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Awards – celebrate with us

Our Awards for Achievement

Now in their 25th year, having been presented annually since 1998, the Awards for Achievement celebrate the talent in the financial services sector, highlighting the successes of individuals who have helped the progress of diversity and inclusion, often providing role models for younger peers.

WIBF's ground-breaking awards also highlight corporate initiatives that challenge the status quo and remove the barriers that hinder diversity and inclusion. Gender equity is of particular importance to the awards team.

2023's awards

We've shaken things up this year. We kicked things off with a shortlist champagne reception on 19 September,. Our national awards then dazzled virtually from the spirited soul of Edinburgh at lunchtime on Tuesday 10 October, which we watched the winners and those highly commended announced during our digital celebration. It was followed by an evening reception.

Thursday 12 October then saw the final event - our London prize-winners party - held in Canary Wharf’s treasure - the Museum of Docklands London.

This year, our theme is 'Power in Numbers'. This isn't just a phrase; it's an ethos that epitomises collective strength. When we band together, we amplify our influence, drive change, forge stronger bonds, and create safer spaces. For 42 remarkable years, WIBF has channeled this collective power, quantifying our tangible impact and reinforcing the transformative power of these ground-breaking awards.

The 2022 awards

Did you watch our 2022 national awards celebration? Hosted by Anna Lane, WIBF's President & CEO, and Kate Thornton, broadcaster and journalist, the virtual event saw over 700 people watch our latest award winners announced.

Alongside insights shared by Amanda Blanc, Group CEO of Aviva and the UK Government’s Women in Finance Champion, watch our interviews with Sandy Begbie CBE, the Chief Executive at Scottish Financial Enterprise, and Alison Harding-Jones, Vice Chairman of EMEA Banking, Capital Markets & Advisory and Head of EMEA M&A at Citi, amongst others. We were also able to celebrate WIBF's national footprint from the South West to Scotland, from East Anglia to Northern Ireland.

Our awards' archive

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2021 Recognition

An opportunity to recognise and celebrate individuals active in progressing gender equality, across the UK’s financial services sector, the virtual celebration saw a packed 90 minutes of panel discussions, key note speakers in Alison Rose and Inga Beale (amongst others) and showcased some of our industry's amazing role models.

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2020 Awards

The 23rd Annual Awards for Achievement celebrated the achievements of four individuals and a team for their work promoting diversity and gender equality in banking and finance at a time of substantial change due to Covid-19. Our keynote address from Andy Haldane, Chief Economist at the Bank of England, focused on opportunities post the pandemic.

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40for40

As part of our 40th (ruby) anniversary celebrations in 2020, we took the opportunity to celebrate the past and inspire the future.

We also recognised some of the individuals who have been a part of our journey to becoming the longest standing gender network in the UK and the only one with reach across the four nations.

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2019 Awards

The 22nd Awards for Achievement were a huge success, with more nominations than ever before and more than 530 people attending the awards luncheon. We were proud to welcome Dr Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England to present the keynote speech ahead of the prize giving that saw the first Tech Star Award presented.

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2018 Awards

WIBF’s belief that the awards are a flagship event was underlined by the success of our 21st Awards for Achievement, providing an opportunity to recognise the talent and achievements of women (and their male champions) in the sector, as well as underline WIBF’s confidence in the power of exceptional role models.

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2017 Awards

Every year, the nominees surpass expectations with their innovation and creativity and every year we leave an awards celebration inspired by the talented women working in our sector. 2017 was no different with our 20th Awards for Achievement marking the individual achievements of our shortlisted and winning candidates.

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Our awards alumni

With awards presented annually since 1998, WIBF has had the privilege of recognising a list of amazing individuals and teams over the years. These select few are invited to join our awards alumni and gain access to a burgeoning list of exclusive, invitation-only events. In December 2022, for example, the alumni joined a fireside chat with Iris Bohnet, a WIBF esteemed patron, ahead of the publication of her second book, What Works: How to Embed Gender Equity in Organizations. Meanwhile in April, Deloitte hosted a roundtable to establish what previous award winners want from this community. If you did not receive an invite to either of these, please click on the link below and ensure WIBF's operations team has your up to date contact details.

Interested in sponsorship?

We are really grateful for the support we receive for our awards, particularly given we now stage a virtual event to support our nationwide footprint and organise in person events to enables the shortlisted nominees and award winners to meet each other and network.

We have a range of opportunities to suit every budget so please contact us to discuss what options are available.

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