She Leads for Legacy 2025: A Celebration of Visibility, Voice & Unstoppable Leadership Care Pathway Post-Event Reflection

On 18 October 2025, hundreds of women, allies, innovators, and leaders gathered at Manchester Central for She Leads for Legacy 2025, themed “Empowered to Lead: Unstoppable.”

What unfolded was more than a conference, It was a declaration of identity, purpose and legacy. It was a space where Black women were not only present but centred, celebrated, and propelled.

At Care Pathway, where our mission is Empowering Excellence across public health and social care, this event resonated deeply.

A Movement Rooted in Representation

She Leads for Legacy exists to tackle a long-standing inequity - the persistent underrepresentation of Black women in senior leadership and board-level roles.

The organisation offers community, mentorship, access, and visibility — and this year’s event strengthened that mission.

The day brought together:

* Trailblazers in leadership, entrepreneurship and public service

* Early-career Black women seeking tools to progress

* Allies committed to dismantling systemic barriers

* Organisations exploring authentic inclusive leadership

What made the event so powerful was how seen people felt. This is an experience far too rare for many Black women within professional systems.

Key Moments That Defined the Day

1. Stories That Shifted Something in the Room

Speakers shared journeys shaped by resilience, culture, injustice, and triumph. These stories reminding us why lived experience must guide leadership, system design, and social change.

2. Practical, High-Impact Workshops

Workshops focused on:

• Leadership presence

• Career progression

• Advocating for yourself in systems not built for you

• Strategic networking

• Building confidence and courage

Each session offered real-world actionable strategies.

3. A Network Rooted in Possibilities

People didn’t just exchange business cards, they exchanged possibility.
The networking felt like a collective pact: we are in this together.

Why This Matters for Public Health & Social Care

From a public health and social care lens, She Leads for Legacy speaks to critical themes we centre at Care Pathway:

1. Representation is a determinant of quality and safety.

When leadership does not reflect the communities it serves, inequities persist.

2. Diverse leadership strengthens trust, innovation, and system resilience.

Black women bring lived experience that enriches how we teach, design strategies, and deliver care.

3. Lived experience must not be tokenised — it must shape decision-making.

This aligns with Care Pathway’s commitment to person-centred leadership, service user and carer involvement (SUCI) and equity-driven system transformation.

This conference affirmed that leadership is not simply positional, it is relational, cultural, and experiential.

Reflections from Care Pathway

Attending this event reinforced a few truths central to CP mission:

* Visibility inspires courage.

* Leadership pipelines must be cultivated intentionally.

* Narratives of lived experience matter.

* We must continue creating spaces where marginalised voices are not an add-on, but the anchor.

Closing Reflection

She Leads for Legacy 2025 was not simply another conference, it was a reminder:

When Black women lead, systems transform.
When lived experience guides the room, excellence becomes the standard.
When empowerment is collective, legacy becomes unstoppable.

At Care Pathway, we carry this energy forward, into our teaching, practice, research, and leadership development.

Here’s to building pathways where everyone can rise.

Here’s to Empowering Excellence.

By

Bimpe Kuti-Matekenya