The shortlist for the Women of the Future (“WOF”) Awards, the movement celebrating and nurturing the pipeline of female talent in the UK, has been announced.
The Women of the Future Awards, now in their 11th year and proudly supported by headline sponsor Aviva, recognise the inspirational young female stars of today and tomorrow. They are open to women aged 35 or under and celebrate talent across categories including business, culture, media, technology and more.
In this exceptional year for British sport, the nominees going for gold in the Women of the Future Sport category include the double Paralympic gold medallist Danielle Brown, the Olympic diver Sarah Barrow, and the para dressage equestrian Emma Douglas. Continuing the athletic theme, Hannah Brown, Head of Business Development for Sport at Sky, is shortlisted in the Business category, and Emma Andrews, a British rower who combines training with studying natural science at the University of Cambridge, is up for our Young Star award.
Other inspirational women on this year’s diverse shortlist include playwright Dr Laura-Jane Foley and Amy Martin, Creative Director of Impact Hub Birmingham, shortlisted in the Arts and Culture category; Vana Koutsomitis, the founder of dating app, DatePlay, shortlisted for the MBA Star award; scientist Sophie Acton whose work at UCL on cell communication in immune responses and tumours is funded by Cancer Research UK; technologist and mathematician Kate Unsworth, whose Vinaya jewellery aims to strip out the interruptions of modern technology; and BuzzFeed Investigations Correspondent Jane Bradley, who is shortlisted for the Media category.
The winners will be announced at the Women of the Future Awards gala dinner on November 16, held at the London Hilton on Park Lane.
Three special awards will also be presented on the night:
- Mentor of the Year, recognising the mentors behind the success of younger women in British life, such as Gary Palmer, General Manager at Enterprise Rent-A-Car;
- Young Star, for high achievers aged 16-21, including nominee Risha Jindal, co-Founder of Digimeal, the recipe app for students; and
- The Corporate Award, for the organisation that is doing the most to support and nurture young women in business with both the London Stock Exchange Group and Mastercard shortlisted.
Pinky Lilani CBE DL, Founder, Women of the Future, said: “This year’s shortlist demonstrates that the pipeline of female talent in the UK is stronger than ever. We were delighted with the quality and diversity of the applications we received this year, which made it an incredibly difficult task to decide on the final few. Congratulations to all of our very well-deserving shortlist.”
Aviva Chief People Officer, Sarah Morris, said: “Aviva is honoured to sponsor the Women of the Future Awards for the second year. We must build a more inclusive culture – and nurture and champion smart, talented women earlier in their careers. That will help us become fit to meet the challenges of the future – and better meet our customers’ changing needs.”
