first arrived and the marginal roles that black women had during that time. Morcea the takes listeners on her very personal journey through an interesting career, her passion for community and family work.

The final guest was the University’s very own Becky Bradshaw, Executive Director of Estates and Campus Services. She spoke about her role integrating the University into the community, how her job is not just about bricks and mortar and how the professional world is more accommodating and respectful of female professionals.

Listen again to the full chat here.