International Women’s Day 2026: Women in Business Share What “Give to Gain” Means to Them
As the world marks International Women’s Day, this year’s theme ‘Give to Gain’ shines a spotlight on the power of generosity, collaboration and mentorship in driving success. Across industries, women leaders, founders and experts are proving that sharing knowledge, supporting others and building strong communities doesn’t just uplift those around them, it can also create new opportunities, stronger networks and lasting impact.
#GiveToGain For International Women’s Day
To highlight the importance of this message, we recently chatted to 20 female professionals across different industry sectors to ask them, what ‘Give to Gain’ means to them and how the principle has shaped their careers.
“Women are still under-represented in funding, mentorship and senior decision-making spaces. Seeking support doesn’t make you less capable, it makes you more effective. Joining a female founder accelerator and working with a mentor was a turning point for me. It provided structure, accountability and perspective at a time when I needed it most. If we want more women shaping change, we need to normalise and expand access to that kind of support.”
Zoe Williams, founder of Aegle’s.
“For me, “Give to Gain” has meant prioritising long-term value over immediate revenue. When I founded Meet My Paws, I made a deliberate decision to keep the platform inclusive and free to use. I wanted accessibility and genuine connection to come first. Rather than focusing on monetisation from day one, I’ve invested time in building trust, encouraging introductions, and shaping a community culture centred on kindness and belonging. There will be monetisation, through aligned partnerships and advertisers, but I believe growth and integrity need to come before extraction. Giving first has meant creating something people feel comfortable joining and recommending, which is ultimately what sustainable business depends on.
Earlier in my career I often felt pressure to compete or move quickly. What I’ve learned is that collaboration and generosity build stronger foundations. Sharing insight, making introductions, and supporting others has consistently expanded my network and sharpened my thinking. “Give to Gain” doesn’t mean self-sacrifice; it means understanding that contribution compounds. The gain may not always be immediate financially, but it shows up in trust, reach and resilience, and that’s what allows real growth to follow.”
Martine Davis, founder of Meet My Paws.
Give to Gain: The Return You Don’t Measure
“Long before I described myself as a trusted strategic partner to high-calibre founders and institutions, I was leading teams inside large corporations and scaling SMEs, accountable for strategy, commercial growth, operational performance, and the numbers that determine whether a business truly moves forward.
When I reflect on those years, what stands out most is not a revenue milestone or expansion announcement, but the leadership moments unfolding alongside them — the brand manager learning to connect creative decisions to margin, the operations lead stepping into full accountability for KPIs, the emerging executive beginning to see how pricing, positioning, and people strategy interlock.
I invested deeply in developing capability because I understood that sustainable growth is built on judgement, not just ambition. Strengthening someone’s strategic thinking, refining their commercial lens, teaching them how to read performance data as insight rather than pressure; these were never peripheral contributions. They were performance drivers.
The return was measurable. Better decisions. Cleaner execution. Stronger teams. More resilient growth.
When I built my own advisory practice as a Strategic Growth Advisor and Business Mentor, it felt less like a reinvention and more like a continuation of the work I had always valued most: operating at the intersection of vision and implementation, ensuring that strategy translates into structure, and ambition into tangible results.
To me, “Give to Gain” is not symbolic. It is systemic. When leaders share expertise, open networks, exchange hard-earned commercial lessons, and collaborate on substantive business challenges, the entire ecosystem strengthens. Standards rise. Capability compounds. Outcomes improve.
In my world, clarity is not a concept; it is the difference between underpricing and owning your value, between reactive hiring and building a deliberate team, between growth that strains a business and growth that strengthens it. When experience is shared honestly and applied rigorously, it creates leaders who move with greater confidence, and that confidence has measurable impact.”
Arianna G.M. Cerrito, Sustainable Business Growth Expert, Board Advisor, and the founder of StartUpAndRise.
“For me, “Give to Gain” isn’t a slogan – it’s how I’ve built my business. ‘Just Starting Out’ was created to reduce first-year failure for new entrepreneurs. From the beginning, I made a conscious decision to give before I gained: sharing insights openly, promoting partners generously, and connecting founders even when there was no immediate commercial benefit. Ironically, that decision accelerated everything.
By championing others, we built trust long before launch. Our newsletter community has grown to over 1,200 subscribers because people feel supported, not sold to. Partnerships formed because we led with value rather than negotiation. Mentorship has also shaped my journey. Advice from experienced founders helped me avoid costly mistakes, and in return, I now support those at the very start of theirs. That exchange of lived experience creates momentum for everyone involved.
I believe collaboration over competition is essential for women in business. We’re often encouraged to guard ideas, yet sharing knowledge multiplies opportunity. When one woman gains confidence, visibility or revenue, it creates permission for others to do the same. In today’s economic climate, “Give to Gain” means building ecosystems. It means recommending others without fear and investing in community, knowing that long-term success is rarely built alone. The businesses that thrive aren’t the ones that hoard value, they’re the ones that circulate it.”
Abi Hill, founder and CEO of Just Starting Out.
“Give to gain has got me thinking about the fantastic women who gave me their time over the years. From school, to my early career, I have had some incredible role models that gave me their time, encouragement and mentorship in a way that has shaped me today. At school, I had teachers who recognised and encouraged my creativity, which helped me develop the confidence to think differently. Later, working in the corporate world across startups and global brands, mentors helped sharpen my commercial thinking and understanding of business. Since starting my own companies, I’ve also worked with people who have helped me truly own what I’m building and step into my potential.
Looking back, each of those people helped shape me, with no agenda, and at every stage their support helped me reach the next one, ultimately leading to building my companies and now paying that forward by helping others along the way. Representation is important, but young women also need our time, support and guidance. We’re in a time of huge opportunity. People can work from anywhere, build businesses, learn fast, travel, create careers that didn’t exist a decade ago, but at the same time, it’s really tough. Young people are leaving education with skills that don’t always match the world they’re stepping into, and the world is changing so fast.
It’s one thing to build success and show what’s possible, but it’s another to help others navigate their way there. Representation shows it’s possible, but guidance, and support are what will shape the next generation of female leaders.”
Charlotte Jones, founder of Mindful Advisory Ltd & Mindful Properties Ltd.
“As Director of the gunnercooke foundation, I’ve seen first-hand that collaboration creates far greater opportunities than competition ever could, particularly for women in business. For too long, many of us have been conditioned to believe that success is scarce and that we must compete with one another to reach the top but it’s true that dimming someone else’s light does not make yours burn brighter.
Collaboration allows us to pool expertise, open doors for one another and build stronger, more resilient organisations. In my experience, the most transformative initiatives happen when people come together with a shared purpose rather than working in isolation. As the saying goes, “if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together”.
At the gunnercooke foundation and indeed the law firm who fund us, gunnercooke, our work is rooted in partnership. We see every day that progress accelerates when individuals and organisations collaborate across sectors, industries and communities. Women in leadership have a particularly important role to play in shaping this culture, by mentoring others, championing diverse voices, and creating environments where collaboration is valued over rivalry.
This is not to say ambition or healthy competition doesn’t have a place in business. But when competition becomes the default mindset, it can limit creativity and discourage the very support networks that help women thrive.
Collaboration reminds us that someone else’s success does not diminish our own, it often strengthens it and we create pathways not just for ourselves but for the next generation of leaders. As leaders at gunnercooke we’re encouraged to recruit people better than ourselves, someone’s success is a win for the team and we must move away from the idea of competing for a seat at the table and instead focus on building a bigger table together.”
Laura Jones, Director of the gunnercooke foundation.
“For me, giving has always been at the heart of my business. Running a travel agency isn’t just about arranging holidays but an opportunity to make a positive difference. Through my business, every single booking supports one of 13 charities that are close to my heart. If a customer books a holiday with me, they can choose one of my charity partners, or select a cause of their choice for 10% of my commission to benefit. It’s not just a donation; I work closely with each charity, volunteering, speaking at events, and building partnerships that create lasting impact.
Experience has taught me that generosity and business success are not mutually exclusive. By putting giving at the centre of what we do, we have built trust with clients, created meaningful relationships, and seen our business grow. The very act of giving – whether it’s time, expertise, or support, can lead to opportunities and connections that would never have happened otherwise.
I believe this is what the theme “Give to Gain” really means. When women collaborate, support causes they care about, and mentor one another, everyone benefits. Giving doesn’t just make a difference for others -it strengthens your business, your community, and your own sense of purpose.”
Hannah Hamilton, founder of HJ Travel.
“For me, “Give to Gain” has always meant creating opportunities for others before expecting anything in return. When I founded MOME London — a creative studio and café for parents and young children — the goal was never just to build a business. It was to build a community.
As a designer and now a founder, I’ve seen how powerful generosity can be in business. Many of our early collaborations came from simply opening our space to other mothers, creatives and educators — inviting them to host workshops, share ideas or test new concepts with families. By giving them a platform, we created something much bigger than ourselves. Those collaborations brought new audiences, new partnerships and ultimately helped MOME grow faster than it could have alone.
Motherhood reinforced this mindset even more. I actually launched MOME while pregnant with my second child, which made me realise how important supportive networks are for women building careers and businesses while raising families. When women share knowledge, introductions and encouragement, it creates momentum for everyone.
In the children’s and family sector especially, collaboration is essential. Parents are looking for trusted communities, not just services. When businesses support each other — from local instructors to independent brands — the result is a richer experience for families. “Give to Gain” is not about short-term returns. It’s about building ecosystems where generosity becomes the foundation of growth. At MOME we try to live by that principle every day: creating space for creativity, connection and opportunity — because when you invest in others, growth naturally follows.”
Selini Bello, founder of MOME London.
“Early in my career, long before Michelin stars or Borough Market, I was a young woman trying to break into an industry that wasn’t built for people who looked like me. The moments that changed my trajectory weren’t the accolades. They were the people who gave me their time, their honest feedback, and their belief. That stays with you. It shapes how you lead.
Now I try to be that person for others. I’ve worked with Good Life Coaching on mentorship because I genuinely believe that investing in women, their confidence, their clarity, their ambition, is one of the most powerful things you can do. Some of the women who have worked with me have gone on to open their own businesses. That makes me prouder than any award on a shelf.
In hospitality, the culture of hoarding knowledge, treating what you know as a competitive advantage, has done so much damage. It’s kept kitchens brutal and kept brilliant people out. I’ve always believed the opposite: share what you know, open doors you didn’t have opened for you, and watch what comes back. It always comes back. In trust, in community, in collaborations you couldn’t have planned.
The practical truth of “give to gain” is this: your network is your net worth, and generosity builds networks that no LinkedIn strategy ever could. Show up for other women publicly. Recommend them. Refer them. Celebrate their wins without asterisks. In today’s climate, where female founders are still fighting for funding, shelf space, and visibility, we cannot afford to compete with each other. We are far more powerful as a community than as rivals.”
Elizabeth Haigh, Chef & founder of Mei Mei & Mei Mei Goods.
“I’ve always believed that success isn’t achieved alone; it’s about lifting others as you climb. From the start, I’ve made it a point to be the biggest cheerleader for my friends, colleagues, and team, creating opportunities for them to shine. Watching them grow and succeed has, in turn, strengthened my own businesses and broadened my perspective.
Mentorship has been a cornerstone of my leadership journey. I make it a priority to share what I’ve learned along the way with my team, from practical business skills to navigating challenges in PR and publishing. In return, having such a supportive, loving team around me, who celebrate wins and push me to do better, has shaped me as a leader. It’s a cycle of learning, encouragement, and growth that benefits everyone.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in entrepreneurship is the power of delegation. I know what I’m good at, and I know what I still need to learn. By entrusting the right people, those with different skills, perspectives, and expertise, I’ve been able to amplify both LadyCPR and Bespoke Black Book. Teamwork might sound corny, but it really does make the dream work.
“Give to gain” in my industry is about empowering others to excel while raising the bar for your own work. Mentorship, support, and collaboration aren’t just nice to have; they’re essential for growth, resilience, and creating a business culture where everyone thrives.”
Charlotte Lynham, founder & CEO of LadyCPR & Bespoke Black Book.
“Early in my career, “give to gain” had a very clear business meaning. As a founder, it was about mentoring my team, supporting colleagues, and creating opportunities for others to grow. I’ve always believed that when you invest in people, you build stronger businesses and better leaders. But becoming a mother changed how I understand that phrase.
When I had my daughter, I went through a profound shift in identity that I hadn’t anticipated. From the outside, my life looked successful. I run a global PR agency with offices in London, Dubai and Saudi Arabia, and had spent years building my career. Yet privately I felt disoriented and unsure who I was outside of being “mum”. When I started speaking openly about that experience, I realised how many women were quietly going through the same thing. That realisation led me to create Mum Love, a platform designed to help mothers talk honestly about the identity shift that can happen after childbirth.
In many ways, Mum Love is my new understanding of “give to gain”. It’s about sharing experiences that women often feel but rarely say out loud and building support around one of the most intense transitions in life, in order for us all to gain. The surprising part is that by giving in this way, I’ve gained something unexpected. Not business growth, but a deeper sense of purpose. Sometimes the most powerful thing women in leadership can give is honesty about the parts of life that don’t look perfect from the outside.”
Georgie Woollams, founder of Mum Love.
“Looking back, most of the turning points in my career came from people who simply took the time to nudge me forward when I wasn’t quite nudging myself. Mentorship in all its informal, real-life forms has shaped my leadership far more than any big moment ever did. I still remember a former manager who would ask the one question I didn’t want to answer but absolutely needed to. That kind of honest encouragement stays with you.
I’ve championed a Women in Leadership development accreditation for some of our team, and the most rewarding part isn’t the certificates, it was watching people realise they were capable of more than they thought. Sometimes all someone needs is a bit of backing and a safe space to try something new. When you give people that, you gain a stronger team, better ideas, and a culture where people feel brave enough to step up.
Mentorship isn’t grand gestures; it’s the everyday things, the quick call, the moment of clarity, the ‘have you thought about…?’ that shifts someone’s perspective. And funnily enough, every time you help someone else grow, you sharpen your own thinking too. To me, Give to Gain means exactly this, the more we invest in each other, the more momentum we create. When one woman grows, the whole team moves forward, and that’s when the really good things start to happen.”
Susan White, EMEA CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) at Hunter Douglas Europe, which includes Hillarys and Luxaflex.
“I’ve learned that giving doesn’t have to be grand to make a difference. Sharing time, experience, or simply offering support creates connections that lift everyone. ‘Give to Gain’ resonates because generosity has a way of coming full circle — when we help each other grow, we build a culture where women feel seen, supported, and able to thrive.”
Fiona Hood, Head of Presales at Totalmobile.
“For me, the idea of “give to gain” has been the foundation of building She Speaks Supper Club, a community designed to connect, inspire and bring women together. She Speaks Supper Club started from a simple idea: creating a space where women could meet in real life, share their experiences and have honest conversations around the table. In a world where so much of our connection now happens online, I wanted to build something that felt personal, intimate supper club events where women from all walks of life could come together, talk openly and support one another.
From the beginning, the focus was on giving women a platform and creating opportunities for connection. The events bring together women with different stories, perspectives and experiences, and encourage conversation around everything from careers and confidence to relationships, wellbeing and personal growth. It’s about building a supportive community where women feel heard, inspired and less alone.
What I’ve learned through creating She Speaks is that generosity has a powerful ripple effect. By giving my time, my network and a space for women to connect, I’ve gained far more than I expected. I’ve met incredible women, built meaningful relationships and expanded my own network in ways that have naturally opened doors. Brands have also taken notice of the community we’ve built and the conversations happening within it, which has led to exciting opportunities and collaborations.
In today’s climate, “giving to gain” doesn’t have to mean big gestures. It can be as simple as supporting another woman’s work, introducing people who might benefit from knowing each other, or creating spaces where women can show up as themselves and feel supported. For me, the biggest lesson has been that when women come together and champion one another, everyone benefits. The more we create opportunities for connection and support, the stronger the community becomes.”
Jessie Wales, founder of She Speaks Supper Club.
“Collaboration over competition is key for women in business now – particularly during this year of the Fire Horse! Just like the Horse, we need our herd to form around us – both to feel whole, to benefit from complimentary skillsets and to stimulate co-creative approaches to increasingly complex problems in the world and marketplace. I am an Equine-Led Womens’ Leadership Mentor based in South Devon and my work is based on the premise of being in right relation with ourselves, each other and the world around us as the solution to the regenerative future we all dream of!”
Harriet Goudard, Equine-Led Womens’ Leadership Mentor.
“We value our partnerships because they are built on a shared dedication to craftsmanship, innovation, and responsible design. We collaborate exclusively with companies that align with our values, those who champion sustainability, prioritise ethical sourcing, and uphold high standards of material quality. Together, we are able to push boundaries of what’s possible and create spaces that are not only beautifully made but thoughtfully considered for both people and the planet.”
Laylah Holmes, Founder and Creative Director of Holmes Bespoke.
Why collaboration over competition is key for women in business
“Running a business in the construction and design industry has taught me that progress rarely happens in isolation. At Woody’s, we work closely with architects, interior designers, and contractors, with the most successful projects always coming from collaboration rather than competition.
Construction has historically been a male-dominated space, and for many women entering the industry, it can feel like there’s limited room at the table. But my experience has been the opposite: the more you support and champion others, the more opportunity tends to come back around.
Some of our most rewarding projects have come through relationships built over time. From recommending a designer for a project, introducing our connections who could support in bringing a vision to life, or simply sharing knowledge openly about materials and processes. In an industry where trust is everything, this generosity builds credibility.
I’ve also found that collaboration creates better work. When architects, designers and makers bring their different perspectives together, the result is often something far more thoughtful than any one of us could have produced alone. That spirit of shared creativity benefits everyone involved, including (most importantly) the client.
For women in particular, collaboration can be incredibly powerful. When we amplify each other’s work, recommend each other for opportunities, or share lessons learned, we collectively strengthen our presence in industries where representation is still growing.
The idea of “Give to Gain” resonates deeply with me because it reflects how sustainable businesses are actually built: through relationships, trust, and community. The more we support each other’s growth, the more space we create for everyone to succeed.”
Izzy Taylor-Wood, Managing Director of Woody’s Concrete Co.
“Knowledge is power. That includes sharing the unwritten rules to help other women navigate internal and external structures. It also means not always having the answer but knowing the right people who will, referring women to other women who will have the experience and answers they’re after (and you also might learn something new in the process). This could also look like sharing data and metrics that have helped you succeed so they can better advocate for their own resources and have the backing to push back if necessary.”
Shelby Nelson, Talent Manager at TRO.
“One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned as a founder is that giving opportunities to others often creates momentum you could never plan for yourself. Early on with Tiagi, I made a conscious decision to bring emerging creatives onto projects alongside more established teams. Sometimes that meant taking a risk on someone who hadn’t yet had their breakthrough moment.
What I’ve seen time and time again is that when people feel trusted and supported, they bring a different level of energy and commitment to the work. That doesn’t just benefit them. It strengthens the project, the team and often the relationship with the client.
In creative industries especially, success is rarely built alone. The more generous you are with opportunities, introductions and knowledge, the stronger the ecosystem around you becomes. For me, “give to gain” means understanding that when you invest in people around you, that goodwill often returns in unexpected ways through trust, loyalty and long term collaboration.”
Chantelle-Shakila Tiagi, founder of TIAGI.
“For me, the case for collaboration over competition isn’t theoretical. It’s personal. I started out in HR more than 25 years ago on a traditional formal and intense graduate scheme. We were measured against one another and subtly nudged to outperform the person sitting next to us. The message was clear – stand out or fall behind. However, this didn’t sit right with me. Being ranked against my peers didn’t make me want to beat them – it made me want to build something different. Later, working in HR teams made up of mostly women, I experienced a completely different dynamic. I made plenty of mistakes, overstepped, and underplayed.
Yes, I learned from those mistakes. But the reason I kept taking risks and kept growing was the mentoring and encouragement around me. It was a team that would say, “You messed that up, but here’s how to fix it.” It was those who gave feedback directly, without tearing me down. When you know a mistake won’t define you, you’re braver. You speak up more. You think ‘bigger’ and innovate, and that’s what real collaboration looks like in practice – space to try, miss, and then try again. It’s a deliberate approach to creating psychological safety, where you can take risks without fear of humiliation, give and receive direct feedback, and admit when you’ve messed up.
When women are encouraged to compete inwardly, it shrinks this space – stifling creativity and generosity. Collaboration is the foundation of high performance, rooted in trust and inviting challenge because people feel safe to disagree, making room for diverse thinking. I’m the first to advocate for healthy competition, but it should be outward-facing – against the market and against the problem – rather than inward-facing, where it can erode trust. When we collaborate well, we’re stronger together.”
Sarah Stevens, founder and director of HR consultancy of hoomph.
“The idea of ‘Give to Gain’ perfectly reflects how real progress happens for women in business. When women share knowledge, open doors and champion each other’s success, we all move forward together. At British Style Society, we’re passionate about working with women across media and business to help voice their stories, celebrate their successes and give them a platform to be seen and heard. By amplifying these voices and supporting one another, we don’t just create opportunities for individuals, we build a stronger, more connected community of women who inspire the next generation.”
Natasha Henson, Editor, British Style Society
Top photo by Sable Flow on Unsplash
