Sometimes the greatest recognition isn’t what you receive. It’s what you choose to do with it.
An award lasts a moment.
What happens afterwards is what defines its true value. For some, recognition marks the end of a journey. For others, it becomes the beginning of something far greater. It becomes a responsibility. A chance to give back. A chance to create opportunities for people they may never even meet.
That is exactly what happened when Sue France received the She Inspires Award for Women in Networking and Events in 2023. Known across Cheshire for her extraordinary ability to bring people together, Sue has spent years opening doors, creating introductions and building relationships that have changed lives, careers and businesses. But after receiving her She Inspires Award, she didn’t ask what the recognition meant for her. She asked what it could mean for someone else.
Inspired by the vision of Empower 50K Girls, Sue decided to do what she does best. She brought people together. The result was the first She Inspires Ladies Afternoon Tea at The Midland Hotel. What began as a fundraising event quickly became something much more powerful. It became a room filled with generosity, friendship, laughter and purpose, united by one simple belief: every girl deserves the opportunity to dream, to learn and to build a brighter future.
The success of that afternoon didn’t end when the last guest went home. It started a movement.
This year, Sue is bringing the Afternoon Tea back, this time at Cloud 23, continuing to inspire others to stand behind Empower 50K Girls. More than an event organiser or fundraiser, she has become one of the initiative’s most passionate champions, encouraging others to believe that changing a life doesn’t always begin with a grand gesture. Sometimes it begins with saying, “How can I help?” Fifty thousand girls may never know Sue France personally. But many of them will benefit from the opportunities she has helped create.
That is the quiet power of leadership.
Women’s Economic Agency is not only about creating opportunities for ourselves. It is about recognising that our experience, our relationships and our influence can become opportunities for others. Sue transformed one moment of recognition into a growing legacy of hope, generosity and possibility.
Because sometimes, one award really can become fifty thousand dreams.
Women’s Agency in Action.
Sue’s story reminds us that Women’s Economic Agency doesn’t always begin with funding, policy or large-scale programmes. Sometimes it begins with one recognised woman deciding to use her influence in service of others. Recognition gave Sue a platform. Relationships gave her reach. Purpose gave her direction. Together, they created opportunities that extend far beyond one event or one fundraiser. They created a growing community of women investing in the hopes and ambitions of girls they may never meet.
This is how Women’s Economic Agency grows. One person inspires another. One conversation becomes a collaboration. One afternoon becomes an annual movement. One act of generosity creates opportunities that ripple through communities and across generations.
Agency in Action is not simply about celebrating remarkable women. It is about celebrating what happens when recognition becomes responsibility, relationships become opportunity, and success becomes something we choose to share.
That is Agency in Action.
