Teesside University provice chancellor Jane Turner( right) and Laura Woods( left), director of The Forge, Teesside University’ s business hub, with Tees Business co-editor Dave Allan.
University backs first-ever
BY MARTIN WALKER
Tees Businesswomen Awards
20
Teesside University pro vice-chancellor Professor Jane Turner OBE has been confirmed as the keynote speaker for the inaugural Tees Businesswomen Awards, to be held this year.
Tees Business – Tees Life’ s sister publication – is organising the first event of its kind at Wynyard Hall Hotel on Thursday November 8.
The awards will celebrate women in business on Teesside, with the overarching long-term aim to inspire a new generation of women to succeed in business and create more female entrepreneurs and business leaders than ever before.
Professor Turner, who is also the university’ s gender champion, was confirmed as the event’ s headline speaker as Teesside University was also confirmed as sponsors of the very first Tees Businesswoman of the Year category.
The Tees Businesswomen Awards aims to:
• Raise the profile of women and the great things that they are achieving in the Tees Valley.
• Build a coalition of women who can provide a collective voice and thereby influence key decisions affecting our region.
• Identify more women who can be viewed as positive role models for younger women.
• Build a bank of mentors to support women of all ages.
Professor Turner said:“ I’ ve met some amazing business leaders and as a university we work very closely with them. But I’ ve also been very struck by the fact that most of the known business leaders are men.
“ This is not a female-only event. Let’ s come together to engage in the first ever Tees Businesswomen Awards, where we celebrate success and for one night showcase the brilliant women of our region and their achievements.”
Professor Turner said she was angered by the findings in September 2016 that Middlesbrough was the worst place to be a young girl in England and Wales.
“ Having grown up here, I couldn’ t help but notice that not a lot had changed around the male-female dynamic when I returned to work in the region two-and-a-half years ago,” she added.
“ I was at a business lunch recently where I was the only woman in the room – and that worries me, because women have so much to offer, but where are they?
“ If we are going to stand a chance of changing the trajectory for future generations of women then we need to take a stance now.
“ It’ s time for change, and for a university with such a positive regional reputation, backing the Tees