Today, we get to announce an achievement that means such a great deal to us at Cellen. Tech Nations has listed us as a highly commended finalist for the Tech Nations Rising Stars 3.0 Diversity & Inclusion - Leading the Way Award 2021. This award recognises innovative diversity & inclusion initiatives in early stage scaleups.
The judges said "Cellen were chosen for taking a bold and proactive approach in a niche sector which suffers from a severe lack of senior female representation".
At Cellen, diversity includes having co-production of our services and products with patients. We are proud to work with people living with pain and disabilities, and the fabulous Sarah Marten has been recruiting a diverse range of patients to test and feedback on our clinical services.
Ali Hemsley, Patient Inclusion Advisor at Cellen and social media influencer said: "It has been such a pleasure to work with Cellen to amplify the voices of patients from a diverse range of backgrounds, ages and conditions. As someone living with disabilities it has been really fulfilling to work with a company that is dedicated to their mission"
Our clinical team at Leva Clinic has the most tremendous female clinicians including Jane Shaw, Angela Stark, Dr Anna Ferguson, Clair Jacobs, Claire Campbell, Alice Morgan and researchers we work with include Jackie Walumbe and Sabeera Dar too! Our tech & design team includes the amazing Lucy Dove! I was also given the platform and encouragement to organise (with the fantastic Sophie Thompson from Aurora Healthcare Communications) the Women in Medical Cannabis Leadership group which is a networking group of females working in the research industry in cannabis-based medicines. The group is so supportive and full of incredible women!
Women in STEM and Women in Leadership initiatives are so important to me, and being able to work at a company where the founders actively encourage this (and more!) makes me proud to work at Cellen.
In their announcement, Tech Nations said "We all know that diversity builds strong and innovative companies, and embedding D&I in company culture can be done – even at an early growth stage. This award showcases leadership in this area."
The chronic pain sector & research efforts in cannabis-based medicines lacks diverse representation at leadership levels. I hope that, collaboratively, we can move things forward.
