Channel 4 is #ChampioningWomensVoices in celebration of International Women’s Day

8 March 2021

In celebration of International Women’s Day 2021 Channel 4 is paying homage to the powerful achievements of an array of inspiring women across its platforms, with the accompanying hashtag #ChampioningWomensVoices.

On Monday 8th March the broadcaster is handing over its airwaves to the following selection of remarkable women in celebration of the important role they have played during the pandemic. They will share their stories with Channel 4 viewers throughout the day’s schedule via special continuity announcements aired together with a bespoke Channel 4 ident.

• Professor Sarah Gilbert – In December, the COVID-19 vaccine developed and tested by Sarah and colleagues at the Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group was approved for use in the UK and across the World.
• Dame Elizabeth Anionwu – as the UK’s first sickle-cell and thalassaemia nurse specialist, she helped establish the Brent Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Counselling Centre and also created the Mary Seacole Centre for Nursing Practice at the University of West London.
• Sarah White, Headteacher at Coates Lane Primary School - Sarah’s letter to parents at the school to say that it was "okay" if they were struggling with home schooling went viral, touching hearts across the country.
• Dr Nisreen Alwan MBE – initiated the call to Count ‘Long COVID’, among other significant contributions to the public health response throughout the past year.
• Alyson Walsh – As Commercial Director at FareShare Alyson has worked tirelessly with Marcus Rashford and FareShare’s network of over 30 warehouses to distribute an average of over 2 million meals each week to families and individuals at risk of hunger; in the process driving the issue of food insecurity to the top of the news agenda.
• Matron May Parsons – the first person in the world to administer a COVID-19 vaccine to a patient outside of clinical trials. As part of the hospital trust’s peer vaccinator programme for the flu jab, she set the record for the most vaccines given by an individual for three years running - 140 a day!
• Kate Bingham – As Chair of the Vaccine Taskforce in 2020 Kate led a team of world-class experts from across industry, science, academia, funding, regulators, logistics and government with the shared purpose of finding and manufacturing COVID-19 vaccine/s.

Channel 4 will celebrate these women and their stories across its social channels with a series of posts highlighting their impressive stories.

Zaid Al-Qassab, CMO & Inclusion & Diversity Director, Channel 4 said: “We’re hugely proud to be handing over the mic on International Women’s Day to such talented and inspiring women, highlighting their incredibly powerful achievements and providing a national  platform for their important stories.”

All 4 is #ChampioningWomensVoices throughout March with a curated collection of titles celebrating female stories and experiences – these will take over the All 4 homepage on Monday.

The streaming service’s devoted section, which will remain available beyond International Women’s Day and after Women’s History Month has concluded, sees a broad collection of female led shows from real stories and cutting edge comedy to documentaries and film where women both on screen and behind the camera are placed at the heart of the content.

This is reflected in Film4’s peak time schedule on Monday which is made up of a series of films centred around female-focussed stories, with women featuring prominently both on and off screen, including Oscar nominated Hidden Figures.

Off-air Channel 4 is championing the day with a programme of events for its staff and partners.

Ends.

Notes to Editors

IWD continuity announcer bios

Professor Sarah Gilbert

A British vaccinologist who is Professor of Vaccinology at the University of Oxford and co-founder of Vaccitech. Gilbert specialises in the development of vaccines against influenza and emerging viral pathogens. She led the development and testing of the universal flu vaccine, which underwent clinical trials in 2011. On 30 December 2020, the COVID-19 vaccine developed and tested by Sarah and colleagues at the Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group was approved for use in the United Kingdom and across the World. She was also named amongst other inspiring and influential women from around the world in the BBC 100 Women 2020 list.

Dame Elizabeth Anionwu

A British nurse, health visitor, lecturer and Emeritus Professor of Nursing at the University of West London. In 1979, Anionwu became the United Kingdom's first sickle-cell and thalassaemia nurse specialist, helping establish the Brent Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Counselling Centre. In 1998, by then a Professor of Nursing, Anionwu created the Mary Seacole Centre for Nursing Practice at the University of West London. She holds a PhD, was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).[2] She retired in 2007, and in 2016  self-published her memoirs, Mixed Blessings from a Cambridge Union. An updated edition, entitled Dreams From My Mother, will be published by Seven Dials Books in September 2021.  Today she is still championing NHS staff, especially black and minority ethnic workers and their families, who are disproportionately affected by Covid. She was also named amongst other inspiring and influential women from around the world in the BBC 100 Women 2020 list.

Sarah White

Headteacher at Coates Lane Primary School in Barnoldswick, Lancs, Sarah was so moved by a conversation with a parent who had had "really tough" time during lockdown she decided to write the letter to all parents at the school to say that it was "okay" if they were struggling with home schooling. The mum-of-two had only intended for her words to be read by parents at Coates Lane Primary school, but the story went viral, touching hearts across the country.

Dr Nisreen Alwan MBE

Associate Professor in Public Health at the University of Southampton and an Honorary Consultant in Public Health at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Alwan has contributed to the public health response by coordinating and leading several collective outputs from senior UK public health academics, and more recently by focusing on the recognition and the quantification of morbidity from COVID19, having initiated the call to Count ‘Long COVID’. She was awarded an MBE for services to Medicine and Public Health during the COVID19 pandemic in the Queen’s New Year Honours 2021. She was also named amongst other inspiring and influential women from around the world in the BBC 100 Women 2020 list.

Alyson Walsh

Alyson is Commercial Director at FareShare, with responsibility for fundraising, marketing, campaigns and volunteering. With 25 years’ experience in the food and retail sector, Alyson possesses a wealth of industry and consumer knowledge, having previously worked on product development, launches and communication campaigns both in the UK and internationally for Sainsbury’s, Kingfisher and Fortnum & Mason. She is also an accomplished writer, with work published in the Guardian and Sunday Times. Through the pandemic and in the face of soaring demand, Alyson has worked tirelessly with Marcus Rashford and FareShare’s network of over 30 warehouses to distribute an average of over 2 million meals each week to families and individuals at risk of hunger; in the process driving the issue of food insecurity to the top of the news agenda.

Matron May Parsons

A matron at University Hospital Coventry, she became the first person in the world to administer a COVID-19 vaccine to a patient outside of clinical trials.
May, who has worked in the NHS for nearly 20 years since moving to Britain from the Philippines, was the perfect nurse for the job. As part of the hospital trust’s peer vaccinator programme for the flu jab, she’s set the record for the most vaccines given by an individual for three years running, managing 140 vaccinations a day.

Kate Bingham

Kate Bingham is the former Chair of the UK Vaccine Taskforce. As Chair of the Vaccine Taskforce in 2020 she led a team of world-class experts from across industry, science, academia, funding, regulators, logistics and government with the shared purpose of finding and manufacturing COVID-19 vaccine/s.

Kate has worked in the biotech and life sciences sectors for 30 years and is Managing Partner at life sciences venture capital firm SV Health Investors and a board member of the Francis Crick Institute. Her investments have led to the launch of six drugs for the treatment of patients with inflammatory and autoimmune disease and cancer.

Kate is responsible for SV’s biotech investments and activities and serves or has served on the boards of companies in the UK, US, Ireland, Sweden and Germany. She played an active role in setting up the Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) and supports the International Biotechnology Trust listed on the LSE.

She won the Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the BioIndustry Association UK in January 2017 and has a first class degree in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford and an MBA from Harvard Business School (Baker Scholar).