International Women’s Day 2022 | #BreakTheBias

The first National Woman’s Day was observed in the United States on 28 February 1909 and is also strongly linked to the women’s movements during the Russian Revolution in 1917. Now an international movement, International Women’s Day sees a number of missions to help forge a gender equal world.

In 2022, the movement seeks to #BreakTheBias. They say:

A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.
A world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
A world where difference is valued and celebrated.
Together we can forge women’s equality.
Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias.

Over the last couple of years we’ve written together with local business women who live and work in and around Worcestershire to share the positive sentiment of International Women’s Day. This year, we hear from Rachel Jenkins, MD at global lingerie brand Curvy Kate who has recently featured in LDC’s Top 50 Most Ambitious leaders, Phillippa Mills the first female Chief Constable at West Mercia Police, Liz Warner, DI in West Mercia Police and Chair of the women’s network called ‘WOW’, Women of West Mercia and Sharon Smith, CEO of the Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce.

Curvy Kate are a global lingerie brand known for spearheading inclusivity when it comes to body positivity. Curvy Kate have often promoted inclusivity vision through marketing campaigns. Their recent campaigns have included ‘Wear the bikini’ and ‘Self [ie] love’ but in addition to this in 2022 they have chosen to support a charity called The Girls Network | Unlimited futures for all young women.

Headed up by MD Rachel Jenkins, who lives in Worcestershire, the body positivity brand has gone from strength to strength over recent years. Rachel says:

“As a brand which has always championed diversity and inclusion, it is important that Curvy Kate continually challenge the bias. Through day-to-day business, we can learn what unconscious biases are and how they affect our company, educate staff on how to challenge their bias and we can always be better by bringing diversity into our hiring decisions.”

Speaking about The Girls Network, Rachel continues:

“This wonderful charity believe that no girls future should be limited by her background, gender or parental income. To break the bias I believe that the ground work starts with the next generation of women. Supporting women and girls to have self-belief that they can contribute to a world where differences should be celebrated is a strong foundation and springboard to a world of equality. I am proud that we are funding 5 of our team in a mentor programme where they will regularly meet, guide and support a mentee. In addition to fundraising for the charity we wanted to show action and representation and we have incredible women that work for the business so it felt right that we could support the charity in this way.”

Phillippa Mills, the new Chief Constable of West Mercia Police and first female in the role, says:

“I’m incredibly proud to be the first female Chief Constable of West Mercia Police. I take that responsibility seriously and have committed to using my senior position to effect change in the service. As such, I am delighted to have launched ‘Inclusive’ as our fifth organisational value. I’m committed to improving our workplace culture and am well aware that under-representation by women in the service, and the consequential male-dominated culture, continues to be a challenge. The new entry routes into policing are already making a welcome difference in increasing the number of women joining the profession and I will seek to build on this success in West Mercia.”

Liz Warner, Detective Inspector in West Mercia Police and Chair of the women’s network called ‘WOW’, Women of West Mercia writes passionately on the subject for us. Liz recently conducted an internet search on the phrase ‘female police UK’. The top results included stripper costumes, ‘The ‘hottest’ cop returning to work from a career break’, a force being criticised for using a ‘fit’ female officer in its recruitment campaign and a website called ‘Britain’s hottest female cops’. Liz says:

We want to re-write these results. We want the search to bring back results to reflect the brave, empathetic, heroic, hard working women that we are. We want to challenge perceptions of who we are and what we can achieve as women in West Mercia Police.”



We need to break the bias.

West Mercia Police’s women’s network, WoW, are using the theme of International Women’s Day to encourage colleagues to find out more about the diversity within the organisation, bringing aspects of the Black and Minority Ethnic network and the women’s network together in celebration. Inclusivity is an important aspect of the organisation. Liz continues:

By understanding and celebrating everyone’s ‘differences’ we can become an even better organisation to work for and serve our public to the best of our ability. Society is subject of bias around women in policing from a very young age, whether this be through TV programmes, books or the use of language. I still regularly hear children and adults refer to me as a ‘police man’ and there are still false assumptions that women can’t do certain roles within the police organisation.



There’s bias around what should and should not do as women outside of work as well. Who is the parent invited on to the class WhatsApp group or rung when a child is sick at school? A builder came to the house one day and asked to speak to the man of the house as we had an important decision to make. When going shopping for my children’s clothes I see t-shirts for boys with the slogan “Future Boss” and the equivalent for girls “I wake up this cute”. I as branded as a ‘Yummy Mummy’ when I had babies. Society has labelled me as someone I couldn’t relate with.

You don’t need to be in a position of power to make a difference. Each one of us has the power and choice to turn away and keep quiet or to stand up and make ourselves heard in order to ‘break the bias’.

In agreement, Sharon Smith, CEO of the Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, says: “In a world where all is not yet equal, we should continue to call out biased behaviour. Let’s use the strengths and differences in us ALL, and work together for a kinder world. I’m committed, are you?”

More information about the movement can be found here.

As seen online at the Worcester Observer, Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce and BusinessWorks Magazine Worcestershire and the Black Country.