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The Rising Star awards, now in their third year, are the first to focus on the UK and India’s female talent pipeline below management level and to support its winners through on going learning and networking opportunities long after the awards process has concluded.

Over the past four years and with the support of over 30 leading organisations, WeAreTheCity has been able to highlight the achievements of over 300 women (250 in the UK, 50 in India) through the Rising Star awards process.  In 2016, we also introduced a Rising Star Champions category to showcase industry role models. We are also pleased to announce a new award for 2017 – Company of the Year. This award recognises the achievements of a company who can clearly demonstrate that they are actively supporting its female talent pipeline through their initiatives, training, development programmes and internal employee relations and diversity network groups.

In 2018, the number of Rising Star winners will rise to 400. By highlighting the accolades of these women, WeAreTheCity are not only promoting the female talent that exists across the UK and India, it is also actively encouraging organisations and business leaders to invest in and recognise these women as leaders of tomorrow and individual contributors to their respective industries.

Scroll through the images from our previous award ceremonies >>>>

PREVIOUS SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS
 
 

From our supporters

  • Supporting the growth of female entrepreneurs not only drives diversity within UK businesses but it also creates an environment for future entrepreneurial heroines to flourish and succeed, empowering future generations to succeed in business. I’m extremely proud that Virgin Media Business are sponsoring a fantastic category which will inspire our future leaders.

    Richard Branson
    Richard Branson
    Virgin Group Founder
  • ‘I believe we’re on the verge of a big breakthrough in the long journey towards true gender equality. The big changes we are seeing throughout our world are unsettling but they also bring the opportunity of a more balanced, more equal society, by shaking up the centuries-old patriarchal power system and changing the nature of leadership. The ability to inspire rather than force is what’s important now. This is good news for many women, who are empathetic by nature and good at connecting. Now more than ever it’s important to celebrate and encourage those women who are Rising Stars, and I am delighted to congratulate them and look forward to their next achievements!’

    Helenapic1
    Helena Morrissey
    Founder, 30% Club and Chair, Diversity Project
  • I am proud to support the Rising Stars Awards which are a great way to celebrate the pipeline of fantastic female talent who are smashing the glass ceiling. These awards shine a light on rising stars from all walks of life who are significantly contributing to their organisations and inspiring the next generation.

    We have made fantastic progress in recent years – we now have the lowest gender pay gap on record, more than doubled the number of women on boards in the FTSE 350 and we’ve been rated the best place in Europe for women to start a business. But we have to push further to achieve true gender equality, and celebrating the achievements of women through these awards take us one step closer to this.

    caroline dinenage
    Caroline Dinenage
    Minister for Women, Equalities and Early Years
  • If Britain is to seize its place as a digital nation of significance, we need more digital skills, and fast. Women are a vital part of this talent pool. Not for 100 years has the key to economic growth rested so firmly in the hands of the diversity agenda, and the Rising Star awards are a great initiative to shine a light on our future talent.

    Jacqueline-de-Rojas
    Jacqueline de Rojas
    Area Vice President, Northern Europe, Citrix & President, techUK
  • The Women’s Equality Party is delighted to partner the Rising Star Awards, which recognise excellence and innovation from women in business and across working life. Equality of opportunity for working women is one of our party’s core objectives, so WE are pleased to see so many wonderful nominees working towards this goal. We’re delighted, too, that these awards showcase the talents of outstanding role models in many other areas of public and private life.

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    Sophie Walker
    Leader, Women's Equality Party
  • We are delighted to be the lead sponsor of the Rising Star Awards which recognises the achievements of talented women on their way to the top; the contributions they make to their organisations and society in general. At Barclays we have a range of programmes which develop and support female talent as they progress through the Bank. Our management training encourages the building of diverse teams and maximising the skills of all our talent, enabling colleagues to truly be themselves and unleash all their potential.

    Mark-McLane
    Mark McLane
    MD, Head of Global Diversity and Inclusion at Barclays PLC
Previous Awards
Previous Awards Highlights 2015
Previous Awards Highlights 2016

340 nominations (40% from male nominees)
14 corporate sponsors
15,000 public votes from across 112 countries
5,000 tweets (#watctop50)
100 shortlisted individuals featured on WeAreTheCity
Covered in Insurance Day, HR Today, Evening Standard
190 individuals attended shortlist event at Bloomberg
50 winners celebrated
150 individuals attended winners event at House of Commons
Over 170,000 page views for Rising Stars posts on WeAreTheCity
15 Promotions for 2015 winners since the 2015 awards closed
10 winners have gone on to win other awards
2015 winners have spoken on panels, radio and been featured in local news and press
37 of our top 50 award winners were promoted within 12 months of winning their awards

850 nominations (43% from male nominees)
22 corporate sponsors
28,000 public votes from across 110 countries
20,000 tweets (#watctop50)
200 shortlisted individuals featured on WeAreTheCity plus ten Champions
Covered in The Metro, BBC Women’s Hour, FM World, British Forces Radio
180 individuals attended shortlist event at Bloomberg
100 winners celebrated plus five champions
180 individuals attended winners event at Barclays
#watctop100 hashtag trended no.1 during the shortlist event and on five other occasions
Over 300,000 page views for Rising Stars posts on WeAreTheCity

Previous event coverage

Watch our previous awards footage

Rising Stars Winners Event 2018

Rising Stars Shortlist Celebration 2018

Rising Stars Winners Event 2017

Rising Stars Introduction & Shortlist Event 2017

Rising Star Awards India

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2017 Winners

Rising Stars 2019

Interested in sponsoring our 2019 awards?