Strong female leaders at Doncaster Council have inspired Pride organiser to believe in herself

One of the organisers of Doncaster Pride says strong female leaders at the council have inspired her to believe in herself, as the world celebrates International Women’s History Month.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Jenny Dewsnap, aged 54, is chair of Doncaster Pride and works at Doncaster Council.

She said: “I believe International Women’s Day and History Month are opportunities for us to think about the importance of the role of women in society.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“And to reflect on how we can influence our community and change it for the better.

Jenny Dewsnap and her partner Jodie Thomson.Jenny Dewsnap and her partner Jodie Thomson.
Jenny Dewsnap and her partner Jodie Thomson.

“There has been a huge change in the last five years - we have had a lot of strong female leaders in the council.

“Such as Jo Miller and Ros Jones who are role models and are paving the way for other women to work in authority roles.”

Jenny says that it is conversations with Jo and Ros that have changed her mindset and have given her a ‘yes you can’ attitude.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“They have made me want to use my position to do similar positive work and inspire young girls to believe that they can succeed,” she continued.

Another female role model that Jenny looks up to is Emmeline Pankhurst the way in which she strived to make progress in the equality movement.

Jenny said: “I believe that everyone should be equal - as I work in Pride I have seen the male-dominated side of that community – boards are usually filled with white older males.

“We have committed to making the Doncaster Pride board of directors 50 per cent women by the end of this year.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We shouldn’t wait for other people to make a change when we can do it ourselves.”

Jenny believes that all women should be celebrated this month from career lead to mothers and that everyone should be supporting one another.

She said: “My daughter juggles a career, a family, a baby - she works hard and doesn’t stop for a minute.

“We should be recognising the achievements of all women - we’re not always necessarily good at celebrating our achievements.”