It’s International Women’s Day
Women in Food Lead Sponsor, Noelle Jones, Managing Director, Chartwells Independents
“It’s International Women’s Day – an opportunity to take a step back and celebrate all the amazing women from both within and outside our organisation. I want to applaud successes and bring the achievements of women to the forefront.
During my career, I have met both men and women that have been fantastic role models and mentors – they have helped give me confidence to shape my career. That’s why I wanted to take on the role of Lead Sponsor for our Women in Food network – to help others in this way and make sure the network has the focus and the attention that it quite rightly deserves.
Having launched in 2017, our network now has over 250 members – incredible! We have representation that includes all genders, from frontline to senior leadership positions and we now have 18 leads, that each take on responsibility for a different focus area to help our network thrive.
The objectives of the group are to:
- Attract Diversity
- Support development at all levels
- Create a safe and supportive environment where everyone can thrive
Not only has our network evolved into something bigger and better than we could have ever imagined, but we’ve also had some incredible success stories over the past year. Just a few highlights include – people taking on mentoring and development courses, to further their careers; having our Chair, Gemma Evans-Hurley, named on the WiHTL Women to Watch 2022 list; and having a female led Chef brigade to cater at some of the Women’s Euros match events.
We’re marking International Women’s Day with our sites across the UK taking part, as well as flagship events in our HQ offices in Parklands and Chertsey, alongside colleague events in Wales, Scotland and Ireland. These are being held by senior and frontline colleagues, discussing their own personal journeys, how they support females in the industry and opening the conversation to all, on how we can support ‘Embracing Equity’.
Earlier in the week we held an InclusiviTEA meeting, which encouraged open discussion spurred on by the amazing Carly Tait. Carly is a Paralympian, disability campaigner and a global D&I consultant, who advocates for inclusion and grassroots transformation through the power of the lived experience. It was a great discussion – thank you to everyone who attended.
International Women’s Day is just one day - I look around our business and see amazing people, with true talent thriving all year round and I am dedicated to moving this agenda forward day in day out!
Let’s use today as an opportunity to reflect on how we can all support diversity and inclusion, supporting others to be the best they can be."
