♀️Bath and Somerset’s Most Inspiring Women 2026 | Megan Chiplen

To mark International Women’s Day 2026, we’re celebrating Bath & Somerset’s most inspiring women.

Through our website and social media channels, we asked our readers which women in our community inspire them and created a list of 20. The list will be featured in our Spring magazine and every weekday throughout March we are profiling and championing each of these fantastic women online and via our social feeds.

Today we put the spotlight on Megan Chiplen, Marketing Manager at Arena Racing Company.

Tell us about you and your work:

Up until November 2025, I worked for Bath Rugby for three years. I started as a Marketing Executive and over time, my role progressed into Matchday Experience & Events Manager, with my main objective being to make the matchday at The Rec one to remember.

I put the supporters’ experience first and built matchdays with the team to fit the theme of a fixture.

Sadly, my time came to an end, and it was time to move on. I now work as Regional Marketing Manager for Arena Racing Company based at Bath Racecourse.

What are you most proud of?

The Victory Parade for Bath Rugby. I can’t express the feeling of bringing the event to life and seeing how it resonated with the City of Bath.

I have never worked so hard on something in my life and to say the hard work paid off was an understatement!

I am so proud of how the parade brought the city together to celebrate not only the Club, but Bath as a whole, creating memories that will inspire generations to come.

How does it feel to be recognised as one of Bath’s Most Inspiring Women?

I can’t quite believe it! It’s funny because at the time, when planning for the parade, it consumed my life and took over my working and personal hours – then it was over in a day!

I feel so lucky to have been given the reins to lead on this event and even prouder to have been recognised for it. I’m extremely grateful and proud that my work has been recognised.

What does International Women’s Day mean to you?

It’s about recognising strength in all its forms. Not just the loud, headline-making kind, but the quiet resilience, the everyday courage it takes to juggle responsibilities, challenge expectations, or simply choose yourself in a world that doesn’t always make that easy.

It also feels like a checkpoint. A reminder that progress has been made, but it didn’t happen by accident and that it’s not finished. It’s about fairness, opportunity, respect, and making sure the next generation of girls grows up with fewer limits and more choices.

Celebrate women not only today – but every day!

This year’s IWD theme asks us to think about how giving benefits everyone. What’s an example from your work or community life where supporting another woman led to something meaningful in return?

Working at Bath, I had the opportunity to line manage a placement student who honestly took me by surprise in the best way. From the moment she joined, she was confident, capable, and incredibly proactive. If she was asked to do something, she just got on with it, no fuss, no hesitation.

But over time, I started to notice that her strength was also becoming a pressure point. Because she was so reliable, more and more was being asked of her. She found it hard to say no, and her workload just kept building. It wasn’t that she couldn’t do it, it was that she felt she had to.

Supporting her became less about managing tasks and more about helping her set boundaries. We worked on prioritising, having honest conversations about capacity, and giving her permission to push back when needed. Watching her grow in confidence, not just in what she could do, but in what she didn’t have to do, was incredibly rewarding. She didn’t lose her drive; she just learned how to protect it.

In return, it reminded me how powerful it is to create space for someone to advocate for themselves. It strengthened our working relationship, built trust, and honestly made me reflect on my own boundaries too. Supporting her didn’t just help her thrive, it made me a better leader.

What piece of advice would you share with your younger self?

You can do it.

Apply for that role that looks unachievable and out of your depth.

Take on tasks that scare you and put you out of your comfort zone and take the risk.

Most importantly, take time for yourself and reflect on what you have achieved, not just in your career, but in your personal life too. I am almost 26 and feel like I left school yesterday. Time goes so fast and life changes. So just take some time to reflect on how far you have come and your highs and lows. Celebrate yourself!

This feature is sponsored by Milsted Langdon accountants. Milsted Langdon is supporting this activity for a fourth consecutive year as they are passionate about supporting women in business and helping local communities thrive through their work with business owners, charities and not-for-profits.