Cambridge professor joins hall of fame

The International Women’s Forum (IWF) has awarded Professor Dame Sandra Dawson its highest honour by inducting her to their International Hall of Fame.

Each year the IWF celebrates two or three women who have displayed extraordinary achievement and been outstanding role models for women who aspire to lead.

Dame Sandra was inducted to the Hall of Fame in recognition of her position as the first woman to be elected Master of Sidney Sussex College in 1999 and for her work as Director of the Judge Business School between 1995 and 2006.

In particular, the IWF cited her development of leadership programmes aiming to increase the participation of women at the top of commercial, educational and not-for-profit organizations.

Dame Sandra was joined by this year's other honorees, Nobel Laureate Dr Linda Buck of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre and Dr Susan Love of the Breast Cancer Advocacy Movement at the Gala Global Awards Ceremony in Seattle on 29 September.

Accepting the honour, Dame Sandra remarked: "I am deeply honoured and enormously humbled to receive this award when I think of all the extraordinary achievements of so many women around the world."

"Many go unnoticed on the world stage and yet for their communities they make a profound difference. One cannot teach leadership as if it were algebra, but one can encourage people to grow in confidence and to realise their potential as leaders," she continued.

Dame Sandra joins an illustrious company, with former Irish President Mary Robinson, Rosa Parks of the Civil Rights Movement, US astronaut Sally Ride, and Margaret Thatcher among those in the Hall of Fame.

Founded in 1982, the IWF is a global organisation of over 3,800 women of significant and diverse achievement and counts among its number heads of state, top corporate executives, academics, artists, athletes, diplomats, and makers of public policy.