Chwarae Teg

Chwarae Teg

Founded	1992
Type	Charitable organisation
Location	Cardiff, Conwy, Treforest, Llanelli
Area served	Wales
Key people	Joy Kent Chief Executive
Employees	51
Website	chwaraeteg.com

Chwarae Teg - (Welsh for Fair Play) is a United Kingdom based charity working in Wales to support the economic development of women as well as working with businesses and organisations to develop and improve working practices.

History

1992

In 1992, the first major survey of the role of women in the Welsh economy was conducted in South Wales.

The research, Expanding the Role of Women in the South Wales Workforce, was a joint venture carried out by Dr Jill Venus, the Welsh Development Agency and twelve co-sponsors.

The following barriers were identified as preventing women entering or returning to work:

• inflexible employment conditions
• low expectations from both women and employers
• lack of flexibility within training provision
• lack of childcare support 

As a consequence of the research, the Chwarae Teg Initiative was formed, made up of working groups that would deliver an action plan focusing on 4 key issues:

• childcare
• flexible employment
• good practice in training
• raising awarenes

Chwarae Teg Initiative launch conference. A conference to officially launch the Chwarae Teg Initiative was held at the Holiday Inn, Cardiff on 22 January 1992. The Rt. Hon. David Hunt MBE MP, Secretary of State for Wales, delivered the keynote address and the conference was chaired by Noreen Bray, Equal Opportunities Commissioner for Wales. Guest speakers included Valerie Amos, Chief executive of the Equal Opportunities Commission and Rhiannon Chapman, Director of the Industrial Society.

Appointment of Project Executive, Jane Hutt. Jane Hutt was appointed as Project Executive and her duties commenced in June 1992. Jane’s role at this early stage was to encourage and assist in the initiatives and to further evaluate and monitor the impact of these initiatives on the Welsh economy.

1993

Childcare tackled first. In 1993 Chwarae Teg launched the Out of School Childcare Clubs project with Training and Enterprise Councils. 

The Out of School Childcare Clubs project was set up as a result of the initial research identifying lack of childcare as a barrier to women fully participating in the Welsh economy. The main purpose of the project was to increase the number of out of school clubs with a view to enabling more women to take up training or work opportunities.

The New Opportunities Fund was available to help with new club start-ups and a number of clubs were set up pan Wales. Chwarae Teg also provided training for mentors, lunchtime supervisors and out of school club supervisors.

1994

In 1994 Chwarae Teg became an all-Wales organisation managed by a Board of Directors.

Enterprise Action for Women. In 1993, Chwarae Teg supported the Gateway Europe Athena Project. This explored the needs of female entrepreneurs in Wales, in collaboration with a number of European partners. Evidence from the research published in 1993 showed a lack of appropriate support for Welsh women keen to take up the enterprise challenge which led to a survey of business support services in Wales being undertaken by Chwarae Teg. The results of the survey were published in Enterprise Action for Women, a guide to good practice for business support providers in Wales.

1995

First AGM. Chwarae Teg held its first Annual General Meeting on 12October 1995, alongside a Conference entitled Equality Strategies for the New Unitary Authorities, targeting the shadow authorities with a message about the partnership opportunities available through Chwarae Teg. The Conference was addressed by Judith Hunt, Chief executive of the Local Government Management Board, who pointed to the importance of the strategic role the new Welsh local authorities can play in expanding women’s role in the Welsh workforce.

Childcare Provision for the Under 5s: New opportunities for employers in Wales. The National Assembly Under 5s Initiative was launched as a result of the findings of the Childcare Audit published in 1993 and Welsh Office economic development strategies.

28 projects located throughout Wales were carefully selected by the committee, 3 college linked provisions, 10 privately run day nurseries, 8 community businesses which included a centre for children with disabilities and their families, and 7 workplace day nurseries.

All Wales Enterprise Action Group for Women. An All Wales Enterprise Action Group for Women was launched on 7 June 1995 to bring together organisations in the enterprise field who are concerned to address the needs of women setting up and running their own businesses.

1996

Women, Players in Regional Development conference marks half a decade of action. After nearly five years since its launch, Chwarae Teg hosted the Women, Players in Regional Development conference on 5 December. This was an opportunity to reflect on the most effective ways in which equal opportunities could be integrated into economic development

Dr Monika Wulf-Mathies, European Commissioner for Regional Affairs, was the keynote speaker at the Conference attended by 130 delegates from throughout the public, private and voluntary sectors in Wales. The conference was chaired by Glenys Kinnock. Two key achievements were outlined. Firstly, that the Chwarae Teg Initiative was recognised as making a contribution to economic development in Wales, integrating equal opportunities and economic development. Secondly, that the initiative had succeeded in influencing employers to ‘do the right thing socially’ as well as recognising that it achieves economic benefit.

1997

Expanding the Role of Women in the Welsh Workforce. New research, Expanding the Role of Women in the Welsh Workforce, featured the views and experiences of both employers and women. It highlighted the continuing need to develop ‘family friendly’ work practices, affordable childcare and accessible training opportunities to maximise women’s aspirations and potential in Wales.

A Fair Deal for Women in Wales conference. Harriet Harman MP, Secretary of State for Social Security and Minister for Women, was invited to speak at A Fair Deal for Women in Wales, a conference organised by Chwarae Teg and the National Council for One Parent Families.

Harriet Harman MP: “Lone mothers want to work. They do not want to depend on benefits. They know that work is the best way to provide a better life for themselves and their children.”

European Equality Partnership managed by Chwarae Teg. An innovative new equal opportunities partnership involving the Equal Opportunities Commission, Disability Wales and the Commission for Racial Equality was launched at the Chwarae Teg Annual Conference in October at County Hall, Llandrindod Wells.

That’s progress. As part of Chwarae Teg’s Business Plan 1997-2000, comparisons between 1991/92 and 1996 were made to highlight the key changes that had occurred in the space of five years:

• Significant increase between 1991/92 and 1996 in women providing the main source of income in the household and a reduction in that provided by a partner
• Significant increase in those women on benefit who considered they could be either worse off, or no better off, if they got a job rather than remained ‘on benefit’
• A move towards women ‘working from home’ 10% (1996) in this category compared with 2% in South Wales (1991) and 7% in North and Rural Wales (1993)
• The level of registered unemployment had decreased since 1991/92 but the length of unemployment had increased significantly
• More women in the 1996 ‘Women in Training’ sub sample survey were undertaking degree or HND/HNC courses than in 1991/92 – 21% (degrees) in 1996 and 1% in 1991/92
• More women or their partners paid their course fees whilst fewer course fees were paid by local authorities or the Training Agencies
• Women who were seeking a job on completion of their training/education were more likely in 1996 (34%) than in 1991/92 (26%) to consider that the most important influence in choosing a job would be the opportunity to pursue a career

1998

New Directions – The Keys to your Future. Chwarae Teg formulated the New Directions project, funded by the National Lottery Charities Board, with the aim to improve women’s participation in education, training and employment through running a series of courses. The courses sought to raise aspirations and promote awareness of learning opportunities and strategies to access employment for women in Wales.

Chwarae Teg key player in Wales and Europe. Throughout 1998 the recognition of Chwarae Teg’s position as a key player in the field of equal opportunities and women’s economic development in Wales and in the wider European context was highlighted by the extent to which the organisation was invited to contribute to strategic policy development.

Chwarae Teg was asked to address conferences held by the European Commission in Portugal and Germany and the work has been recognised as a demonstration project by the Commission.

1999

SME Equality Project fully underway. The SME Equality Project, supported by the European Social Fund, began in September 1998 in the Industrial South Wales area, later reaching rural Wales in February 1999. The purpose of the project was to establish examples of good practice in equal opportunities in small and medium sized enterprises. Initially, the focus was on women but this remit later expanded to gender (men and women), race and disability across the whole of Wales. Chwarae Teg delivered this project until 2003.

2000

Celebration 2000: Celebrating Out of School Childcare Clubs in Wales. Chwarae Teg produced Celebration 2000, a brief report providing both a snapshot and a celebration of Out of School Childcare Clubs in Wales in the year 2000. The report acknowledges the success of the work carried out by all the Training and Enterprise Councils in Wales, since the beginning of the Out of School Initiative in 1993 and celebrates:

• Children enjoying their time in the clubs
• Parents who are working, studying, knowing their children are safe and happy
• Playleaders and playworkers providing creative and stimulating play opportunities
• Voluntary management committees, charities, school governor sub-committees, managing the clubs
• Development staff, supporting clubs through their set-up phase, and continuing to provide help when it is needed

New millennium, new Chief executive. Ruth Marks joined Chwarae Teg as Chief executive in December 1999 and led the organisation into the new millennium. Ruth was formerly deputy Director of Business in the Community Wales where she managed a range of employee involvement and equality partnership work, all of which proved to be a great asset to Chwarae Teg.

Work-life Balance. In 2000, the UK Government began to review options to support parents and employers with the aim of making it easier for parents to work to balance these responsibilities.

Chwarae Teg challenged the people of Wales to lead more balanced lives with the launch of an innovative new project, Work-life Balance. The project aimed to provide a model for businesses to develop an environment that could offer flexibility to their employees and give their business a boost.

160 delegates from across Wales attended Chwarae Teg’s Getting the Balance Right conference on 15 November at Hanover International Hotel, Cardiff.  The conference aimed to draw together a range of participants and speakers with an interest in developing the debate and move forward on the issues of where, when and how we work in the 21^st century.

Rhodri Morgan, the First Minister for Wales presented the role of the National Assembly for Wales as the lead partners in the Work-Life Balance initiative:

“We need to harness fully the energy and talents of our workforce, and retain the expertise in the workforce.”

Menna Richards. Controller of BBC Cymru discussed the issues around the business case for flexible working, child and dependent care and the importance of being an employer of choice.

The third keynote speaker was Steve Martin, Chief executive Designate of Welsh National Council for Education and Training who gave an interesting presentation on the benefits of work-life balance and aspects which he has put into practice.

European Network for the promotion of women’s entrepreneurship. Chwarae Teg was invited to represent Wales at the official launch of the new European Network for the promotion of women’s entrepreneurship. The launch was held on 6 June in Brussels and was hosted by the European Economic and Social Committee, with President Rangoni Machiavelli giving the opening speech.

2001

Women’s Enterprise Wales. The Women’s Enterprise Wales project was launched in 2001 to provide support, training and assistance to women at the pre-business start-up stage of self-employment/business creation. This project was developed by Chwarae Teg and the All Wales Enterprise Action Group for Women as a response to clear statistical information that the proportion of women starting and running businesses was significantly lower in Wales than across the UK as a whole (Women Starting Businesses).

The findings showed that women were primarily motivated by independence, freedom & self-fulfillment. They were also less likely to develop high growth businesses.

Working women branch out. A major project to expand the role of women in the Welsh workforce was launched at a special event on 11 September opened by Sian Lloyd Jones, Finance Wales' Chief executive.

Chwarae Teg introduced the new project, Women’s Enterprise Wales/Menter Merched Cymru, at the annual meeting of the All Wales Enterprise Action Group for Women in Abersytwyth.

Women’s Enterprise Wales/Menter Merched Cymru provided an initial bridge between having a business idea and starting up in business. The initiative offered a three-pronged approach to tackling this problem:

• First it will established how many women are in business in Wales and what were their experiences
• It worked with existing support agencies to ensure understanding of women’s needs e.g. the need to balance family and business commitments
• Finally, it set up a Women’s Enterprise Development Unit in four regions of the Objective One area to provide an outreach service and introduce training and mentoring support

2002

Work-life Balance Pilot Project. The Work-life Balance Pilot Project was set up to work with large public sector organisations and was managed by Chwarae Teg between April 2002 and March 2005.

Chwarae Teg’s Angela Hooper said: “The concept of work-life balance means different things to different people. Like any balancing act it needs focused thought and a desire to make both sides of the scales meaningful and successful. It can be achieved with each side supporting the other. The benefits are enormous.”

Chwarae Teg 10^th Anniversary National Conference: Building on 10 years of Equality Action in Wales.

Three hundred delegates from across Wales attended the event on 27 November at Cardiff City Hall, Cardiff.

Jane Davidson AM and Minister for Education and Life Long Learning:

“We have come a long way – Chwarae Teg over the last ten years, and the Assembly over the last three years. Gender equality issues are now firmly on the proverbial agenda.”

Chwarae Teg Chief executive Ruth Marks said: “Our tenth anniversary and the Conference gave us an excellent opportunity to celebrate Welsh success stories in promoting gender equality as well as sharing our ongoing commitment and passion to make equal opportunities in employment, education, enterprise and public life a reality for everyone in Wales.”

Women’s Role in the Welsh Workforce 1992 - 2002. To mark its 10^th anniversary Beaufort Research, an independent market research agency was commissioned to undertake a comparative study into women’s role in the Welsh workplace.

The research, Women’s Role in the Welsh Workforce 1992-2002, made the following findings:

• Women are now more likely to think that working is the “normal” thing to do
• Nearly half of unemployed women felt there were too few jobs in their area and that the jobs available did not cover the cost of childcare
• Women still do not see themselves as being treated on an equal level to men
• Working conditions for part-time workers have improved, with greater numbers now having a written contract of employment, receiving sick pay and receiving paid holidays
• The increase in flexible working practices means that women now have more opportunities to balance work with other responsibilities
• Nearly two thirds of employers say they now have a written equal opportunities policy, although only a small number have ever undertaken an equal pay audit
• There are still less than two thirds of women in employment who have received training in how to do their job
• For most unemployed women, receiving financial help with a course would be important in determining whether they took up training.

III World Congress of Rural Women, Madrid 2002. In 2002 Chwarae Teg attended the III World Congress to discuss differing issues related to the situation of rural women in a global context, sustainable development, gender and food safety. 

The Congress was an opportunity to meet and exchange experiences. Wales’ rural women have differing priorities to developing countries, but there is an affinity and willingness to support and share good practice.

‘Women in World War II’ A History and Careers Event with a Difference.Chwarae Teg’s West Wales Training and Education Network held ‘Women in World War II’ A History and Careers Event with a Difference on 15-16 October at St Peter’s Hall, Carmarthen.

The event provided an opportunity for young and old to explore, revisit and remember the importance of women’s roles during the Second World War. It also gave young people a chance to discuss career opportunities with local colleges, careers staff and employers in non-traditional sectors.

Chwarae Teg at Westminster. Chwarae Teg presented research to Welsh MPs at the House of Commons, Westminster in July 2002, by invitation of Julie Morgan MP.

Professor Teresa Rees receives first Val Feld Award. Professor Teresa Rees of the School of Social Sciences has received the inaugural Val Feld Award at this year’s Welsh Woman of the Year Awards.

The award was made in recognition of the tireless energy devoted by Val Feld AM for Swansea East, who died from cancer last year, to championing women’s equality issues.

Teresa Rees: “I worked with Val over a number of years in a range of roles. She would have wanted to celebrate the contribution that women make to Welsh life.”

Lone Parents Venture. Chwarae Teg provided pre-start-up enterprise support to lone parents, both male and female, as part of WDA’s Potentia project, that targeted underrepresented groups in enterprise.

Managed by Chwarae Teg, the Lone Parents’ Venture had a pan Wales pre-business start-up support service dedicated to lone parents, men and women, interested in self-employment.

2003

UK/Irish European Equality Network. Chwarae Teg managed the UK/Irish European Equality Network from 2003 to 2004 with funding from the European Social Fund and the National Development Plan (NDP) Gender Equality Unit of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Ireland. The network had over 130 members and its main aim was to exchange issues and good practice, help people keep up-to-date on current thinking on equality mainstreaming and support activities.

SME Work-Life Balance Fund. Chwarae Teg worked with the National Assembly for Wales to deliver the Work-Life Balance Challenge Fund in 2003 for SMEs. Following surgeries throughout Wales, 36 applications to the Fund were made by January 2003 and 17 were successful.

Chwarae Teg enters into new partnership with BT. In 2003, Chwarae Teg linked up with BT for support with its pan-Wales information and computer technology (ICT) strategy.

2004

Chwarae Teg wins Welsh Woman of the Year Award. In 2004 Chwarae Teg won the Val Feld Award at the Welsh Woman of the Year Awards. Ruth Marks, chief executive, said, “There is still so much work to do to support and promote the role of women in Wales today. The Welsh Woman of the Year Awards - and the Val Feld Award in particular - has a very powerful message.

Chwarae Teg aims to promote the values that Val stood for and we would encourage people to nominate individuals and/or organisations for this important award.”

ReadySETGo Project launched. Chwarae Teg’s ReadySETGo project commenced in June 2004 with funding from Welsh European Funding Office (Welsh Assembly Government), Careers Companies Wales, ELWa (Welsh Assembly Government/DELLS) and Chwarae Teg, with the aim of encouraging more women into non-traditional training and work opportunities especially science, engineering and technology (SET).

It was administered by a small team which included 3 regional project coordinators located in the Objective One areas of Wales and ran to the end of March 2007.

2005

Chwarae Teg receive PROWESS Flagship Award. Chwarae Teg was instrumental in bringing the annual international Prowess conference to Cardiff in February and was delighted to receive the Prowess Media Awareness Award for the Women’s Enterprise Wales project.

Women’s Enterprise Wales exceeds original targets. The Women’s Enterprise Wales and Lone Parents Venture Potentia projects were both completed in March. Targets for Women’s Enterprise Wales were exceeded, assisting over 700 women to start new businesses, creating more than 1,000 jobs and supporting over 2,500 women.

2006

Chwarae Teg welcomes new chief executive, Marcella Maxwell. In 2005, a fond farewell was bid to Ruth Marks who had served as the Chief executive of Chwarae Teg since 2000, and a warm welcome was extended to Marcella Maxwell who took up post in January 2006.

Improving Women’s Access to Finance research. The objective of the Improving Women’s Access to Finance research was to provide an understanding of the attitudes of women entrepreneurs in Wales towards accessing business finance. It formed part of a second phase of Chwarae Teg’s Women’s Enterprise Wales project.

The research findings showed:

• The proportion of women surveyed that had applied for business finance was quite low at 32%; however the vast majority of the applications made (79%) had been successful.
• For just over half of the respondents the amount of finance that they had accessed was either equal to or greater than the amount they needed, suggesting that they achieved the successful outcome that they sought, however for 43% of the respondents who had successfully accessed business finance, the amount of finance that they had secured was less than what they needed.
• Personal savings was the funding route taken by almost three quarters of respondents.

CYTGORD. In 2006 Chwarae Teg produced and launched the CYTGORD transnational partnership research study into the gender pay gap.

CYTGORD, the Welsh word for ‘harmony’, was a major piece of research which explored the evidence, the impact and the implications of the pay gap on policy and practice and made recommendations on the way forward.

2007

Better Balance Better Business: Leading a Workplace Revolution Conference. Chwarae Teg’s Better Balance Better Business Conference, held on 29 March at the Hilton Hotel, Cardiff, provided the opportunity to hear evidence of how embracing smarter working methods produces tangible business and wider economic benefits.

Sir Digby Jones, Ann Beynon and Marcella Maxwell were the key speakers, delivering messages around the following issues:

• Developing innovative ways of working presents one of the greatest issues for Wales, the UK and the developed world. It’s absolutely time for this – without flexible working, business won’t succeed.

2008

Agile Nation project announced. In 2008 Jane Hutt, Minister for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning & Skills and former Chwarae Teg project executive, announced the approval of the £12.5m Chwarae Teg Agile Nation project funded by the European Social Fund and the Welsh Assembly Government. The formal announcement took place on 21 October at Cardiff Community Housing.

The Agile Nation project was designed to help over 2,700 women and 600 businesses to discover new ways of working.

Katy Chamberlain becomes Chief executive. Marcella Maxwell left her post as Chwarae Teg chief executive to take up her new post as Wales director of Working Links.

Marcella continued to lead the team until early May, when Katy Chamberlain, a former director of KPMG and winner of the Welsh Woman of the Year Management Achievement Award, became interim chief executive. Katy’s appointment was soon confirmed as permanent in November.

Chwarae Teg brand is refreshed. In September Chwarae Teg launched its newly refreshed brand accompanied by a contemporary logo and a new strap line, “Women and Workplace Innovation”.

A revitalised and refreshed Chwarae Teg website also went live in the autumn with improved accessibility and navigation.

Getting the Balance Right completed. Delivery of Chwarae Teg’s Getting the Balance Right project was completed in 2008. The pilot project in the Roads Policing Unit of North Wales Police was completed with new shift patterns implemented and a proposal to evaluate the pilot was submitted.

Sector Skills research completed. The Sector Skills research on Equalities and the Workforce in Wales was finalised in 2008. It raised some interesting findings around business’ perceptions of equality matters in respect of gender, disability and black and ethnic minorities in Wales. The report also made a number of recommendations for further research.

2009

Agile Nation Project Launched. The Agile Nation project was launched by Jane Hutt and Connie Fisher at simultaneous events in South and North Wales took place on 10 February 2009. The high profile event demonstrated the “agile” nature of the project and its coverage across Wales.

Three new Agile Nation project offices were opened in Convergence areas of Wales in Treforest, Colwyn Bay and Llanelli.

Regional teams began the engagement of project participants under both the women’s and employer’s strands of the project. The South West and South East teams carried out successful local launches which were well attended. Not only did these raise the profile specifically of the project, but also of the key themes which are core to Chwarae Teg’s objectives:

• women’s career progression by the development of leadership and management skills
• the future of workforce development through flexible and remote working, and its benefits for women and the business as a whole.

The North Wales local launch took place later in September.

Chwarae Teg Chief executive becomes Chair of Society Of Chartered Accountants. Chwarae Teg Chief executive, Katy Chamberlain, was elected Chair of the Women in Management network in South East Wales. This initiative is part of the Chartered Management Institute and provides networking and development opportunities for women, from all sectors, in aspiring management positions.

Chwarae Teg recognised in National Awards. The Agile Nation project received special recognition at the prestigious BFIIN (British Female Inventor and Innovator)  International Awards 2009, while Beverley Pold, Chwarae Teg’s Business Development and Policy Manager, won the Queen’s Award for Achievement in Enterprise Promotion.

First women’s forum. Chwarae Teg launched its first Women’s forum, a meeting of women from a variety of sectors at different stages in their careers, to debate matters which impact on the ability of women to fully participate in the economy. The forum provided a source of information and opinion to inform Chwarae Teg’s advice to government, employers, educators and individual women.

2010

Chwarae Teg hosts roundtable discussion with CBI. Chwarae Teg worked in partnership with CBI to host jointly a roundtable discussion of senior business women and men, following the CBI annual lunch. Chief executive Katy Chamberlain chaired the roundtable discussion, which debated two topics: gender representation on boards and the future of flexible working. Helen Alexander, President of CBI and Cheryl Gillan, Secretary of State for Wales attended the event on 15 June.

WCVA Climate Change meeting. Chwarae Teg participated in the WCVA Third Sector Climate Change meeting and prepared a case study to demonstrate how SMEs can respond to the challenge, describing Chwarae Teg’s environmental practices and commitment to addressing climate change. This Climate Change Case Study was published to participants at WCVA Annual Conference on 4^th December. Chwarae Teg’s Trish Chalk is a member of the WCVA Climate Change group.

Agile Nation’s first anniversary. Approaching its first anniversary Agile Nation project manager, Hayley Dunne, provides an overview of the project’s progress:

“Interest and participation in the Agile Nation Ascent Programme for women has been high in all three regions and by the end of the year, 430 women embarked on the journey to unlock their potential at work, with tailored support from Agile Nation project officers and access to a training programme suitable to their needs.

“Agile Nation is also working with Welsh employers to promote the business benefits of flexible working and equality. The one day workshop, Open the Door to a More Diverse Workforce, has received positive feedback and is being further developed in 2010.

"Agile Nation’s very own Centre of Excellence website has also been launched. The site has further information on all aspects of the project and showcases Agile Nation’s Womenspire campaign. The campaign is an innovative way for women to share their inspiration with other people from across the world.”

Womenspire Campaign. In 2010 Chwarae Teg announced the launch of the Agile Nation Womenspire campaign, designed to get Welsh women talking about the things that inspire them in their everyday lives.

Part of the campaign was a free iPhone application, ‘Womenspire' which was made available in the app store on International Women's Day and as part of International Women's Day, Chwarae Teg hosted three debates to find out what women in Wales really think about issues relating to equality and the economy.

Chwarae Teg launches Solutions for business. In 2010 Chwarae Teg encouraged businesses in Wales to take advantage of a range of new training courses to help maximise the potential of their workforce. Chwarae Teg Solutions developed a programme of training courses and seminars aimed at tackling the challenges faced by businesses. The courses were designed to provide practical, hands-on advice to employers and managers, and cover a range of key topics including managing maternity returners, flexible and remote working, equality and diversity and coaching.

Trish Chalk, Commercial Director at Chwarae Teg said: "For the past 17 years, Chwarae Teg has provided practical training designed to help employers take advantage of and to effectively implement workplace practices that deliver tangible results for organisations of all sizes, whilst at the same time increasing employee satisfaction, motivation and productivity.”

Double success for Chwarae Teg at Working Families Award. At the Top Employers for Working Families Awards in London in October, organised by the charity Working Families, Chwarae Teg won the Best SME category and was included in the Top 10 Employers A-Z list.

Activities

Agile Nation

Launched in 2009, completed in 31st March 2015. Agile Nation aims to promote gender equality, support the career advancement of women and contribute to a reduction in the gender pay gap. Agile Nation is a £12.5 million project funded by the European Social Fund and the Welsh Government.

The project has two training programs Ascent (targeted at individual women) and Evolve (targeted at employers). Since their launch they've helped over 1,334 individual women and 188 businesses as of August 2011.

Solutions

Chwarae Teg offers courses, seminars and workshops that deal with some of the challenges faced by businesses designed to maximise the potential of the workforce. They cover topics such as Flexible Working and Work-life Balance, Personal Development and Equality and Diversity.

Policy

Chwarae Teg's policy function monitors economic and workforce developments that impact on women and business across Wales and provides advice to academia, government and industry. This knowledge is used to identify areas where new targeted projects can be developed to address situation where women are underrepresented in the workplace.

Membership

As a registered charity Chwarae Teg is a membership organisation that offers membership to individuals, business, organisations and institutions.

Trustees

As of 2010 / 2011 the trustees of Chwarae Teg are:

• Debbie Green, - Finance Director Coastal Housing Group Chair
• Geoff Andrews Treasurer
• Carol Bogue-Lloyd - Siemens Group
• Leighton Jenkins - CBI Cymru
• Sandra Busby - Welsh Contact Centre Forum
• Shannon Robinson - Social Enterprise Solutions Ltd
• Sian Wilbin - PCS
• Susan Geary - Aurora Business Services
• Voirrey Manson - NHS Centre for Equality and Human Rights
• Anna Freeman - WLGA
• Mark Seymour - Hays

Past Chief Executives

• Jane Hutt (1992–1999)
• Ruth Marks (1999–2005)
• Marcella Maxwell (2006–2008)
• Katy Chamberlain (2008–2012)
• Joy Kent (2013)

Past Chairs

• Jane Jones
• Elan Closs Stephens CBE
• Gwenda Williams
• Jacky Tongue
• Debbie Green (2009–Present)

External links

• chwaraeteg.com
• agilenation.co.uk