There’s a saying ‘if you can see it, you can be it’ and the Women Leaders UK Awards were founded to showcase the success of women living and working in Milton Keynes, give them the recognition they deserved, and inspire more women to celebrate their own achievements.
The annual awards event is organised by Women Leaders UK, a registered charity that promotes and strengthens women’s leadership, gender equality and diversity. It provides mentoring and support as well as networking opportunities and works with women from all sectors and backgrounds, and with organisations and businesses that support its ethos.
The Women Leaders UK Awards were founded in 2017. Forced to move online in 2020 during the pandemic, the awards made a spectacular comeback in 2023. A 2024 launch event is planned for February, and this year’s ceremony will take place in June.
Chair of Women Leaders UK, Dr Julie Mills OBE DL, explained the ethos behind the awards:
“The awards are the awareness and fundraising part of our work, they enable us to offer the other services, such as mentoring and allyship schemes that are aimed at closing the gender pay gap. Statistically, there are too few women in senior leadership roles and too few women in STEM and we organise events like the MKInnovates Festival at Unity Place, Santander’s headquarters in Milton Keynes, designed to introduce women and girls to the opportunities open to them in STEM.
“There are many brilliant women in Milton Keynes who are not only excelling in the work they do but also finding time to enrich the experience of other women and in turn support them to be brilliant at what they do.”
Women Leaders UK has a partnership with Cranfield University and NHBC and is keen to develop other working relationships with organisations that want to be part of creating a fairer workspace.
Susan Popoola winner of the #NoneOfTheAbove Award in 2023, said:
“Like so many other people, I at times question myself and don’t always realise the magnitude of what I do… most especially as it aligns to my beliefs and strengths and I therefore do it almost naturally.
“I now feel spurred on and encouraged with a greater sense of purpose. With a greater awareness of me and the different things I do, I believe there will be greater involvement in my vision in its various elements to develop a Mosaic World. Based on the feedback of the team of interns I have working with me over the summer, I know it also serves as a motivation and call to action of others.”
A launch event at Milton Keynes software company Aimii will be held on February 15. Nominations will open that day – women can be nominated or nominate themselves – and it will also be an opportunity for businesses and organisations to find out more about sponsorship or partnering opportunities.
Christian Horner from 2023 sponsor Oracle Red Bull Racing said:
“I am incredibly proud of who we are and what we do, both on the track and here in Milton Keynes on the Red Bull Technology Campus. We have an extremely talented group of women working across our organisation, so partnering with Women Leaders UK to celebrate women who make an outstanding contribution in their field is a perfect fit for us.
“We also welcome any opportunity to inspire more women into STEM careers and all areas of Formula One.”
Frazer Arnott from media partner All Things Business said:
“Having only discovered the Women Leaders UK Awards when we were invited to attend last year it was clearly something we wanted to support and promote. We’re proud to be a media partner this year, celebrating the inspirational women who live and work in Milton Keynes.”
Find out more about the Women Leaders UK Awards at www.womenleadersuk.org
