Women in Comms

VMAGROUP are delighted to invite you to our second annual Women in Comms event!

Across our research at VMAGROUP, we find consistently find that women dominate the communications industry.

In our latest internal communications survey, Inside Insight, we found that 67% of the UK market is female, with our last external communications report, The View, reflecting similar findings of 64%. However, our research also indicates that more men reach the Head of/Director level than women. We’d like to open the debate about why this is and what can be done to redress the balance.

As part of International Women's Day, we are delighted to confirm two inspirational communications leaders as speakers:

Sameena Thompson began her career in advertising and PR agencies straight after college. Soon after she became a journalist and broadcaster, working freelance on several newspapers and radio stations.  She then started her own PR consultancy before helping to launch a national British Asian newspaper. Sameena then joined Sky News as a producer, before returning to comms, as the Deputy Head of Media Relations at the Institute of Chartered Accountants, the Director of Communications & Policy at the British Safety Council and as External Affairs Director at the National Federation of Builders. She is currently living her dream of running her own food business. 

Vanessa Unwin has worked as a communications professional in the rail, insurance and book publishing sectors since the noughties. Currently Global Head of Internal Comms at Hitachi Rail, she leads teams across the UK, Europe Asia Pacific, and Americas, to best comms practice and two-way engagement for 14,000 colleagues and leaders. She’s a keen champion of team build and development, supporting growth and stretch through first-hand experience as well as formal learning. She believes the real power of internal comms lies in having the courage to speak up when others won’t.

We want to empower women in communications. Our key speakers will walk us through their professional journey, share their greatest achievements, and to impart their advice and learnings so far.

We hope you can join us for some drinks, canapés and some great conversation. 

To RSVP, contact Jessica Downie (jdownie@vmagroup.com) or Crystle Pearce (cpearce@vmagroup.com).

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AGENDA

6:00PM Drinks and networking

6:30PM Welcome from Jessica Downie and Crystle Pearce

6:35PM Presentations from Sameena Thompson and Vanessa Unwin, followed by a Q&A

7:30PM  Networking

8:00PM Close

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Kindly note that photographs and/or video may be taken throughout this event. By attending this event you give VMAGROUP permission to use general audience pictures in which you appear for marketing and publicity purposes on our website and in social media.