This International Women’s Day, the UN’s theme is ‘Invest in women: Accelerate progress.’ At STR, we naturally invest in our employees to ensure they reach their full potential and, ultimately, enhance, develop and progress our business, regardless of gender. However, on a much larger scale, as the world continues to face huge challenges, from war and poverty to disease and climate change, these crises adversely and disproportionally affect women and girls. To close this gap, it’s estimated that an additional $360 billion is needed per year to achieve gender equality.
Today, we’re taking a look at some of the incredible women who have trailblazed through their sectors, paving the way for others.
Life Science
Emma Walmsley is a prominent business woman well-known for her role as the CEO of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies with an annual turnover of around £30 billion.
Emma Walmsley was born on December 1, 1969, in Cumbria, England. She studied at Christ Church College, Oxford, where she graduated with a degree in classics and modern languages.
Coming from L’Oreal, where she held numerous marketing and management positions for over 17 years, Ms Walmsley joined GlaxoSmithKline in 2010, holding various positions within the company, including Senior Vice President of the Consumer Healthcare Europe division and President of Consumer Healthcare. In 2017, she became the CEO of GSK, succeeding Andrew Witty and becoming the first woman to lead the pharmaceutical giant, as well as the first woman in history to be named CEO of a top 10 pharmaceutical company.
Under her leadership, GSK has undergone significant restructuring, focusing on strengthening its pharmaceuticals business while divesting from other areas such as its consumer healthcare unit. After an initially luke-warm reception from investors, Ms Walmsley has been noted for her strategic vision and efforts to streamline operations to drive growth and innovation within the company, as well as increase diversity and bring in new ideas to the highest levels of leadership.
Beyond her corporate role, Walmsley is recognised as a leading figure in the global pharmaceutical industry and has been involved in various initiatives aimed at advancing healthcare and pharmaceutical innovation.
In a LinkedIn post from this International women’s Day, Ms Walmsley states, “I try not to define my work by my gender, but I absolutely recognise my responsibility to highlight what’s possible and what needs to change – like the gaps when it comes to health outcomes for women.”
Follow this link to read her incredibly important and insightful post around this year’s theme in full.
Marine
Dame Ellen MacArthur was born in Derbyshire in 1976. She became interested in sailing at an early age, inspired by the classic Swallows and Amazons book series. She was just 19 when she sailed single-handed around Britain in her first yacht ‘Iduna’ in 1995. Two years later, she fitted out her 21ft yacht whilst living in a boatyard in France and entered the solo Atlantic race, finishing in 17th. A year later she was named ‘Yachtsman of the Year’ in the UK.
She really came to the eye of the general public in 2001 when she finished 2nd in the solo round-the-world race in the yacht ‘Kingfisher’. She was the youngest ever competitor to complete the voyage at the age of 24, and was awarded the MBE for services to sport later that year.
In 2003, she captained a round-the-world record attempt on the catamaran ‘Kingfisher 2’ and the following year she began her world record attempts in a specially designed trimaran. She set sail in November 2004 to break the record for sailing solo non-stop around the world. During the voyage, she set records for the fastest solo sail to the equator, past the Cape of Good Hope, past Cape Horn and back to the equator again. She crossed the finishing line on 7 February 2005, beating the previous record by 1 day, 8 hours, 35 minutes, 49 seconds. Her time of 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds is the world record for the 27,354 nautical miles (50,660 km) covered.
On her return to England she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Not only is she the youngest person ever to receive this honour, it was bestowed immediately on her return to UK shores, and therefore has been compared to Francis Drake’s return to England in 1560, such is the magnitude of this honour . She was also granted the honourary rank of Lieutenant Commander, Royal Naval Reserve and appointed a Knight of the French Legion of Honour in March 2008.
Ever-humble, Dame Ellen MacArthur is quoted as saying: “When I was out there I was never ever alone, there was always a team of people behind me, in mind if not in body.”
Dame Ellan MacArthur’s other records include:
- 2000 – Fastest solo single-handed Atlantic east-to-west crossing by a woman (monohull / any class)
- 2000/1 – Single-handed, non-stop, monohull circumnavigation by a woman
- 2004 – World record for a transatlantic crossing by women (crewed and solo)
In 2003, MacArthur set up the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, a registered charity, for recovering cancer and leukaemia patients aged 8-24, and in 2011 she set up the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which promotes the circular economy by developing and promoting the concept by working with business, policy makers and academics.
Automotive
Leah Curry is a prominent figure in the automotive industry. She is known for her leadership roles, particularly within Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana (TMMI). Leah Curry served as the president of TMMI, where she led operations and oversaw the production of Toyota vehicles.
Under her leadership, TMMI became one of Toyota’s largest manufacturing plants globally. Curry has been recognized for her contributions to the industry, including being named one of Automotive News’ 100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry.
Additionally, Curry has been an advocate for diversity and inclusion within the automotive sector, actively working to promote opportunities for women and minorities in manufacturing and leadership positions.
Leah Curry’s career trajectory and achievements highlight her significant impact on the automotive industry, particularly in manufacturing and leadership roles. In 2022, she was inducted into the Women in Manufacturing Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame was created in 2019 by the Women in Manufacturing Association (WiM) to recognize women who have made renowned contributions to the manufacturing industry with their efforts to support, promote and inspire women in manufacturing.
A big thank you
So, thank you ladies, for showing us all what’s possible and demonstrating the incredible strength, intelligence, determination and resilience of women. Just imagine what we could achieve and could already have achieved with that extra $360 billion…
