The London businesswomen leading the way in their industries have been named in the second annual Great British Businesswoman Awards.
The programme launched in 2021 to recognise the growing number of trailblazing women in business leadership and entrepreneurship, champion their peers and advocates, and inspire the next generation of businesswomen.
In 2021, over 140,000 female-founded companies were established, a gure that is growing by a third every year, and the number of women in leadership positions in FTSE 100 companies increased to 32.5%, from 30.6% in 2020. It’s thought that this increase in representation of women in business could unlock a huge amount of economic potential, especially as the trajectory continues.
The finals of the Great British Businesswoman Awards took place at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. 21 awards were handed out, with 14 going to London-based finalists. The winners included Emily Aklan from Serenity Welfare, who won Social Enterprise Businesswoman of the Year; Krystle McGilvery, founder of Mind Over Money, who took the Rising Star Award; and Lizzie Carter from Only Curls Ltd who was named Entrepreneurial Businesswoman of the Year.
The overall Great British Businesswoman of the Year was awarded to Beth Knight, Amazon in the Community Leader for Europe, whose work surrounds building a better working world for women.
From helping women and girls to advance their careers in technology with programmes like Amazon Future Engineer, to overseeing large-scale philanthropy initiatives for refugees fleeing the current crisis in the Ukraine, Beth has been highly commended for the work she has undertaken so far in her career.
The programme was founded by the team behind the Great British Entrepreneur Awards in 2021, who had been blown away by the increasing volume and quality of applications to the prestigious awards series by women in previous years.
The winners were selected by a panel of expert judges from companies including Burberry, easyJet, WarnerMedia, Cabinet Office, Greggs and Heathrow Airport, who all have their own vast experience working within diversity and inclusion.
The Great British Businesswoman Awards were founded by Francesca James, who said that the showcased winners would play an important role in inspiring others:
“It has been a great honour to highlight the commendable stories of the winners, not only because they thoroughly deserve to be applauded for their tenacity and leadership, but because the value of positive female role models and male allies in business should never be underestimated.
“Statistics show that the participation of women in business is on the rise, but we want to play a part in ensuring this continues by shining a light on the stories that will instil confidence in the next generation and make certain that no stories of success go unnoticed.
“Congratulations to our fantastic winners, not only for your awards, but for the important work you are doing to lead and innovate your industries.”
Find out more about The Great British Businesswoman Awards at www.freshbusinessthinking.com/great-british-businesswoman-series