Celebrating International Womens Day

23rd January 2013

Inspiring Women are one step ahead - join us and celebrate International Women's Day .

...a day early! IF YOU ARE A BARNSLEY ROTHERHAM MEMBER, PLEASE BOOK BY CLICKING HERE Working with Barnsley and Rotherham Women in Business Group, the Inspiring Women are delighted to invite you to join them to celebrate International Women's Day. We appreciate there will be many events on the day itself, so we have gone a day early!  Early bird catches the worm..... We will have an excellent speaker line up, stand holders (only female run businesses) and then we'll finish the event off with a beautiful dinner in the main dining room, where you will have further networking opportunities. Listen to great speakers and be inspired! Men are invited to attend, and we'd welcome bookings from our male colleagues. A menu will be provided once a booking has been made, and dietary requirements will be catered for. Please book through the chamber of which you are a member to avoid being charged a non-member rate. We have kept the event to early evening to take into consideration the midweek date. 10% off the ticket price for charity members. Exhibition stand space available for £10. This does not include a ticket for the evening. Exhibition stand space and one ticket is available at a cost of £30 +VAT; for members and at a cost of £35 +VAT; for non members and includes 1 ticket for the evening.  For more information contact: Kate Stephenson t. 0114 201 8899 | e. hello@inspiringwomen.org Speaker Info: Catherine Jenkins from Jenx.com Catherine Jenkins M.C.S.P. F.R.S.A. Catherine is a Director and founder of Jenx Limited.  She began her working career in 1979 as a Physiotherapist at the Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre in Birmingham, moving to Sheffield in 1980 where she worked at the Northern General Hospital.  Jenx started life in 1982 when Catherine moved into Paediatrics, working at a number of Sheffield Special Schools.  Her frustration at the lack of suitable equipment being available, led her to persuade her husband Clive, a product designer, to build a Prone Board in the cellar of their home which proved to be a cue for a business.  While Catherine continued working as a Physiotherapist during the day, she spent her evenings making cushions and straps for the Jenx Prone Boards and shortly after that the Jenx Infant Chairs. In 1986 Catherine became a Director of Jenx Limited but continued working part-time as a Paediatric Physiotherapist into the 1990's.  She has four children, four grandchildren and is a Licensed Anglican Lay Minister.  She and Clive continue to run the Company with the aim of enriching lives and changing perceptions about disability. Rachel Barber A fascinating speaker, Rachel decided to leave her job as an Insurance Clerk to join the South Yorkshire Police having watched a policewoman strolling in the sunshine one summer's day. She soon learned the true challenges of the job! Rachel has worked her way through the ranks, finding herself in specialised positions such as planning for the G8 summit in Scotland, 2005. Some of the 'highlights' of her earlier career include being a Police Support Unit Sergeant during the Euro 96 Football Tournament and having to police the Danish supporters in Sheffield, and being in the Cabinet Office Briefing Room in Whitehall when the London bombs went off. In addition to undertaking senior management positions in Sheffield and more recently as the Head of the South Yorkshire Police Operational Support Services Department as a Chief Superintendent, Rachel has also been fortunate to undertake the staff officer role to one of our Assistant Chief Constables in his national work in Football Policing.  Being selected for this role came out of her interest in this area of policing and her role as one of the main commanders for the policing of football fixtures in Sheffield at Bramall Lane and Hillsborough.  Undertaking this national role has enabled Rachel to be selected as the first female Silver Commander for the England International Football Operation. In addition to a day job that involves the management and oversight of a £39 million pound budget and over 1000 staff, Rachel is also a Gold Firearms Commander and a force Hostage Negotiator roles which often mean unsocial hours and much grief from home! As the only female Chief Superintendent in the force, and therefore currently the highest ranking female officer in South Yorkshire, Rachel is keen to support others in achieving their goals and be a good role model.  To support this she is an active member of the SYP Women's Network and spends as much time as possible coaching and mentoring female staff within the organisation. Caroline Rollitt  Caroline joined South Yorkshire Police in March 1991 following 4 years in the Royal Military Police. Caroline applied to be a riot trained officer, and became one of three women at that time to undertake this role and finding herself policing the' Reclaim the streets' ,'Euro 96' and 'mink farm ' demonstrations to name a few. Caroline carried on her interest within the public order arena, and carried out evidence gathering functions as well as  commanding roles, rising through the different ranks. Having spent many occasions as the ground commander at Hillsborough , Bramall Lane and now more recently the New York stadium, some say Caroline has the best seat in town! With the introduction of Neighbourhood Policing Caroline was appointed the Broomhill and Broomhall Safer neighbourhood area Inspector with all the challenges that brings which includes the most affluent area in Sheffield to one of the poorest neighbourhoods. With two of the biggest University campuses and several teaching hospitals you could say her work was cut out! As a Chief Inspector Caroline was posted to Rotherham and took charge of the 24/7 policing of the area, working in partnership with local statutory and voluntary agencies. Now working within protected services having responsibility for Firearm Support to South Yorkshire Police, Caroline trains firearms officers and commanders. Although the gender profile of the Police is changing there are still so few female commanders and senior Police staff members. This is where SYP women's network helps. As the chair of the women's network and together with colleagues Caroline aims to help all women within the organisation to realise their potential by offering coaching and mentoring schemes as well as offering events on particular issues that affect women.