Celebrating female founders with Barclays Eagle Labs

In celebration of International Women’s Day 2025, our very own Managing Director and Head Tiger Louise was invited to speak at a special event hosted by Barclays Eagle Labs. Last year, Lou was recognised with an ‘Outstanding Contribution to Entrepreneurship’ award, alongside several other brilliant women in business. Fast-forward 12 months and she was back on stage, reunited with four fellow winners for a panel discussion packed with hard-won wisdom, real talk, and some serious inspiration.

You might wonder why we need initiatives to promote and celebrate women’s achievements when so much progress has been made. And sure, at first glance, marketing might seem like a pretty equal industry, with women making up 50-60% of the workforce. But dig a little deeper and you’ll find the stats that might make you think again:

• The marketing gender pay gap? It’s 16% – more than double the UK’s national average of 7.7%
• Men are more than twice as likely to land director-level roles – 18% of men in marketing hit the big jobs compared to just 7% of women

And looking beyond marketing, at the global workforce more generally:

• According to UN figures, women earn 20% less than men on average
• Women hold less than a third (just 29%) of C-suite positions worldwide

It’s clear women’s work still isn’t rewarded in a way that’s equal to men, even within industries that have a largely female workforce. Those numbers don’t lie: there’s still a serious ROAR for change needed.

Barclays Eagle Labs: Empowering female founders

Barclays Eagle Labs is all about backing brilliant business brains, whether they’re just starting out or are ready to scale up. Through mentoring, funding connections and accelerator programmes, they support founders across all industries. And in 2023, they stepped things up with the launch of their Female Founder Accelerator initiative. Since then, their work championing women in business has gone from strength to strength.

And this year’s International Women’s Day event was another cracker. On the day, Lou’s fellow panellists were Just Like Me books founder Pamela Aculey, CEO of Punk Security Melissa Gurney, and Sustained Futures founder Katie Neck. The four women spoke honestly about their careers – the wins, the setbacks, and all the wisdom they’ve gained.

A fascinating theme emerged throughout the panel discussion, without any planning: the shared experiences of self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and the constant questioning of whether you’re making the right decisions at the right time in the right way. It highlighted one of the many distinctions between men and women in business – but the panel of powerhouse women concluded that what can sometimes feel like a weakness can actually be a great strength. Careful consideration and a measured approach can foster even greater resilience and generate incisive strategic thinking.

“Make no mistake – we are audacious, fiercely dedicated, professional businesswomen, but we must remember to take stock of what we’ve achieved, rather than what we didn’t do,” says Louise. “We need to think about how far we’ve come – not the paths we haven’t yet walked down. The obstacles we’ve faced and overcome. And when we take stock of all that, we need to celebrate ourselves!”

Strength in speaking up: the power of vulnerability

Louise spoke candidly and for the first time, publicly shared a little of what she has been through in recent years: “After COVID, I endured an incredibly difficult and messy divorce. At the time, I convinced myself I was fine, that no one would notice, and that nothing would suffer – I was wrong. I lost a major client because I remained silent, and times became extremely tough.”

It was a raw moment – but it was also a turning point. That experience taught Lou a vital lesson: that speaking up is not a weakness, it’s a superpower.

“I was met with understanding and support. And then winning the Barclays award came at the perfect time: my divorce was finalised, and I finally had the headspace and energy to refocus on my business. My incredible team of Tigers, along with my loved ones – and even a few of my clients – were a great support and my saving grace. Looking back at where we were last year compared to now, I am immensely proud to say that we are thriving. We are ROARing louder than ever before, and I cannot wait to help many more businesses do the same.”

Offering her final words on the day, Lou remarked on how special the event had been:

“It was an honour to stand among so many accomplished businesswomen, and I extend my warmest congratulations to all of yesterday’s winners. Be proud, shout about your achievements, and recognise your hard work and dedication. We will all face adversity:  whether it’s balancing motherhood with business commitments, overcoming sexism, battling our own fears and self-doubt, or those tricky, all-consuming turn-your-life-upside-down moments – but do not give up. No matter what you’re going through: if you never give up, you will never fail.”