On Thursday 6 March, 2025, Music in Offices brought together more than 100 women working in the City of London to mark International Women’s Day with a powerful celebration of song, culminating in a special Market Close Ceremony at the London Stock Exchange.

Amplifying this year’s theme of Accelerate Action, City of Women 2025 is marking 500 years of women working in the Square Mile. The City of Women event attendees included Lady Mayoress Florence King, Lady Hilary Russell, city resident and community connector Harshita Patel, City of London Police Constable, Sybil Beaumont, Joanna Abeyie OBE and the Market Close ceremony was hosted by Dame Julia Hoggett, CEO of the London Stock Exchange plc. The journey began at Leadenhall Market, singing at key City landmarks before arriving at the London Stock Exchange for the closing performance.

Tessa Marchington, CEO of Music in Offices and newly elected Councillor in the City of London commented: "It’s a privilege to bring together women who really make things happen in the City of London and to celebrate their impact through song and performance. Too often, women’s voices are still not heard in boardrooms and beyond. Today’s event is a reminder of the power of collective voices and the role music plays in fostering collaboration, confidence, and connection in the City of London."

As part of the event, singers performed iconic anthems including Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves by Annie Lennox and Aretha Franklin, What’s Up? by 4 Non-Blondes, I Am Woman by Helen Reddy, and The March of the Women, by Ethel Smythe, a historic song of the suffrage movement. Interwoven throughout the event were excerpts from City of Women, an oratorio commissioned by the City of London Corporation, celebrating trailblazing women who have shaped the City’s past and present. We heard the words of women including Hester Pinney who had a lace empire in the Royal Exchange in 1682, Jane Partington, one of the first women to join the trading floor of the London Stock Exchange, Tangy Morgan, the first African-American to join the board of the Bank of England, Caroline Al-Beyerty the first female Chamberlain and CFO of the City of London Corporation, Florence Keelsey-Anfu, Private Markets Community Manager at LSEG and elected City of London Common Councillor, and Akua Opong Senior Engineer at LSEG.

Music in Offices has been at the forefront of using music to transform workplace culture since 2007. The organisation delivers workplace choirs, bespoke workshops, and instrumental tuition to some of the UK’s leading businesses, using the power of music to drive engagement, innovation and well-being.

Recent initiatives include producing the City Festival of Music, Invention & Knowledge for Lord Mayor Michael Mainelli, wellbeing workshops led by music therapists, live musicians entertaining in client event spaces and office atriums and regular concert performances from talented City workers being taught by their young musicians.

Looking ahead, Music in Offices is set to deliver exciting, inspiring events using Cityscapes as stages to host live performances including a collaboration with RG Live and a Battle of the Bands competition, giving workplace musicians the chance to perform on the roof terraces of some of the City’s most iconic buildings.

Through these initiatives, Music in Offices continues to bridge the gap between business and the arts and support emerging musicians in London, adding to the vibrancy and offering of the City of London to make it a destination.

Today's event at the London Stock Exchange was a fitting tribute to the resilience, innovation, and impact of women in the City—past, present, and future.

Dame Julia Hoggett, CEO of London Stock Exchange plc commented: "It is wonderful to open up the Exchange to women from across the City of London who have contributed, and continue to contribute, so much to our community. It is especially wonderful to see the celebration and tribute paid to the important voices of women that have shaped the Square Mile for over 500 years, delivered through live performances – a special experience that we are delighted to see on the balcony of the London Stock Exchange."