International Women's Day 2026: Give to Gain

Since 1911, International Women's Day has been a moment to pause, to celebrate progress, acknowledge inequality, and recommit to change.

In health and social care, this matters deeply.

It’s in the women leading wards, managing caseloads, teaching students, shaping policy, and holding systems together. It’s also in the women experiencing homelessness, violence, trauma, and multiple disadvantage navigating services that were not always designed with their realities in mind.

This year’s theme, Give To Gain, feels especially powerful in our sector.

Because we know that when we give time, mentorship, knowledge, visibility, we don’t diminish ourselves. We strengthen the system. We improve outcomes. We create safer, fairer services.

A Leader Who Lives This Every Day 💜

This International Women’s Day, I want to celebrate our founder and CEO, Dr Emma Williamson.

I’ve known Emma for 17 years. From the beginning, what stood out wasn’t just her intelligence or ambition, it was her belief that care could be better. Fairer. More equal.

Like many of us, Emma didn’t always feel confident at school or early in her career. She speaks openly about working hard, pushing through self-doubt, and refusing to wait until she felt “ready.” That honesty has quietly given permission for so many others to do the same.

“I am ambitious for care, and you don’t get anywhere by waiting to be ready.”

Over more than two decades at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, alongside her work lecturing at King's College London, Emma has shaped services and future professionals alike. She has been recognised by NatWestWISE100 and named a 2025 Woman in Innovation award winner by Innovate UK and later honoured with a Purple Plaque marking her journey as a clinical psychologist, social impact entrepreneur, and founder of aneemo.

But if you know Emma, you’ll know this: she rarely talks about her achievements.

She talks about her team.She talks about communities.She talks about the women whose voices go unheard.

Today, we gently turn that light back towards her with gratitude for her leadership, kindness, humility, and unwavering commitment to advancing healthcare and women’s leadership.

Why This Matters

In health and social care, women’s experiences of violence, abuse, and multiple disadvantage are shaped by systemic inequality. Accessing support can be harder. Engagement more complex. Outcomes poorer.

If we are serious about equity, we must understand these differences and respond to them.

That’s why our Working with women experiencing multiple disadvantage course exists: to help professionals adapt services, deepen understanding, and design support that truly meets women where they are.

At aneemo, we believe knowledge should be shared. Visibility widened. Opportunity intentional.

Because when women are heard in clinical design, research, policy, and frontline innovation the systems become stronger.

When we give, we gain.

This International Women’s Day

Imagine a world free of bias and discrimination. A world built through small, deliberate acts.

So today:

• Thank a woman who inspires you.

• Recognise a colleague whose leadership often goes unseen.

• Support a women-owned business.

• Share knowledge that opens a door for someone else.

International Women’s Day belongs to all of us.

Let’s not just celebrate women.Let’s invest in them.

#IWD2026 💜