GirlDreamer is a Birmingham-based company limited by guarantee, founded on lived experience, which aims to create a community and a space where women of colour who have dreams are supported in their pursuits, has produced a useful governance Jargon Buster for trustees (and others) in partnership with Trustees Unlimited.
The Jargon Buster provides an attractively presented and easy to read list of common terms you may come across with a simple explanation of what they mean, for example:
o EDI = Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
o Lay Trustee = used by organisations where they also have specialist board members
from the sector or specialism they work to support. Lay trustees are
people from outside that specialist area who bring different expertise and
perspectives to the Board.
o SLT/SMT = Senior Leadership Team/Senior Management Team, and
o Memorandum and Articles (sometimes shortened to “Mem & Arts”) =
a formal document setting out the organisation’s purpose, how it will be
run, and how long trustees can serve on the board for (terms of office).
The following excerpt is taken from the Girldreamer website:
“GirlDreamer was created by two best friends with a dream. With everything and everyone suggesting that they should stick to the status quo, their desire to pursue this dream outweighed their fear of failure and in 2016, they decided it was time to bring GirlDreamer to life.“
“GirlDreamer exists to create a community and a space where fellow women of colour who have dreams, are supported in their pursuits. By doing so, we change the very fabric of society that tells us we have no business being in such spaces.“
“Once women of colour realise they can do, be and achieve anything and actively pursue that path, we immediately begin shifting wider societal challenges such as representation, equity, diversity and inclusion, gender equality, racial justice and systemic change. As women of colour, it is in the pursuit of our dreams that we take one of the most radical steps towards social change.“
For more information about GirlDreamer and its work with individuals and companies, please visit its website.
