For more than a decade, She Inspires Awards has done one thing beautifully: celebrate women who change the world. But as the years went by, a question kept returning:
What happens after the applause?
Women were winning awards, gaining visibility, and stepping into new confidence. But they were also asking for something more: space to talk policy, trade, leadership routes, funding, health, innovation, and the future of work. Not just in passing, but in depth.
That is how RISE – Women Leading the Future was born.
From Celebration to Conversation
On 23 June 2025, women from across sectors gathered at The Midland, Manchester for the first ever RISE National Leadership Conference.
The goal was simple but ambitious:
- To move from stage to strategy
- To give women not just a platform, but a place at the table
- To bring together leaders from business, tech, health, education, trade, and government
- To turn inspiration into practical pathways and structured influence
The programme combined keynotes, sector panels, roundtables, and curated one-to-one sessions with senior figures, including trade experts and consular representatives.
Women were not simply “attending a conference”; they were shaping the conversation — on skills, international markets, future workplaces, women’s health, sustainability and more.
A National Moment, Rooted in Belonging
RISE 2025 was also about belonging. Many attendees spoke about how rare it was to be in a space where:
- Every panel included women’s voices at the centre
- Men were invited as allies, not as gatekeepers
- Young women, students and emerging leaders were able to listen in, ask questions, and imagine their own pathways
The day ended not with a “thank you for coming” but with a promise:
RISE would return, stronger and bolder — and this was just the first chapter.
