West Midlands women urged to ‘know their workplace rights’

Women across the West Midlands are being urged to understand their workplace rights and feel confident using them during an event marking two years of BRUMWIM (Birmingham Women in Marketing).

The event, taking place on 15 October at The Eastside Rooms, will bring together women from across the region for an evening of straight-talking legal advice, honest conversation and practical tools to help them understand where they stand at work.

The event comes as a number of changes to employment law are being introduced this autumn.

Since 1 October, the time limit for bringing most employment tribunal claims has doubled from three months to six months.

From 30 October, employers will also have a duty to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment at work, while workers will have additional protection from harassment by customers and clients.

Research from the Young Women’s Trust found that almost a quarter (23 per cent) of young women have little or no knowledge of their workplace rights. According to PwC’s Women in Work Index 2026, women in the region still earn 12.2 per cent less than men.

Fran Nolan, founder of BRUMWIM and managing director and co-founder of Tribera, said: “Talent isn’t the problem. The system is.

“With new workplace harassment protections coming into force this month, understanding your rights has never been more important. Rights only have an impact when people know what they are entitled to and feel empowered to act on them.

“That is exactly what BRUMWIM’s ‘Know Your Rights’ event is here to do.”

The evening will feature Fran Nolan, Emma Oliver, legal director specialising in employment law and employee relations at Shakespeare Martineau, Christina Lewis, founder of Herizon and director of Women in Tech UK, and Hannah Cartwright, chief people officer at Essar Energy Transition.

Tickets are limited and priced at £5, or £3 for students. The event runs from 5.30pm to 8.30pm at The Eastside Rooms, Birmingham, with tickets available via the BRUMWIM website.