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PRESS RELEASE: 10th October 2017
Tanya Castell MBE, founder of Changing the Chemistry, recognised by Women of the Year
Tanya Castell MBE – CEO and founder of a Scottish charity which seeks to improve the diversity and effectiveness of boards - will join over 400 women from all walks of life at this year’s Women of the Year Lunch as a ‘2017 Woman of Achievement’. Each guest is regarded as a ‘Woman of the Year’ and represents not only herself, but the millions of women who make a difference every day.
Tanya is attending in celebration of her services to diversity in business having founded the charity Changing the Chemistry (CtC) to promote diversity of thought in the boardroom to improve board effectiveness. CtC operates as a peer support network helping its members secure board positions and then supporting them to perform in those roles and has filled over 100 positions from its membership across the private, public and third sectors. The charity also works with organisations who want to make their boards more diverse.
Tanya is based in Scotland and has a portfolio of non-executive directorships from Faster Payments to Scottish Canals in addition to her voluntary work with CtC.
Tanya comments, “I am truly honoured to have been invited to the Women of the Year lunch in recognition of the success of Changing the Chemistry. There have been some serious failings in the boardroom in the past and by increasing the diversity of thought, the evidence shows that decision-making should improve.”
This year’s event will take place on Monday 16 October 2017 at the InterContinental Hotel, Park Lane, London.
Previous attendees of the Women of the Year Lunch have included: Eimear McBride, Ellen MacArthur, Fern Britton, Dame Harriet Walter, Dame Jacqueline Wilson, Julie Walters CBE, Lindsay Lohan, Lulu, Mel Giedroyc, Nadiya Hussein, Nicole Kidman, Professor Mary Beard, Sally Lindsay and Theresa May.
Women of the Year has recognised, celebrated and inspired women of all backgrounds since 1955 and continues to shine a light on ordinary women, doing extraordinary work, through an annual Lunch and Awards ceremony, Alumnae events and on-going foundation work.
Sandi Toksvig, President of Women of the Year, said: "I’m looking forward to the honour of welcoming these incredible women to the Lunch in October. These women are making a huge difference in their own way, and it’s important that we celebrate such extraordinary work. I would love to show the room to every schoolgirl growing up in Britain today and tell them ‘you can be whatever you want to be: just look at these incredible women.’”
Exceptional women will receive special awards at the Lunch for being an inspiration to others, demonstrated by their courage, selflessness and dedication. These special Women of the Year Awards are sponsored by Barclays,Good Housekeeping, ITV’sLorraine and Prudential and will be announced on Monday 16 October 2017.
Previous Women of the Year winners include:
· Baroness Doreen Lawrence, campaigner for justice following the murder of her son Stephen
· Christina Noble, founder of The Christina Noble Children’s Foundation
· Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Astrophysicist
· Fahma Mohammed, anti-FGM activist
· Jayne Senior MBE, Rotherham sexual abuse whistle-blower
· Katie Piper, who set up a charity to help burns survivors after being victim of a brutal acid attack
· Kris Hallenga, breast cancer awareness campaigner and co-founder of Coppafeel!
· Liz Clegg, a volunteer who has fought to reduce the plight of women and children living in the Calais Jungle.
· Marjorie Wallace CBE, British writer, broadcaster, investigative journalist, and Chief Executive of SANE
· Seema Aziz, founder of CARE foundation Pakistan, a not-for-profit organization that is on a mission to provide quality education to all
ENDS
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CHANGING THE CHEMISTRY
@changingthechem www.changingthechemistry.org
Changing the Chemistry (CtC) is a Scottish based charity working to improve diversity of thought in the boardroom (diversity being not just about gender but also ethnicity, age, disability and other types of protected characteristics as well as cognitive and experiential diversity). The charity operates as a peer support network charging no membership fee but expecting members to contribute to help individuals from diverse backgrounds secure board roles and then supporting them to perform in those roles. In addition to developing the supply side of board recruitment, CtC is also working to influence the demand side by making those hiring board members more aware of the biases and stereotypes impacting their decision-making and reiterating the business case that diverse teams perform better. Membership is open to anyone aged 18 or over who supports the charity’s aims and is willing to commit to contribute to its objectives in some way.
CtC has filled over 100 board roles from its membership across all three sectors – from FTSE 250 companies to a broad range of public sector boards to wide variety of charities. CtC has also had great results working with organisations to help them make significant shifts in the diversity of their boards by attracting a wider range of candidates and supporting them through the recruitment process. CtC’s membership is made up of those seeking board roles, those on boards with a desire to continuously improve their boardroom skills and those who want to support the cause of diversity of thought in the boardroom.