Issue 8 2021

4 Acquisition International - Issue 8 2021 News : from around the world Female Entrepreneurs Launch International Women in Mid-life Day and Expo to Change the Perception of Older Women in Business and Society in General A group of successful female entrepreneurs have announced the launch of International Women in Mid-life Day and annual Expo this October 21st. The day is set to become an important date for the calendar as this annual and unique event is launched to support and empower women in business over the age of 40. The Expo is a one-day virtual event designed specifically for women over 40 who need inspiration, guidance and business services to find the perfect career match or business support and advice. The day will help women to find their passion, explore opportunities and become financially self-sufficient and it will be held on International Women in Mid-life Day. The initial concept came from Business Mentor, Moira Doherty (63) who is a huge campaigner for support and recognition of ‘Women in Mid-life’ and this has evolved into the creation of the international awareness day and Expo. As Moira explains: “There is nothing out there for women who are over 40. For so many they feel that their role is wife, mother, daughter, sister, granny, carer rather than independent businesswoman. They don’t feel they have anything to contribute to society and in particular to the business world.” Along with Denise Ferguson (40), Sharon Murray (53) and Nicola Toner (50) who are all running successful businesses, these four amazing women are passionate about inspiring and empowering females in mid-life to take control, make a difference in society and create a modern image of what “mid-life” really stands for. Moira added, “Creating a modern cultural image for women in Mid-life is good for society, good for the economy and good for women of all ages.” Moira has been an entrepreneur for many years, has been campaigning and supporting female entrepreneurs in their ‘mid-life’ to become successful businesswomen and gain financial freedom and security for their futures. She is the founder of the WOWS Collective (Wonderful Older Women Succeeding) and is passionate about leaving a legacy that will support women to create the life they desire and one that makes them feel valued for years to come. She knew she couldn’t achieve her goals and dreams alone and so enlisted the help of three of her peers - Denise, Sharon and Nicola - to form “The 206 Group Limited” – a company which will facilitate “International Women in Mid-Life Day” each year, along with the set-up of various charitable, enterprise and scholarship schemes especially designed to assist and support women over 40 to become driven, empowered and determined entrepreneurs. Denise is a bold, funny, Commercial Property Surveyor, who has been running her own practice in St Albans for almost ten years negotiating leases for salon owners, alongside advising the British Government on their property portfolio. Sharon lives in Northern Ireland and started her Virtual Assistant business two years ago at the age of 51. As a single mum of two and having had debt issues, she finally followed her dream of running her own business and is now the founder of the LinkedIn Revolution. She coaches entrepreneurs, freelancers and small business owners on how to attract clients on LinkedIn with her own zany and witty style. Nicola is a Business Planning Expert, Crowdfunding Mentor and certified Project Manager. She has a long history of business planning and has worked for huge corporations and successfully managed many clients including John Lewis, RoadChef and BHS since becoming self-employed at 38. Now 50, Nicola is fortunate enough to live in the beautiful province of Granada in Spain. Companies are leaning towards promoting sustainability rather than responsibility, according to new research by the Vienna University of Economics and Business. The study, conducted by Dr. Pilar Pérez Cañizares, looked into how leading companies in Spain and Latin America communicate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability on their web pages. Dr. Pérez Cañizares found a trend towards both ‘sustainability’ and ‘CSR’ gaining prominence on companies’ websites, and ‘responsibility’ terms being gradually replaced over time. In fact, the research revealed that ‘responsibility’ terms are now practically non-existent in Latin American sites as many companies jumped on the “sustainability bandwagon” initiated by a small number of companies. The researcher analysed the websites of 68 companies and discovered that the importance of CSR communications is growing rapidly, with the vast majority now presenting their CSR and sustainability content on the first page of their websites. Dr. Pérez Cañizares explains that this could be for two reasons, the first is as a result of a trend towards greater uniformity in reporting, which is designed to allow comparability of both communication and performance; the second is that it’s a mere imitation of competitors. “The changes in terminology have reflected changes in underlying ideas or strategy for some companies. One example is Inditex, Spain’s most valuable company, who have made changes in heading terminology as well as a redesign of the homepage. This kind of change hints at the adoption of a new communication strategy in the way Inditex presents itself and its activities to its stakeholders,” says Dr. Pérez Cañizares. However, the researcher does add that a third of companies in the service sector, such as banks, still use the term ‘responsibility’ because they have relatively little impact on the environment. The research paper was published in the Journal Business and Professional Communication Quarterly. Companies drop responsibility in favour of promoting how sustainable they are