Celebrating Women In Business This Women’s History Month

By Rosamund Muir / March 21st, 2024 / There are currently 0 comments

March is Women’s History Month, and to mark the occasion, we’re celebrating successful women in business at Rosamund Muir. From the small business owners who have launched fashion labels to those sitting at the top of global fashion brands, we want to take the opportunity to recognise all women and honour their achievements.

In this blog, we’re delving into the origins of Women’s History Month before celebrating some of our favourite inspiring females. Read on, and prepare to feel empowered!

An illustration of women of all different backgrounds coming together in women's history month

What is Women’s History Month?

An illustration of a collective of different women

Women’s History Month is observed annually in the UK, USA and Australia and recognises the achievements and contributions of women throughout history.

The origins of Women’s History Month are synonymous with International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8th every year.

International Women’s Day was first recognised in the early 1900s in the UK and Europe. It stemmed from Labour and Socialist movements campaigning for gender equality, better working conditions and suffrage rights.

In 1977, the United Nations officially recognised International Women’s Day, and March 8th was chosen as the day that historical calendars would have most accurately coincided with the modern-day Gregorian calendar.

Women’s History Month evolved from International Women’s Day. It was first recognised with a week-long celebration in the 1980s, which has since grown into a month-long event that champions women’s rights and celebrates their historical achievements.

When is Women’s History Month celebrated?

Women’s History Month is celebrated every year between the 1st and 31st of March, and in the UK, it encompasses both International Women’s Day and Mother’s Day, so it’s the perfect time to celebrate the achievements and contributions to history that these iconic women have made. It’s also a time to recognise that in some parts of the world, women still face ongoing challenges along the road to achieving gender equality and recognition.

Every year, Women’s History Month adopts a theme, which for 2024 is ‘Women who advocate for equality, diversity and inclusion’, according to the National Women’s History Alliance.

Women’s History Month is recognised in the UK with lectures and events celebrating women and their achievements.

Celebrating women this Women’s History Month

This Women’s History Month, we’re taking the time to highlight some women who have significantly impacted society, whether by making the world a more inclusive place for women or by supporting and spotlighting women in business.

Cynthia V Davis CBE

We felt it fitting to celebrate modern-day hero and Rosamund Muir’s long-time friend Cynthia V Davis. Her championing for equality and diversity in the workplace allows the future to look bright and equal for everyone wishing to work in the corporate sector, irrespective of their background.

Cynthia V Davis began her corporate career as a Senior Consultant at Ellis Fairbank. During her time there, she developed a deep understanding of the fundamental aspects a business needs to thrive, allowing her to progress substantially in her career. In 2006, she secured Best Buy Europe’s Senior Talent Acquisitions Consultant role before working for successful industry-leading organisations such as BT and Carphone Warehouse.

Working for these huge corporations drove Cynthia toward her passion for championing equality in the workplace. So, she began to work towards increasing visibility for minority groups within the corporate sector while ensuring that recruitment processes avoid discrimination.

Cynthia’s passion drove her to the beginnings of her entrepreneurial career in 2015, when she became CEO and Founder of the Diversifying Group.

The Diversifying Group’s mission is to ‘transform the world of work for a more accepting future’. The group’s success saw Cynthia expand the organisation to include Diversifying Jobs, a jobs board that helps diverse job seekers connect with recruitment agencies that take diversity and inclusion seriously.

The Diversifying Group and Diversifying Jobs combine recruitment marketing, consultancy, training and events to help organisations achieve more inclusive workplaces for a better, more accepting and inclusive future.

Cynthia V Davis’ passion for inclusivity has won her countless awards, including the National Diversity Awards’ Inspirational Business Women in STEM & Construction in 2023 and, more recently, Inspirational Woman of the Year at the BTA (Black Tech Achievement) Awards. She was also recently awarded a CBE in the King’s 2023 Birthday Honours List for services to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Continuing with these passions, Cynthia is a Board Trustee of the children’s charity Over The Wall and a passionate diversity and inclusion speaker.

Buy Women Built – Sahar Hashemi OBE and Barny Macaulay

Buy Women Built is a campaign which encourages consumers to buy from female-founded businesses. Headed up by successful entrepreneurs Sahar Hashemi OBE and Barny Macaulay, the initiative champions socially conscious, women-owned brands by showcasing who they are and highlighting why buying from them will lead us to a much stronger and fairer economy.

As Rosamund Muir is a member of Buy Women Built, we thought it fitting to showcase this amazing initiative.

Buy Women Built shines a light on women-built businesses and brings more choice to consumers looking to buy with purpose and for values that they identify with. The campaign was spearheaded by Sahar Hashemi OBE, who in 1995 co-founded Coffee Republic with her brother Bobby and went on to have a hugely successful business career.

According to a 2022 study by StartUps, an online initiative that supports UK businesses, male-owned businesses in the UK get seven times more funding than female-run businesses, so it’s no wonder that women are underrepresented in entrepreneurship. Figures like this drove Hashemi to set up Buy Women Built, and she turned to marketing guru Barny Macaulay to help her do so.

Although not everyone can invest and mentor women in business, they can buy from them, and the Buy Women Built platform showcases a diverse range of women-owned businesses across several sectors so consumers can find, connect and shop with them more easily. From luxury handbag brands, including Anya Hindmarch, to healthy food brands such as Re:Nourish, you’ll find a plethora of amazing female-founded brands that you might not even be aware of when you browse the brand directory.

Buy Women Built aims to improve the visibility of female-built businesses in the eyes of consumers, making them more accessible for a fairer economy.

Rosamund Muir

We couldn’t chat about Women’s History Month without a quote from our founder, Rosamund Muir.

Rosamund inspecting soles for her latest creations in the atelier

Since the brand’s inception, Rosamund Muir has been a champion of comfortable heels for real women on the go and a believer that comfort shouldn’t compromise style. With a slow-fashion ethos, Rosamund is driven to create high-quality footwear built responsibly and sustainably, with the future of our planet at heart:

“I have always absolutely loved heels, colour and textures. Launching my responsible footwear brand in March 2020 was a reaction to my love for shoes and also continuously being let down by uncomfortable heels. I wanted to create beautiful handcrafted heels for other heel lovers. The brand is not just about unique style but also a big declaration of commitment to the future of our planet. By handcrafting genuinely sustainable, responsible and eco-friendly shoes, at Rosamund Muir, we are not only doing our part to help to reduce the huge amount of pollution caused by the fashion industry but also inspiring other women to prioritise buying more responsibly and to really place massive importance on thinking more sustainability in their shopping habits. Hopefully creating a brighter future for generations to come.” – Rosamund Muir

Happy Women’s History Month and we hope you had a fabulous International Women’s Day from everyone at Rosamund Muir.

Shop stylish, sustainable footwear at Rosamund Muir

Find stunning footwear suitable for multiple occasions from a women-owned business when you browse our exceptional collection at Rosamund Muir. Choose from stylish boots, chic sandals ideal for summer dressing, and perfect pumps crafted from high-quality surplus leathers built to last a lifetime.