International Women's Day 2026: Meet Eunice Belbin

International Women’s Day 2026. The story of Belbin Team Roles features not one, but two people with the surname Belbin.

Ahead of International Women's Day this Sunday, we want to share the inspiring story and achievements of Eunice Belbin, and the part she played in the discovery and development of the Team Role theory, language and framework.

Introducing Dr Eunice Belbin:Eunice began her working life as a secretary in London, studying in her spare time. She took a role teaching typing at Sidcup Technical College and, in demonstrating the proficiency and determination that would characterise her later career, worked her way up to Acting Principal.Eunice was accepted by Cambridge University to study anthropology and went on to gain a First – and a college prize.

On transferring to the psychology department, she met her future husband, Meredith Belbin.She went on to write a doctoral thesis on learning and training adults and became a director at the Industrial Training and Research Unit (ITRU). Meredith was conducting research for the ITRU, so essentially became Meredith's boss!

Eunice was awarded an OBE for her work as director at the ITRU, and as a member of the Manpower Services Commission. She also contributed to a number of research papers and co-authored a number of books with Meredith: "Training the adult worker" (1964) and "Problems in adult retraining" (1972).Eunice and Meredith had the epitome of a 'complementary working relationship'.

Meredith came up with ideas while Eunice took care of the business side of things. Eunice worked closely with both Meredith and their son, Nigel, building Belbin as a business until her sad passing in 2006.This International Women’s Day, we celebrate her legacy and the women who continue to shape Belbin every day.