Now in its sixth year, the Rising Star Awards are the first to focus on the UK’s female talent pipeline below management level. WeAreTheCity’s strategic goal, set in 2015, aims to showcase 1,000 outstanding women by 2022. By highlighting the accolades of these women, WeAreTheCity are not only promoting the amazing female talent that exists across the UK, but actively encouraging organisations and business leaders to invest in and recognise these women as leaders of tomorrow and individual contributors to their respective industries.
WeAreTheCity are delighted to announce that nominations for our 2020 Top 100 Rising Star Awards are now open. This year, with thanks to industry advocate Anna Delvecchio of Amey, WeAreTheCity are proud to introduce a brand-new category for Transport and Logistics to this year’s awards. This is the first time this category has been included in the awards five-year history, which is thanks to Anna and lead sponsor, Mott McDonald. The transport and logistics category joins 20 other industry sectors and professions as part of this year’s awards.
Vanessa Vallely OBE, Managing Director, WeAreCity said, “I am so pleased that we are able to include a category for the fantastic women working in Transport and Logistics. Sharing the achievements of women working within the sector is so important to gender diversity and to the creation of visible role models. I am extremely grateful to Anna Delvecchio and Mott McDonald for their help in creating this opportunity to shine a light on these amazing women.”
Anna Delvecchio, Strategic Account Director, Amey and CILT UK Everybody Matters Chair said, “I am delighted to see that there is a new category for the transport and logistics sector in the fabulous and already established ’We are the City’ Rising Star awards. We have amazing role models across our profession and these awards will help shine the light on their exceptional and inspirational work. Creating role models is vital to inspiring the next generation to join and succeed in our sector. Thank you to WeAreTheCity and CILT UK for helping me to shape this award this for our sector.”
The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in the UK (CILT (UK) is the membership body for professionals involved in leading supply chain operations for the movement of goods and people and their associated supply chains encompassing sectors that employ more than 2.9 million individuals. Recognising and celebrating talent to support diversity and inclusion and raising the profile of the profession as a career of choice if we are to attract the talent and fill the skills gaps necessary to meet the challenges of the future.
Kevin Richardson. Chief Executive of CILT (UK) said “this is an excellent addition to the ‘We are the City’ Rising Star awards that supports the objectives that the institute has and enhances the 2020 launch of the ‘Everybody Matters campaign’ that the profession is developing, and which Anna Delvecchio is chairing and leading. This will celebrate diversity in its widest sense and raise the profile of the profession to become a career of choice for everyone.’
Denise Bower OBE, Group External Engagement Director, Mott McDonald said Mott MacDonald is proud to be supporting WeAreTheCity’s Rising Star Awards, by sponsoring the transport and logistics category. We believe that this is a great opportunity to showcase our commitment to support and value women in the transport and logistics sector. As well as acknowledging our own staff we believe that it is important to recognise all rising stars across the sector. We also want to encourage young women to consider studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics at school and at university by building the profile of outstanding role models.”
Alongside the Rising Star categories, we are also calling for nominations for Champions and a Company of the Year. Our Champion award recognises the achievements of five senior individual, of any gender, who are actively supporting the female pipeline outside of their day job. Nominations for this award are individuals who have demonstrated their commitment to gender, e.g. HeForShe supporters, network leaders, directors and MD’s & C-Suite individuals who are championing women either inside or outside their organisations.
The Company of the Year 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.
Recognising that careers for women follow many different timescales, the Rising Star Awards do not have any age restrictions included within the criteria. WeAreTheCity feels it has a responsibility to ensure that female talent, regardless of age and background, receives the necessary support and skills to transition into key decision-making roles within our organisations.
In previous years, the awards have been supported by an array of FTSE sponsors and this year is no different. The 2020 Rising Star Awards are supported by 3M, Accenture, Barclays, Bloomberg, British Army, C&C Search, Cancer Research UK, Citi, CMI Women, Elysian Search Consulting, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Lloyd’s of London, GlaxoSmithKline, Goldman Sachs, Mott McDonald, Oliver Wyman, Oxford Said Business School, Northern Trust, Reed Smith and Sage.
The nominations process opened on the 13 January 2020, for all categories. A shortlist of ten women from each industry category will be chosen by an esteemed panel of judges and will be published in April. The shortlist will then be open to a public vote. Judging for the final five winners for each category will take place with independent judges across May. The winners will be announced on 11 May, and will be invited to celebrate their award at a prestigious ceremony on 02 July.