INSPIRATIONAL speakers will be sharing their insights at a York event celebrating women in innovation and business.

More than 120 delegates have signed up to attend the event at Malmaison on Wednesday, which will feature talks from figures in the North Yorkshire labour market, networking opportunities and workshops.

Guests speakers and an interactive session will cover relevant topics and challenges being faced in the workplace, looking at issues such as how we can create more opportunities for women as well as the menopause and the maternity leave pension minefield.

Speakers include Professor Kiran Trehan, pro-vice-chancellor for partnerships and enterprise, University of York; along with Cherie Federico, owner of Aesthetica Magazine and director of Aesthetica Short Film Festival; Dawn Patrick, from Yorkshire in Business; and Alistair McQueen, head of savings and retirement from Aviva.

Joining them will be Audrie Woodhouse, an expert career and development coach with The Opportunity Centre which is part of Aspire-igen - a social enterprise committed to improving lives through learning and work.

Meanwhile, Kathryn Bumby, of The Yorkshire Pasta Company, will be sharing her business story.

The event is a collaboration between PAPI (Product and Process Innovation) and Aspire2lead.

PAPI, based at the University of York, encourages innovation by awarding grants to small businesses to support the development of new products and services in the Leeds City Region and North Yorkshire.

They also offer fully-funded innovation workshops to small businesses in Leeds City Region, York and North Yorkshire.

Since PAPI began in 2016, more than £4m of grants have been awarded, supporting more than 250 businesses. This has led to the creation of more than 400 new products and more than 500 new jobs.

Aspire2Lead (A2L) is a new project working to reduce gender inequality in North Yorkshire.

Part-funded by the European Social Fund, the project aims to provide free support to women to boost their skills and confidence, achieve their potential and contribute to the growth of businesses in the York and North Yorkshire LEP Area.

It is led by specialists in leadership training, business management and careers guidance.

A2L offers group training and one-to-one support to employed and self-employed women to tackle specific barriers to progress and help them advance within the workforce.

The project also supports small and medium enterprises to boost their productivity by adapting policies and procedures to improve inclusivity and attract and retain high-quality employees in their workforce.

Schools, colleges and universities can also access influencer training which aims to encourage young women and girls to be ambitious and aim for senior leadership positions by tackling unconscious bias.

The event is from 9am to 1pm at Malmaison.

Sign-up at https://lnkd.in/dYkjNaFJ