The East Midlands’ most inspirational women have been celebrated in a glittering awards dinner in Leicester, held at the city’s St Martin’s House with special guests including Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire, Michael Kapur, Esq OBE.
The East Midlands Women’s Awards (EMWA) – now in its second year – recognizes and celebrates women from all sectors, backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities and age, making it the region’s most inclusive event. Furthermore, it acknowledges the impact of women in society – from grass-roots levels to the top of the academic or corporate world.
Sandra Pollock, Founder of the East Midlands Women’s Awards comments; “This year’s awards marks our second year. In just 48 months, we’ve seen the number of awards nominations double and our awards dinner is sold-out. To me, this demonstrates ‘girl-power’ at its finest: women supporting women and giving each other the respect, kudos and recognition that many other awards fail to offer. In the centenary year of achieving the vote for women, I’m thrilled to see women – and men – from across the Region take the East Midlands Women’s Awards to their hearts”.
Pollock also took the opportunity to launch her Midlands Ambassadors project. Alumni winners of the 2017 and 2018 EMWA were granted automatic Ambassador status with the project looking to further support and encourage the advancement of women from all sectors represented by the winners.
Winners on the night were:
Outstanding Woman of Community Impact – Charity & Voluntary Award 2018
Finalist: Jenny Hand WINNER: Karen Williams
Outstanding Woman in Arts, Media & Music Award 2018 -
Finalist: Amanda Leandro. WINNER: Dr Emma Parker
Outstanding BME Female Leader of the Year Award 2018 -
Finalist: Iris Lightfoote. WINNER: Pawlet Brookes
Outstanding Woman in Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) Award 2018-
Finalist: Professor Emma Bunce. WINNER: Professor Rachel Thomas
Female Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2018-
Finalist: Carla Garey. WINNER: Farhana Sheikh
Outstanding Woman in Public Services Award 2018-
Finalist: Claire-Marie Cuthbert. WINNER: Jennifer Fenelon
Outstanding Woman in Professional Services Award 2018-
Finalist: Caroline Hopkinson.Joint-WINNERS: Karen Cureton & Helen Steward
Outstanding Female Leader in a Market Town Award 2018-
Finalist: Natasha Mina. WINNER: Claire-Marie Cuthbert
Inspirational Male Supporting Women Leaders Award 2018-
Finalist: Jag Johal. WINNER: Vijay Mistry
The East Midlands Inspirational Female Leader of the Year 2018 -
WINNER: Professor Rachel Thomson
Special Awards:
Yvette Price-Mear – Life Time Achievement Award in Voluntary Services 2018
Professor Emma Bunce - Special Recognition Award - Outstanding Achievements in Science, Space & Astrophysics 2018