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Inspirational Essex Women announced for International Women’s Day

8th March 2021
Posted by Johnny Jenkins

A campaign which was seeking nominations for inspirational women to challenge the Essex stereotype has chosen six ambassadors to become the faces and voices of the project.

Snapping the Stiletto: Campaigning for Equality have selected the six winning Essex women from over 100 nominations. All the women nominated had either been born, worked, or lived in the county and are known by their nominator.

The chosen ambassadors – who have had their portraits captured by artist and illustrator, Marcie Mintrose, and who will become the faces of the campaign at exhibitions throughout the county – are of different ages, from a diverse and wide-range of backgrounds and have been chosen for a range of reasons including their inspiring work, campaigning and the support and opportunities they provide for underrepresented groups within the community. 

The six women chosen to be ambassadors for Snapping the Stiletto: Campaigning for Equality are:

  • Adonai Chinmaya is a member of Essex Steamettes, a group which provides online activities – such as engineering and coding and much more – for young women aged between 11-19-years-old.
  • Pepi Sanchez runs a charity café and supports food banks. Pepi also helps organise programmes for youths with additional needs.
  • Lisa Selby is a campaigner for people living with addiction and those who have been through the prison system.
  • Hephzi Tagoe is a trained biochemist and dermatologist who runs Basildon Street Science as well as other Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) outreach projects for underrepresented groups.
  • Nina Tame is a disability campaigner who also hosts disability awareness workshops.
  • Simone Xue runs Colchester Chinese Cultural Society.

The Snapping the Stiletto: Campaigning for Equality project, which has  recently worked to have the term ‘Essex Girl’ removed from the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, is to also hold a week long online exhibition of the portraits as part of International Women’s Day – a day which celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

The next phase of the campaign, which is a National Lottery Heritage Funded project, will see the oral histories and artefacts of underrepresented communities in the county – and the objects that tell these stories – displayed in the Museum of Power, near Maldon, Saffron Walden Museum and Southend Museums. 

Councillor Susan Barker, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Customer, Corporate, Culture and Communities, said:

“We are delighted that the project received so many nominations about so many talented and inspirational women. 

“The six chosen ambassadors will help to challenge the Essex women stereotypes as well as be celebrated for the excellent work they do within their communities and underrepresented groups. They are all truly exceptional and inspiring women.”

Kayleigh Boyle, Project Manager for Snapping the Stiletto, said:

‘’We are very excited to work with this group of women on Snapping the Stiletto: Campaigning for Equality. They represent the real women of Essex who are out there giving so much back to their communities. As well as celebrating everything they’ve already done, we’re looking forward to working with them on collaborative projects for our programme over the next year.”

To find out more about Snapping the Stiletto and to sign-up for a volunteering role visit the website at: https://www.snappingthestiletto.co.uk/