‍This Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating the 2025 International Women’s Day theme, #AccelerateAction, by spotlighting the power of women to inspire and lead change. We’re proud to support the next generation of leaders by giving our young talent on the team the opportunity to take the reins on this week’s content.

English Literature student Kashvi Cox has bold dreams to find a career in feature writing. So, throughout the week, she will share five insightful pieces - one each day - focused on how women are advancing equity, innovation, and progress across industries. This project reflects our commitment to fostering growth, creativity, and leadership at every level.

Follow along as we explore her powerful stories and celebrate the actions that are shaping a brighter, more inclusive future. Let’s accelerate action together!..

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#AccelerateAction: Reflections on this Week

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This week I have been exploring the theme of ‘Accelerate Action’, the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day.

As an aspiring journalist, writing and editing my articles has been an exciting period of discovery and personal growth in my own career. I also hope that my articles have helped other women out there looking to progress in their careers.

I want to show you that you can make positive change in the world by fighting against the barriers that gender continues to place on society.

For me, the highlight of this week was the interview I conducted with Tiffany Benitez, the founder and president of Women in Technology of Northwest Arkansas. Tiffany was such an inspiration and delivered clear, practical advice that applies to women at any stage of their careers.

One thing that really stood out was Tiffany’s confidence, and the assurance with which she answered all my questions.

"Do it afraid.”

My favourite piece of advice she gave was to “do it afraid”.

By this she meant that women are often in the minority in industries such as the tech one, and so we should go into these jobs knowing that it will be slightly uncomfortable to begin with. She also stressed that, when we do get these opportunities, we should do everything in our power to help other women join us, whether this be through mentorship schemes or education programmes.

"The world is a selfish one, and we must push back against it by being compassionate and actively trying to help others."

The world is a selfish one, and we must push back against it by being compassionate and actively trying to help others. This was not the only useful thing I learnt from the interview. Given that I had never produced an interview-based article before, I was grateful that Panelle could facilitate this opportunity and provide a space for me to develop skills which I will take beyond this set of articles.

"It is only by having these opportunities and making mistakes that I can grow and develop."

I learnt how to effectively prepare for an interview and manage communications with someone on the other side of the world – though I did make the mistake of suggesting a time that was 3am in the morning for my America-based interviewee! It is only by having these opportunities and making mistakes that I can grow and develop.

As I approach the final year of my degree, I am constantly thinking about the future and how I can prepare for it. It is often difficult to see a clear career path when completing a humanities or arts degree, and this is why internships and mentorship schemes for young people, and especially women, are so important. They show us how the future might look.

I am hugely passionate about making a positive impact on the world, and working with a company like Panelle has showed me how this is possible. I have learnt how to research for articles independently and have become more adept at using LinkedIn. Working on this set of articles has also made me realise just how much still needs to be done in terms of gender equality in the workplace.

"It will take 131 years to reach full gender parity if we keep going as we are now."

It is deeply worrying that the World Economic Forum predicts it will take 131 years to reach full gender parity if we keep going as we are now, and it emphasises the need to accelerate action even further. This is especially true when considering our world is becoming so reliant on industries like science and technology, industries that are extremely male-dominant at the moment.

We must make change now. We must recruit and educate our male allies so that they can take this journey with us.

Together, we must accelerate action and build a brighter future for the women of tomorrow.

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You can see Kashvi's week of content here!

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