Chats for Change

Women on Boards of Directors: From Diversity to Inclusion

This event has been postponed – more details will be available soon

In honour of International Women’s Day 2025 and its Accelerate Action theme, this event will be delivered by Dr. Jannine Poletti-Hughes from the University of Liverpool Management School and focus on women on boards of directors.

Advancing gender diversity on corporate boards requires moving beyond symbolic representation to ensuring meaningful participation of women in leadership roles. Research highlights that the success of gender diversity reforms is influenced by cultural and regulatory contexts. In more egalitarian societies, compliance is higher, yet even these countries often practice “reluctant compliance,” where women are appointed to less influential roles or added to boards without replacing male directors. In less egalitarian societies, superficial adherence to diversity reforms is more common.

Stronger regulatory frameworks and inclusive practices are needed to empower women in key leadership positions, shifting from diversity as a target to inclusion as a norm.

Dr. Jannine Poletti-Hughes is an Associate Professor at the University of Liverpool Management School, specialising in corporate governance and gender diversity.

This event is open to both men and women in the cotton and textile industry.

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Liverpool 2024 finished with a Gala Dinner in the spectacular St George's Hall. Thank you to all our delegates for coming to icaliv24 - see you next October in Dubai (8-9 Oct)!
Day 2 of ICALiv24 conference is done! Now time to get ready for tonight's Gala Dinner in the spectacular St George's Hall
Day 2 at Liverpool 2024 starts with a keynote session from Colin Iles, Executive Marketing Manager Cotton & Sugar, Viterra. The 2nd keynote of the day saw Jagan Gopinath (Arvind Ltd) join a panel with Macrovesta's Oliver Jobling and Joseph Maliszewski exploring the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the cotton industry ICALiv24
Day 1 concludes at ICALiv24 with Cotton Connected sessions and a Welcome Party for delegates at the Municipal Hotel
ICALiv24
Liverpool 2024 opens with a keynote panel session addressing emerging EU legislation and its impact on cotton. Moderated by Bill Ballenden (Louis Dreyfus Company), the panel featured Eva Bille (Hill and Knowlton), Elisabeth van Delden (Make the Label Count) and Eric Trachtenberg (ICAC). Speakers delivered a powerful message to delegates - urgent action is needed from the cotton community.Arvind Singhal (Technopak Advisors Private Ltd) then took to the stage to deliver the 2nd keynote of the day, highlighting unprecedented changes underway that will significantly impact the current ecosystem of the textile and clothing industry ICALiv24

MaketheLabelCount ICALiv24 naturalfibres cotton