Insights into: International Women’s Day

On the 12th of March, Women in Business collaborated with Women@KBS to celebrate International Women’s Day. 

As we commemorate the achievements and resilience of women worldwide, this year’s theme #InspireInclusion reminds us all of the ongoing battle to achieve diversity, equity and inclusion. Fostering a world where every woman’s voice is heard, regardless of her background, identity, or circumstance is an imperative that cannot be postponed anymore. 

In the spirit of celebrating this theme, WIB and Women@KBS hosted a panel event with three inspiring female speakers: Sparsh Sehgal, Fidan Javadova and Lea Rozencwajg. These empowering women shared with the audience valuable insights into diversity, inclusion and innovation, and they engaged in thought-provoking discussions based on their first-hand experiences at work. 

Let’s get to know the speakers! 

Sparsh Sehgal is a WIB alumna who graduated from King’s in 2020 after completing a degree in Business Management and Finance. Following her graduation, Sparsh joined Deutsche Bank as Investment Banking Analyst and then subsequently moved to Entain, an FTSE 100 sports betting and gambling company. While occupying these positions, Sehgal also founded Unlock Consultancy, an international, non-profit student consultancy group, which allows students to break into the field of consultancy by engaging with real-life businesses. The start-up places specific attention to businesses that are run by ethnic minorities and founders from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

Fidan Javadova obtained a bachelor degree in Economics and Management Studies and then completed a master at King’s in Accounting, Accountability and Financial Management. Being passionate about clean energy, Fidan started her career path by working as Business Development Associate at INKOEL LLC, a start-up dedicated to accelerating the carbon transition. A few years after leaving the company, Fidan went back to pursuing this interest by founding the company BeWorks Automation, of which she is the current CEO. BeWorks operates in the sector of EV charging solutions and green energy integration, and it aims to ease the transition to Net-Zero future. 

Lea Rozencwajg completed a master at King’s, but differently from the other speakers, she entered the business landscape with a non-business related background. Lea obtained a bachelor degree in Music and specialised through a master in Arts and Cultural Management. While she was still at King’s, Lea launched the company CocoRio, which combines her passion for the arts with that of business. CocoRio addresses the issue of the quality of childcare by allowing families to get in touch with creative professionals - musicians, dancers, actors - as inspiring mentors and nannies for their children. 

Sparsh, Fidan and Lea explored some of the challenges they faced as female founders in the business world, including the difficulties they encountered when trying to raise funds for their companies. The three of them explained that investors where sceptic about funding the companies, which led them to wonder if the situation would have been different had they had a deeper voice over the phone or a male name at the end of their emails. 

Although, this obstacle did not set back these admirable women, who pushed through and are now excelling in their respective fields, it reinforced in them a desire for inclusivity, diversity and equality. For this reason, as their companies grew over time, they have tried to prioritise diversity and make it an integrative part of their businesses’ cultures. 

Each of these speakers left with the audience a profound sense of inspiration, which was particularly touching as all of them gave real life examples of their experiences with inclusion. For example, Lea addressed how, coming from East Africa, she believed that London was the pinnacle of inclusivity, when in reality, by living here she realized that gender discriminations are just better hidden through subtle micro-aggressions. This resonated well with the audience, which included numerous international students. 

Listening to the experiences of these admirable inventors allowed the King’s community to celebrate Women’s Day in the best possible way!