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WOMEN IN BUSINESS


WOMEN IN BUSINESS IN THEIR OWN WORDS


Fehmeeda says: “The bakery industry has traditionally been seen as quite male- dominated. One of our core values is to challenge that status quo.


Date: 28 April 2026 Time: 08.30-11.00


Venue: Dunkenhalgh Hotel and Spa


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“Practical steps such as creating transparent opportunities, personalised role development programmes, mentoring and networks are key steps in ensuring career pathways for women are visible.


Siobhan Collingwood Continued from Page 31


Siobhan Collingwood is chief executive of the charity Lancashire Women. She highlights that women face structural barriers long before they ever reach a boardroom.


She said: “Money makes the world go round - and that remains bad news for women. The gender pay gap still sits at 13.1 per cent, narrowing for younger women but widening sharply after parenthood.


“This is the predictable outcome of a system that relies on women to absorb 59 per cent of all unpaid caring responsibilities. Their contribution keeps families, communities, and the wider economy functioning, yet it remains invisible in financial terms.”


Siobhan welcomes the national progress that has been made when it comes to the FTSE 350 and the number of women in boardroom roles, describing the UK as “an international front-runner.”


She added: “Furthermore, this improvement has been achieved not through quotas but through voluntary cultural change. That matters. When organisations genuinely commit to shifting values and behaviours, women rise.”


Looking at how to improve the position in Lancashire, she said: “This isn’t about a lack of ambition. Lancashire’s women are ambitious, skilled, and entrepreneurial.


“Firstly, let’s lose the victim blaming language of the current discourse. Let’s stop asking, ‘Why aren’t women working in leadership positions?’ and ask instead, ‘Why don’t leadership positions work for women?’


“If Lancashire is serious about gender equality as a means of unlocking its full economic potential and not just a tick box response to the challenges of diversification, we need to start recognising it as a strategic imperative.


“The national picture, though still not good enough, shows what begins to be possible when organisations commit to cultural change rather than compliance.


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“Women in Lancashire are not short of ambition or ability. What we need now is a system that sees classically feminine qualities as assets rather than complexities.”


“Through empowering career development for female staff, we create role models for future generations.


ELENA JACKSON


Co-director, Deco Publique and Festival of Making


Elena co-founded Deco Publique, based in Lancaster, in 2013, establishing an ambitious arts and commissioning practice rooted in place-responsive cultural programmes.


She is also co-director of the National Festival of Making. She is currently developing a new coastal commissioning programme for Morecambe and serves as co-chair of the Eden Project Morecambe Partnership, Arts and Culture Working Group.


Elena says: “Leadership is still often unconsciously associated with assertiveness, decisiveness and constant availability – traits traditionally coded as masculine.


“When women lead collaboratively, strategically or with a more consultative style, it can sometimes be undervalued, even when outcomes are equally strong and sustainable.


“At the same time, motherhood and caring responsibilities continue to shape career trajectories at pivotal moments, affecting visibility and progression into senior roles.


“Broadening our understanding of effective leadership and embedding flexible pathways would help ensure more women progress into senior positions across Lancashire.”


FEHMEEDA SADDIQUE


Group HR director, BAKO


Fehmeeda is a chartered FCIPD professional with


more than 15 years’ experience in human resources, payroll and organisational strategy.


She joined Preston headquartered BAKO, which specialises in the wholesale supply of bakery ingredients and finished goods, in 2020, following senior leadership roles at forecourt giant EG Group, based in Blackburn.


Her background spans retail, manufacturing and professional services and at BAKO she supports a workforce of around 440 across five UK sites.


“Our ‘Young Bakers’ initiative recently saw two female students have their creations commercialised, manufactured and sold across the UK, helping demonstrate what women can achieve in the industry.”


ELAINE CRIBB


Founder and co-owner, That’s Mine Gifts


Elaine started her business from


home 25 years ago when her daughters were babies. The personalised gifts business was created on the family’s kitchen table, and she would embroider at night and pack during the day.


Today That’s Mine is a successful e-commerce retail business specialising in personalised gifts for all ages and Elaine and her husband work together in ‘The Teddy Factory’ at Buckshaw Village.


Elaine says: “I know only too well how hard it is to be a woman in business at the top. Before I set up That’s Mine, I was a design director in a multi-million pound textile company.


“I had my first daughter 27 years ago when there were not flexible working hours for mothers at the top, no internet and certainly no working from home. It was also a time when women had to work extra hard to justify their positions in the boardroom.


“I wanted the flexibility to be a mother and work, so the only way I could achieve this was by setting up my own business.


“Fast forward a quarter of a century and working conditions for mothers have improved. However, it is still a huge challenge to combine parenthood with building a business.”


RAYIFA SHERIN


Marketing and events manager, Park Hall Hotel and Spa


Rayifa moved to


Lancashire to pursue a master’s degree in Intercultural Business Communications at the then University of Central Lancashire.


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