ABOUT THE DAMES COMMANDER SOCIETY

WHAT IS A DAMEHOOD?

A Damehood is the term applied to one of the UK higher national honours given to women. It includes several different orders of honour , all recipients are given the title Dame (DBE, DCMG, GCB, DCB etc).

The Cabinet Office site explains the honours system more fully: UK Honours System (cabinetoffice.gov.uk)

WHO WE ARE

The Dames Commander Society was formally established in 2024, building on foundations created over the prior years. We are a society of around 250 people whose pre-eminent contribution and public service has been recognised with a Damehood. All Dames are invited to join.  We are registered as a Community Interest Company and have a Board of volunteers who are the caretakers for the Society on behalf of the members.

OUR PURPOSE

We use our combined expertise and energy to make a positive difference to society, by:

  • Activating our expertise and networks, in service of society and each other
  • Amplifying the good work of other organisations
  • Championing continued service and excellence by Dames

WHAT WE DO

ACTIVATE

We know how powerful networks are, and what we can achieve when we work together. The Dames Commander Society allows Dames to find others with similar interests to create change.

AMPLIFY

We know there’s already great work happening to tackle society’s most urgent challenges. We lend our voices to amplify organisations and individuals in the causes they represent.

CHAMPION

As a Society, we champion causes identified by our membership, and work together to create maximum impact.

HISTORY OF THE DAMES SOCIETY

After the COVID 19 Pandemic several Dames from the Health sector had conversations about how they could use their UK honour to do good for society. Those separate conversations came together in late 2022 into a view that we wanted to give something back to society and that we should progress to a more formal arrangement invite all Dames to join us, recognising that our collective influence could be substantial. We secured agreement from  Deloitte to provide pro bono admin and consultancy support and we were on our way.

Throughout 2023 we held webinars, workshops and events and began to grow and put structure to the Dames Commander Society (DCS). By early 2024 we had nearly 200 Dames signed up to be part of the society, and registered as a Community Interest Company. During 2024 we completed a strategic review and created an Interim Board of volunteers comprising representatives from across the various professional fields recognised by Damehoods. The Board’s role is to steward the Society for the long term acting as caretakers for all those awarded the recognition of Damehood.