A 16-YEAR-OLD from Tunbridge Wells was one of 26 girls taking part in a ‘takeover’ across 20 organisations, as part of a charity’s celebration of International Day of the Girl Child (October 11).
Elodie’s takeover, organised by Plan International UK, saw her spending the day as a vice president at AstraZeneca’s research and development site in Cambridge, learning about the global pharmaceutical industry.
Her schedule included meetings with numerous staff members and a number of panel discussions, and she even she toured the labs.
Other girls joined organisations including Barratt Developments, Clear Channel UK, the Office for National Statistics, and the Financial Times.
Wider activities included partnerships with Hillary Clinton, astronaut Tim Peake, Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford, Radio 1 presenter Clara Amfo, filmmaker Gurinder Chadha, and Lionesses manager Sarina Wiegman.
The charity’s head of UK programmes, Claire Boulton, said: “Girls’ Takeovers are a celebration of girls occupying spaces where they are rarely seen or heard, so we were thrilled to team up with AstraZeneca for this year’s International Day of the Girl Child.
“Elodie did a fantastic job taking over as Vice President for the day, and I hope the experience inspires more girls like her to pursue their chosen careers without fear of gender stereotypes holding them back.”
Elodie said: “I think there are lots of stories about what it’s like for women in this industry, but for me it’s really important to find out what it’s actually like, and really encouraging to know that there is space for girls.”
“Being part of today’s takeover made me feel really empowered that I can go on in the future and work hard and find a space in this industry. It also made me feel like I was making a difference and inspiring myself and other girls like me.”
