University of Cumbria spotlights inspiring Cumbrian women for International Women’s Day 2026
The University of Cumbria is celebrating International Women’s Day 2026 by shining a spotlight on a number of remarkable women whose resilience and determination have transformed their lives and their professions.
This year’s International Women’s Day theme, #GiveToGain, celebrates the power of generosity, advocacy, and supporting others. The university is highlighting women across its community whose leadership, creativity, and compassion embody this spirit, including staff, students, alumni, and partners at Carlisle United Football Club.
Charlotte Young, communications and engagement officer at the Pears Cumbria School of Medicine, spent years managing severe hearing loss through hearing aids and lip-reading, often feeling isolated and exhausted. In 2022, cochlear implant (CI) surgery changed everything.
Since joining the university in 2024, Charlotte has become an enthusiastic advocate for accessible, inclusive communication and was recognised nationally as a finalist at the CommsHERO Awards 2025. She was recently involved in a national awareness raising campaign with the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) and is an active supporter for the CI community.
Charlotte said: “As a proud member of the university community and a passionate cochlear implant advocate, being recognised on International Women’s Day is very humbling. Working alongside such resilient women who champion inclusion, challenge barriers, and ensure every voice is heard is truly empowering.”
Photo credit: Piers Allardyce
The university is also celebrating alumnus, Phoebe Grace. A 2025 paramedic degree apprenticeship graduate, Phoebe’s determination saw her overcome major spinal surgery to follow her dream career on the frontline.
Diagnosed with scoliosis at 15, Phoebe underwent invasive stabilisation surgery and refused to let it define her future. After beginning work as an emergency technician, she joined the East of England Ambulance Service’s paramedic apprenticeship programme with the University of Cumbria. Today, she is a frontline paramedic with ambitions to specialise further in critical care.
Phoebe says: “I feel truly honoured to be recognised on International Women’s Day. Sharing my journey as a paramedic and an alumna of the University of Cumbria has been an incredible experience. I’m proud of how far I’ve come, and I hope my story inspires others to pursue their dreams despite their limitations and to share their achievements because we are capable of amazing things!”
As part of its ongoing partnership with Carlisle United Football Club, the university is also celebrating Teresa Mulholland, Carlisle United’s EDI and Mental Health Officer, and Director of Safeguarding, Governance and EDI at the Carlisle United Community Sports Trust. Teresa recently received two major honours: Cumbria Woman of the Year and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Diverse Cumbria Awards, recognising two decades of work championing inclusion, equality, and community cohesion.
Lee McDermot the university’s equality diversity and inclusion officer said: “As part of the wide range of work we undertake relating to EDI at the university, it’s important to pause, recognise and celebrate the women in our immediate and wider community on International Women’s Day. As an organisation that is 66 per cent female, we have a multitude of stories that could have been shared, with a compilation of stand-out women being celebrated in our blog.
“Female leadership, success, and inspiration is included from those working in academia, professional services and partner institutions, alongside student stories, showcasing how the women of the university are creating change now and for the future. Acknowledging this year’s theme of #GiveToGain, it’s important to recognise that we all play a role in advancing gender equality, which can be shaped by giving space, giving opportunity, giving time and more, taking inspiration from those referenced in our blog and beyond.”
To read more, head to the International Women’s Day 2026 blog here
