BCI Women in Resilience: Wrapping up 2024
Wrapping up 2024 was no mean task since it was fraught with disruptions that provided more than its fair share of twists and turns. Though, as always, the silver lining of any difficult time was the perseverance and grit displayed across communities, industries and of course, people. One such example was the determined and brilliant set of women who form the BCI WiR Committee.
The Mckinsey ‘Women in the Workplace 2024’ report[1], showed that over the past decade, women have made important gains at every level of the corporate pipeline, especially in senior leadership. Yet progress is surprisingly fragile, especially for women of colour, who continue to be underrepresented at every level and who view gender and race as obstacles to their advancement. Navigating uncertain times calls for collaborative effort and we at WiR want to blaze a trail, creating, transforming and paving the way for women to progress at their workplace. Here’s what this amazing group has achieved over the past 12 months and some personal reflections from the committee.
2024 in summary: A year of resilience
Let’s begin with the BCI WiR Committee members, Krysta Broughton-Munford, Candice Croydon, Bethany Warren, Winifred Ndukwe (Winnie), Baljeet Kaur, Danielle Ryan, and Debarati Rana on their thoughts on the year. Some interesting insights emerged when they were asked to summarise 2024!
Krysta, Vice Leader of WiR, summarised 2024 as a year of evolving threats and heightened risks, with geopolitical tensions, climate change, cybersecurity attacks, economic volatility, and rapid AI advancements, emphasising the growing demand for resilience experts and the demand for the skills and capabilities of women. Candice described the year with the term “polycrises,” highlighting both challenges and progress. Winnie stressed the importance of resilience in adapting to constant change and building agility in an unpredicatable AI driven world, while Bethany advocated for a holistic approach to resilience, leveraging resources like the BCI Horizon Scan Reports[2] to aid awareness of the risk landscape. Danielle, a resilience professional and working mum, noted how hybrid and remote work is reshaping resilience strategies, recommending businesses consider a holistic approach to resilience and focus on resilience as a continuous process, rather than a one-off effort. Debarati reflected on 2024 as a phenomenal year of enhanced learning, managing multiple incidents unfolding simultaneously, and networking for risk professionals.
Exciting WiR events and initiatives over the past year
The WiR events team (Krysta, Bethany & Baljeet) manage our inspiring events calendar. Here they share their vision and recap on the exciting events and initiatives run by them for WiR in 2024.
The WiR Events team, based in London (UK), hosted two hybrid events this year: ‘Breaking Into And Succeeding In Resilience #InspireInclusion’ and ‘Championing female leadership in resilience – Skills and tactics for breaking into and influencing the C-suite’. Curating events such as these, that feature acclaimed speakers from diverse backgrounds, help empower women to leverage their unique skills and experiences and foster an inclusive community within the resilience industry. WiR events this year have served as powerful and inspiring platforms in three primary ways:
Inspiring action: sharing career journeys, insights, and best practices motivates women to overcome challenges and embrace their leadership potential.
Fostering collaboration: creating a space for women to connect, share knowledge, and build meaningful relationships.
Showcasing diverse perspectives: highlighting the richness and value of people from different backgrounds and professions within the resilience field.
The WiR events team takes immense pride in collaborating with purpose to identify and secure top-tier speakers. We meticulously select people who embody innovation, diversity and inspiration, and bring valuable personal and professional resilience insights to ensure a dynamic and thought-provoking experience for all attendees. We also curate engaging themes, carefully designing events to offer a compelling blend of keynote presentations, interactive workshops, and networking opportunities centred around a topic of intertest. Expanding our global reach is important too. We actively seek to expand our network, connecting women in resilience from far and wide to foster a truly international community.
A shift to informal webinar sessions
Another feather in the cap for WiR was the series of interesting webinar sessions in 2024. Here Candice and Winnie tell us about the sessions and the pivot to a more informal continuity coffee chat format.
Candice explained the change to an informal approach. She said:
“There has been a conscious shift from the WiR formal webinars to more informal sessions, with focus on what matters most to members. These sessions are now being designed to foster open dialogue between women and allies in the resilience industry, focusing on key topics such as training and exercising, employment challenges, and crisis management. This aligns with the collaborative spirit of the WIR group, empowering members to shape discussions in real-time.
Winnie added:
“Attendees are encouraged to actively participate! Whether it’s sharing resources on our LinkedIn pages, sharing insights via the chat, joining with video, or speaking up during discussions, this is a space for you to connect, share experiences, and collaborate with like-minded professionals.”
Sharing our new Linkedin page
A new LinkedIn page The BCI WiR Chat & Share space has been created as a hub for sharing resources, sparking pre-webinar conversations, and continuing discussions afterwards. This was created to be a unique opportunity to discuss the evolving landscape of the resilience industry, exchange knowledge, and build lasting professional relationships. Topics are chosen based on industry trends, news, and suggestions by the attendees and industry professionals.
Wishing you all a Happy New Year
2024 was another year of wake-up calls but we, as resilience professionals, emerged stronger and hopefully better prepared to handle the new world. At BCI WiR, we do not claim to be a torch bearer of women’s rights but if our initiatives be they articles, events or coffee sessions can impact, motivate or positively influence even one woman we know we are on the right track. We promise you that 2025 will be another year of bold ideas and amazing initiatives! If you have not yet joined us, then do so at BCI WiR SIG LinkedIn page and be sure to join WiR on Tuesday 4th March, at the first hybrid event of 2025! In celebration of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, we will be hearing from experts and industry leaders on the topic of “Together we thrive: Accelerating action in resilience through allyship and the power of the community”. Click here to find out more information and to register to attend in person or virtually. (or follow the link below)
More on
About the author
Ratna Pawan
Independent Security Risk Consultant
