Awards for Women
Amber Campbell
Senior Consultant, Boost Awards
Female awards and awards for women in business
We all hope that every company, industry and individual are all striving towards gender equality- if that’s the case, why single out awards exclusively for women?
Studies have shown that women feel they have to work harder for recognition compared to their male counterparts and on average are less vocal about their success¹. One of the best, and simplest ways to gain recognition in the business world, is to be put forward for an award. Here, I will aim to explore some of the business awards for women that are available and you might consider entering.
There are schemes such as the NatWest Everywoman Awards, The Stevie Awards for Women in Business, The Great British Businesswoman Awards, The Women World Awards and the Inspiration Awards for Women that allow nominations to be made for women who inspire, and those who are making waves in the business world. The majority of award schemes require some form of written entry alongside a nomination, detailing why the nominee has been selected, and how her achievements have surpassed the norm and deserve to be recognised.
Don’t forget self-promotion! If nobody is going to do it for you, nominate yourself – when entering awards, there’s no room for modesty. You could be missing out on some incredible opportunities to showcase your personal career highlights, strengthen your reputation (and CV), and network with other inspirational women. A perfect opportunity to celebrate your successes is to be profiled as part of the HERoes Role Model Lists.
Many of these awards also include categories for female-led teams and group projects, not just individuals; for example, the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards focus on initiatives/projects led by female entrepreneurs across the globe.
“If nobody is going to do it for you, nominate yourself – when entering awards, there’s no room for modesty. You could be missing out on some incredible opportunities to showcase your personal career highlights, strengthen your reputation (and CV), and network with other inspirational women.”
Image credit Red Photographic 2019
Women on top
Women can enter awards at any stage of their career, but ultimately it tends to be the very top percentile of businesses that lacks the most diversity. Many of the individual awards already mentioned have categories specifically celebrating the best of female leaders, however there are the Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Awards and Brummell’s Inspirational Women List which are specifically geared towards those headed for the top. Management Today’s long-running 35 Women Under 35 are a similar example recognising young, female business talent.
Don’t think you can’t also compete in rankings against your male counterparts; CEO Today Global Awards and Glassdoor’s Top CEOs include male and female nominees.
Female entrepreneurs
There are some schemes open to women who run their own businesses, regardless of size. The Best Business Women Awards recognise everyone from sole traders to large companies. Other awards follow a regional event format with a national final recognising overall winners. Examples of credible awards like these include The Women’s Business Awards, which features both regional UK events and international editions, and The Forward Ladies FL Awards, both celebrating successful women in business from all parts of the UK.
Celebrating differences
When raising the gender issue, it would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the need for more intersectional diversity. The unique challenges faced by women of colour merit their own space in the world of awards; schemes such as The Precious Awards (for women of colour) and Black Women in Business Awards exist to celebrate exceptional, diverse women in business.
How can awards for women help your company?
A lot of our clients come to us and say one of the key incentives to entering awards, is to enhance their opportunities to recruit and retain top talent.
While we inch ever closer to true equality every day, there are still employers and entire industries that are struggling to close historic gaps in diversity. As a female employee, there may also be reticence and wariness when considering entering a typically male-dominated field, or a top organisation still struggling to shake the ‘old boy’s club’ image that is unfortunately prevalent in some of the most profitable companies in the world.
An award is a badge of honour, a beacon that implies your organisation is a safe, inclusive place to work, where women can look to progress their careers and celebrate their own achievements.
One of the best ways to showcase your commitment to inclusivity would be to enter a workplace ranking; these come in many forms, however, two high profile examples include The Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality (BITC) and the UK’s Great Place to Work – Best Workplaces for Women. They use a combination of surveys, case studies, entry questions and your company statistics to rank how your company fares against its peers for gender diversity.
“An award is a badge of honour, a beacon that implies your organisation is a safe, inclusive place to work, where women can look to progress their careers and celebrate their own achievements.“
Industry Awards – Where are all the women?
I mentioned before, that there are industries that still struggle to recruit women. Did you know that women only make up 22% of the STEM workforce², 11% of the construction workforce³ and only 9% of the game development community⁴?
There are undoubtedly many more industries with mind-boggling statistics. We want to help celebrate that small proportion of women who pioneer the way for other women in some of the toughest industries in the world. These are just a few awards geared towards women getting recognition in niche sectors:
The European Women in Construction & Engineering WICE Awards
Women in Technology and Data Awards
For Women in Science UK & Ireland Awards
Everywoman in Transport and Logistics Awards
An important mention includes the Women in Defence Awards supported by the Army, Navy and Royal Air Force. As of 2018, women represented as little as 10% of the UK Regular Forces. First held in 2016, the Women in Defence UK Awards celebrates inspirational work and promotes the value of women in the sector.
Every woman scooping any one of these awards, is sending a message to the whole industry: we’re here, and we’re not going anywhere!
Gender equality awards – what does the future hold?
Maybe someday we will see all of you award winners out there in some of the most famous rankings of powerful women in the world! A well-known example includes Fortune Most Powerful Women in Business, compiled by Fortune magazine editors based on the size and importance of a woman’s business in the global economy, the health and direction of the business and social/cultural influence. It boasts nominees such as Ana Botin (Executive Chairman of Santander), Emma Walmsley (CEO of GSK) and Jessica Tan (CEO/COO of Ping An Group). Or maybe you will be challenging current incumbent, MacKenzie Scott, for the top spot in the Forbes ranking of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women, the annual list of trailblazers with leadership positions in government, business, philanthropy and media.
Help entering awards for women
Our team here at Boost Awards have had the pleasure of helping many inspirational women win awards, either individually or on behalf of the companies they work for. If you would like to maximise your chances of winning, then I recommend you get in touch with us here at Boost. We can advise you the best awards to enter to match your achievements, write your application for you and we can help collect the all-important evidence and data to support your application. We can help you get the recognition you deserve – feel free to email me directly using amber.campbell@boost-awards.co.uk and I will be happy to explain our services further.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Amber
Useful links:
Please take a look at our comprehensive free list of Business Leader Awards and Awards for Women
For awards that are not based in the UK, we have our International Awards List website, which includes awards for women in USA, Europe, Middle East and other global regions.
Boost – a helping hand entering awards
Boost Awards is the world’s first and largest award entry consultancy, having helped clients – from SMEs to Multinationals – win over 2,000 credible business awards. Increase your chances of success significantly – call Boost on +44(0)1273 258703 today for a no-obligation chat about awards.
(C) This article was written by Amber Campbell and is the intellectual property of award entry consultants Boost Awards.
Awards for Women
Amber Campbell
Senior Consultant, Boost Awards
Female awards and awards for women in business
We all hope that every company, industry and individual are all striving towards gender equality- if that’s the case, why single out awards exclusively for women?
Studies have shown that women feel they have to work harder for recognition compared to their male counterparts and on average are less vocal about their success¹. One of the best, and simplest ways to gain recognition in the business world, is to be put forward for an award. Here, I will aim to explore some of the business awards for women that are available and you might consider entering.
There are schemes such as the NatWest Everywoman Awards,The Venus Awards, The Stevie Awards for Women in Business, The Great British Businesswoman Awards, The Women World Awards and the Inspiration Awards for Women that allow nominations to be made for women who inspire, and those who are making waves in the business world. The majority of award schemes require some form of written entry alongside a nomination, detailing why the nominee has been selected, and how her achievements have surpassed the norm and deserve to be recognised.
Don’t forget self-promotion! If nobody is going to do it for you, nominate yourself – when entering awards, there’s no room for modesty. You could be missing out on some incredible opportunities to showcase your personal career highlights, strengthen your reputation (and CV), and network with other inspirational women. A perfect opportunity to celebrate your successes is to be profiled as part of the HERoes Role Model Lists.
Many of these awards also include categories for female-led teams and group projects, not just individuals; for example, the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards focus on initiatives/projects led by female entrepreneurs across the globe.
“If nobody is going to do it for you, nominate yourself – when entering awards, there’s no room for modesty. You could be missing out on some incredible opportunities to showcase your personal career highlights, strengthen your reputation (and CV), and network with other inspirational women.”
Image credit Red Photographic 2019
Women on top
Women can enter awards at any stage of their career, but ultimately it tends to be the very top percentile of businesses that lacks the most diversity. Many of the individual awards already mentioned have categories specifically celebrating the best of female leaders, however there are the Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Awards and Brummell’s Inspirational Women List which are specifically geared towards those headed for the top. Management Today’s long-running 35 Women Under 35 are a similar example recognising young, female business talent.
Don’t think you can’t also compete in rankings against your male counterparts; CEO Today Global Awards and Glassdoor’s Top CEOs include male and female nominees.
Female entrepreneurs
There are some schemes open to women who run their own businesses, regardless of size. The Best Business Women Awards recognise everyone from sole traders to large companies. Other awards follow a regional event format with a national final recognising overall winners. Examples of credible awards like these include The Women’s Business Awards, which features both regional UK events and international editions, and The Forward Ladies FL Awards, both celebrating successful women in business from all parts of the UK.
Celebrating differences
When raising the gender issue, it would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the need for more intersectional diversity. The unique challenges faced by women of colour merit their own space in the world of awards; schemes such as The Precious Awards (for women of colour) and Black Women in Business Awards exist to celebrate exceptional, diverse women in business.
How can awards for women help your company?
A lot of our clients come to us and say one of the key incentives to entering awards, is to enhance their opportunities to recruit and retain top talent.
While we inch ever closer to true equality every day, there are still employers and entire industries that are struggling to close historic gaps in diversity. As a female employee, there may also be reticence and wariness when considering entering a typically male-dominated field, or a top organisation still struggling to shake the ‘old boy’s club’ image that is unfortunately prevalent in some of the most profitable companies in the world.
An award is a badge of honour, a beacon that implies your organisation is a safe, inclusive place to work, where women can look to progress their careers and celebrate their own achievements.
One of the best ways to showcase your commitment to inclusivity would be to enter a workplace ranking; these come in many forms, however, two high profile examples include The Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality (BITC) and the UK’s Great Place to Work – Best Workplaces for Women. They use a combination of surveys, case studies, entry questions and your company statistics to rank how your company fares against its peers for gender diversity.
“An award is a badge of honour, a beacon that implies your organisation is a safe, inclusive place to work, where women can look to progress their careers and celebrate their own achievements.“
Industry Awards – Where are all the women?
I mentioned before, that there are industries that still struggle to recruit women. Did you know that women only make up 22% of the STEM workforce², 11% of the construction workforce³ and only 9% of the game development community⁴?
There are undoubtedly many more industries with mind-boggling statistics. We want to help celebrate that small proportion of women who pioneer the way for other women in some of the toughest industries in the world. These are just a few awards geared towards women getting recognition in niche sectors:
The European Women in Construction & Engineering WICE Awards
Women in Technology and Data Awards
For Women in Science UK & Ireland Awards
Everywoman in Transport and Logistics Awards
An important mention includes the Women in Defence Awards supported by the Army, Navy and Royal Air Force. As of 2018, women represented as little as 10% of the UK Regular Forces. First held in 2016, the Women in Defence UK Awards celebrates inspirational work and promotes the value of women in the sector.
Every woman scooping any one of these awards, is sending a message to the whole industry: we’re here, and we’re not going anywhere!
Female awards – what does the future hold?
Maybe someday we will see all of you award winners out there in some of the most famous rankings of powerful women in the world! A well-known example includes Fortune Most Powerful Women in Business, compiled by Fortune magazine editors based on the size and importance of a woman’s business in the global economy, the health and direction of the business and social/cultural influence. It boasts nominees such as Ana Botin (Executive Chairman of Santander), Emma Walmsley (CEO of GSK) and Jessica Tan (CEO/COO of Ping An Group). Or maybe you will be challenging current incumbent, MacKenzie Scott, for the top spot in the Forbes ranking of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women, the annual list of trailblazers with leadership positions in government, business, philanthropy and media.
Help entering awards for women
Our team here at Boost Awards have had the pleasure of helping many inspirational women win awards, either individually or on behalf of the companies they work for. If you would like to maximise your chances of winning, then I recommend you get in touch with us here at Boost. We can advise you the best awards to enter to match your achievements, write your application for you and we can help collect the all-important evidence and data to support your application. We can help you get the recognition you deserve – feel free to email me directly using amber.campbell@boost-awards.co.uk and I will be happy to explain our services further.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Amber
Useful links:
Please take a look at our comprehensive free list of Business Leader Awards and Awards for Women
For awards that are not based in the UK, we have our International Awards List website, which includes awards for women in USA, Europe, Middle East and other global regions.
Boost – a helping hand entering awards
Boost Awards is the world’s first and largest award entry consultancy, having helped clients – from SMEs to Multinationals – win over 2,000 credible business awards. Increase your chances of success significantly – call Boost on +44(0)1273 258703 today for a no-obligation chat about awards.
(C) This article was written by Amber Campbell and is the intellectual property of award entry consultants Boost Awards.