Celebrating Women’s Equality Day

Women's Equality Day, celebrated annually on August 26 in the United States, commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920, which granted women the right to vote.

The day serves as a reminder of the ongoing fight for gender equality and women's rights. In celebration of this day, we are shining a spotlight on a few of the inspiring women from all over the world who have chosen to study with us.

Margaret Sakufiwa from Zambia

Since completing her MBA, Margaret Sakufiwa from Zambia has opened her bakery, Nalu's Treats, in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, and hopes to build the business into a new brand, with several outlets across the city. Margaret is a graduate of Heriot-Watt’s Scholarship for Women in Zambia programme, which was launched in 2019 in a partnership between the Scottish Government and Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt’s graduate school of business. The programme offered 20 fully funded online MBA scholarships to women in Zambia who were passionate about business and tackling gender inequality.

Margaret credits the MBA programme for increasing her confidence in her business skills and giving her the courage to start her own business. She said: “Prior to getting my MBA, I was always doubtful of my abilities to run any business, let alone have the courage to start a business.

“By doing courses like making strategies work, developing and executing strategy, and learning how to develop a business plan and run the financials, I acquired enough skills, confidence, and knowledge to be able to start my own business and put all of the knowledge I had attained to good use.”

Rachel Økland from Norway

Rachel Økland from Norway signed up to study our MBA programme during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when she was furloughed from her work. Now, she works for a global shipping company and found that the flexibility of studying completely online was useful when juggling studying, work, and family life.

Rachel, who received a scholarship package from her work to cover the cost of her studies, said: “The beauty of the online courses is that they are so flexible. They can fit into any lifestyle no matter where you are at - if you are working full time or if you have kids.

“It's easy to study when you have the time and put away when you don’t have the time. You sign up for the exams when you feel that you are ready to take them, and you can take them at your own speed.”

When asked about advice she would give to other people thinking about studying with Heriot-Watt Online, Rachel said: “I really have to recommend the MBA online course. I can’t stress that enough. It’s changed me so much as a person and my work ethic has improved a lot.”

Nguna Damalie from Uganda

Nguna Damalie, from Uganda, recently graduated from our MBA after completing the programme in only nine months, while also working full-time and looking after her two children. She completed her studies in such an impressive time while studying with MAT Abacus Business School, our Approved Learning Partner in Uganda.

Nguna, who works for the Uganda Revenue Authority, said “This course has really been insightful and really helpful in managing my teams, in coming up with different strategies, in solving problems, and a lot more in planning, in laying all the different plans and activities that we have.”

When discussing the challenges of balancing studying and working full time with other life commitments, Nguna offers some inspiring words of encouragement for those currently, or thinking about, studying: “There are many people out there who have busy schedules like myself. We have children, we have businesses to run, we have work."

“But what I can advise is that there will never be a perfect time when you will have free time. So, it is a matter of deciding – when you are decisive and you’re committed and resilient in what you’re doing, everything will work out.”

Emily Woolard, from the United Kingdom

Emily Woolard studied our MBA programme online and successfully launched her own business in the middle of her studies. She praised the programme for empowering her with skills that she could immediately put into practice while running her own business.

She said: “I started my own business in the middle of it, so a lot of the stuff I could put into practice straight away. Particularly the marketing and some of the finance stuff.

“It’s just the basics that you have to know when you’re starting a business and having a practical thing to start to kind of try it on was really useful.”

Brenda Akello, from Uganda

Brenda Akello from Uganda studied the MBA programme while working as a practising lawyer and advocate for Uganda Development Bank. Brenda was able to successfully fit her studies around her extremely busy work schedule to learn skills that she could immediately apply to her fast-paced career.

She said: “What I can say is that this programme has helped me fit in, understand the discussions at board level, at management level, and just appreciate how institutions are run, how organisations are run.

“So, for me, it just made it very practical and very applicable in my day-to-day work.”

As Women's Equality Day highlights the victories and the fight still ahead for women’s rights, our inspiring graduates’ stories showcase how online education can help transform lives. It removes barriers, ignites confidence, and helps lift women towards their goals. Through online education, women across the globe can ensure their voices are heard, break glass ceilings, and contribute to a future where gender equality is not just a goal but a reality.

As Women's Equality Day highlights the victories and the fight still ahead for women’s rights, our inspiring graduates’ stories showcase how online education can help transform lives. It removes barriers, ignites confidence, and helps lift women towards their goals. Through online education, women across the globe can ensure their voices are heard, break glass ceilings, and contribute to a future where gender equality is not just a goal but a reality.

Visit our “Meet Our Students” page to find out more about our inspiring graduates and their experience studying with Heriot-Watt Online. If you are thinking about joining our global network of graduates, you can browse the full list of our flexible programmes to find the perfect fit for you.