International Women’s Day 2025: Accelerate Action

Posted: 7th March 2025
by Caroline Giles

International Women’s Day (IWD) has been celebrated for over a hundred years and is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.

As part of IWD, where this year’s theme is to Accelerate Action, Caroline Giles, Legal Administrator in our Court of Protection Property & Affairs team in Manchester, shares her thoughts on what IWD means to her.

What does IWD mean to me?

IWD is a global day of recognition for women and for the invaluable contributions they make in societies, in the home, and in the workplace.

Who inspires me?

Actress, Frances McDormand, inspires me greatly in both the roles she plays and in her personal life. Frances is renowned for playing strong female leads in movies such as Fargo and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Frances is recognised as being vocal and supportive of women in the industry and advocating for more female directors and more female stories on the screen.

Irish author, Claire Keegan. Claire is an award-winning novelist and her stories frequently centre around female leads. Her stories, whilst short, are hard-hitting and thought-provoking.

Why is gender equality important?

In my view, the roles that women take on in terms of motherhood and work within the home have not been recognised as being as important as roles outside of the home which were predominantly undertaken by men. Gender equality ensures that both work within the home and outside of the home are viewed as being of equal importance whether undertaken by men or women. It is also important in ensuring that women in the workplace are offered the same pay, opportunities and voice as their male counterparts and not dismissed for archaic stereotypes as being ‘too emotional’. Furthermore, gender equality is important so that societal changes are implemented to ensure that women can feel safe in their day-to-day activities, such as going for a solo walk/run or going to a bar to socialise.

What EMG value do I think best represents IWD 2025?

Courage. As a company we are courageous in our approach to business and not afraid to take on new challenges and work. We are courageous in how we think outside the box and encourage everyone within the company to be involved in important decisions. We are courageous in exploring new ideas and trying new methods or systems that may improve the way we work. We are fast growing whilst still offering an excellent service to clients and colleagues which I believe ties in with this year’s IWD theme: #AccelerateAction.