Dr Bridget Towle CBE, Chair of Council and Pro-Chancellor at the University of Leicester hosted the sixth annual Women of Influence Luncheon on Wednesday 4th November 2015 at the Reform Club, London. Award winning journalist and author Yasmin Alibhai-Brown spoke about her latest book ‘Exotic England: The Making of a Curious Nation’, a portrait of her life in Britain since she immigrated to the UK in 1972. Professor Paul Boyle, President and Vice-Chancellor spoke about the University acting as the launchpad for the inaugural UN Women’s HeForShe campaign on the importance of gender equality.
The University of Leicester is part of HeForShe’s IMPACT 10x10x10 programme, which engages ten leaders across three sectors to drive systemic change. Key decision makers at governments, corporations, and universities around the world are empowered to drive change from the top. IMPACT champions make gender equality an institutional priority, committing to real change within and beyond each of their organizations. Each IMPACT champion implements the HeForShe IMPACT framework and develops three bold, game-changing commitments to advance and ultimately achieve gender equality for all. http://www.heforshe.org/impact/
Dr Towle ended the lunch by announcing details of the Women of Influence Guild Scholarship Fund which provides crucial support for women studying at the University of Leicester. In 2014, the fund awarded a full MSc Scholarship and bursary and in 2015 it has chosen to support a PhD candidate in a programme of study at the University in a subject in which women are currently underrepresented.
For further information visit http://www2.le.ac.uk/institution/womenatleicester/women-of-influence