RISE — Women Leading the Future

From Stage to Strategy

RISE is a leadership conference created to move beyond celebration and into change. Born from over a decade of listening to women’s stories through She Inspires, RISE exists because recognition alone is not enough. Women do not just need stages — they need influence, access and strategy. Hosted in Manchester at the iconic Midland Hotel, RISE brings women, institutions, employers and decision-makers into the same room to shape the future of leadership, work and opportunity.

RISE is not just a one-day conversation. It is a catalyst.

RISE Creates:

• Cross-sector dialogue that breaks silos
• Strategic connections between women and institutions
• Visibility for emerging and established leaders
• Practical insight organisations can take forward

For corporates and public sector partners, RISE is an opportunity to be part of meaningful, measurable change — not just alignment in name, but leadership in action.

The Story Behind RISE

For more than ten years, She Inspires has celebrated women — their resilience, innovation, courage and contribution — across communities, sectors and borders.

Thousands of stories later, a clear pattern emerged.

Women were visible.
Women were talented.
Women were leading.

And yet, many of the same barriers remained.

Pay gaps widened at senior levels. Women remained underrepresented in technology, finance and policy-shaping roles. Financial confidence continued to be shaped by gendered expectations. Girls were opting out of future pathways before they had even begun.

RISE was created as the next, necessary step — a space where recognition turns into responsibility, and conversation turns into strategy.

Why Manchester. Why Now.

RISE takes place in Manchester — a city with a powerful legacy of reform, civic leadership and social progress. Hosted at The Midland Hotel, the conference is intentionally accessible, central and symbolic: a place where ideas, influence and leadership converge.

RISE aligns with Greater Manchester’s ambitions around inclusive growth, fair work and skills development — priorities championed by Andy Burnham and reflected in regional strategies focused on equality, opportunity and good work for all.

By centring women within these conversations, RISE contributes to a future-focused agenda where leadership reflects the society it serves.

From Stage to Strategy

RISE is deliberately designed to sit between lived experience and systems change.

This is where women who have built businesses, led teams and shaped communities sit alongside educators, employers, policymakers and future leaders. Where evidence meets experience. Where stories become data. Where insight becomes action.

Every panel, roundtable and curated conversation at RISE is built around one central question:

How do we design a future where women are not the exception, but the norm in leadership?

RISE does not ask women to adapt to broken systems.
It asks systems to evolve.

Why These Spaces Matter

Who RISE is for

RISE is for organisations committed to equity, skills and inclusive leadership. For employers shaping the future workforce. For policymakers and civic leaders. For women leading now — and those preparing to lead next.

Equality is not a side conversation.
It is central to economic resilience, innovation and social progress.