Leading women’s rights activist to speak at upcoming event

A business-to-business conference set to take place in Leeds next month has announced Helen Pankhurst, women’s rights activist and great-granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst, leader of the Suffragette movement, as a headline speaker.

Working in Ethiopia and the UK, Helen is a senior advisor to the humanitarian and development agency CARE International, as well as a board member for ActionAid. She aims to keep the suffragette legacy alive, including as a suffragette at the Opening of the London Olympics and through her involvement in the 2015 film Suffragette.

She will take the opportunity to speak about this at the Buy Yorkshire conference to share her reflections on the ongoing resonance of the suffragette’s campaign, one hundred years on. This explores the continuity and change in women’s lives and how best to continue to tackle sexism and gender-based discrimination.

Pankhurst said: “Attitudes have changed but there are still challenges 100 years on. Taking to the stage at the Buy Yorkshire Conference gives me a platform to share the suffragette’s story – one that people are still fascinated in – and to explain why it is so critical to learn from the past as we march into the future.

“Many people will have seen the film the Suffragette and in the themes presented see the parallels to today’s society and the continued need to champion a fairer world. I want to take this opportunity to look at how – just like the title of my book – it is deeds and not words that will make a difference.”

General Manager of Buy Yorkshire, Kate Hutchinson, said: “We can’t wait to welcome Helen to the stage to hear more about her story! We know that this seminar will be one of the most popular that we host during this year’s event and would encourage anyone that wants to come along to register early to avoid disappointment.

“You only have to read the headlines to see that Women’s rights continue to create debate and we are very pleased to bring this topic to our stage and to give it the platform that it deserves.”