Introducing: Our 2026 International Women's Day Conference

Warwick Women in Economics to host International Women’s Day Conference 2026

Warwick Women in Economics (WWiE) will host their annual International Women’s Day Conference on Sunday 8 March in the Faculty Arts Building (FAB0.08) from 10:30am to 4pm. This student led event brings together speakers from economics, policy, finance, and entrepreneurship to explore women’s representation and leadership across the profession. The conference is free and open to students and staff from all departments.

We believe it is important to celebrate International Women’s Day, and our conference brings together a diverse range of speakers and attendees to highlight the importance of female representation and leadership.

We are delighted to welcome Ada Osakwe, a Nigerian economist, entrepreneur, and corporate executive, who is the founder and chief executive officer of Agrolay Ventures, an agribusiness investment company based in Nigeria. She is also the founder of the 'Nuli Foods' restaurant chain and was previously the Senior Investment Adviser to Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. As a Warwick alumna, having studied for a Masters in Economics and Finance at Warwick, Ada will be sharing her incredible career journey, through finance, the civil service, and entrepreneurship.

Following this keynote, we are hosting an 'Alternate Pathways' Panel, exploring the career journeys of a diverse range of panellists, including Sharda Dean, Economist at the Competition and Markets Authority; Elizabeth Villagomez, a policy advisor and consultant for international UN agencies, most recently for UN Women; Jadin Meurer, a behavioural science consultant at Cowry Consulting; and Han Tonnu, a data analyst at Revolut. This is a great experience for our members to explore career paths beyond the traditional routes and learn how to prepare for opportunities in these industries.

We will also be hosting Simonetta Rigo as a keynote speaker. Simonetta holds the position of Chief Client Officer at Rathbones and has more than 30 years of experience across wealth management, investment banking, fintech and board governance, including FTSE 250 advisory boards. This is a unique opportunity to hear directly from a female industry leader who has shaped firms and driven growth, we will be hosting an interactive Q&A following the speech and encourage our audience to get their questions answered.

Our conference concludes with our Women in Economics sponsor panel, hosting representatives from the Warwick Economics department as well as our sponsors. We are delighted to have Dr Lory Barile join us for this panel, who is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Warwick and an applied behavioural and experimental economist, as well as representatives from our sponsors Frontier Economics and Charles River Associates. The panel will focus on the experience of women working in the field of economics, the importance of female role-models and how our panellists found their specialty within the field.