Shortlist 2020

Kristina is a talented classical and opera vocalist, born in Chennai, India. She has been named Best Performer for three consecutive years and has performed all over the world. In 2020 she  completed her course at Middlesex University London with First Class Honours. She is set to reach the highest levels of the classical music and opera world, and be a role model for all.

Lowena is one of the UK's top 10 ‘inspiring juniors’ for girls in technology. Scientist, chemist, mathematician, physicist and speaker, she has been invited to speak on the impact of AI on the future of work at the World AI Summit in Amsterdam and has won numerous competitions including being invited to San Francisco to run a ‘hackathon’ event for teenage girls interested in tech. She is currently studying Physical Natural Sciences at Cambridge.

Niki is a project manager for EyeSee working to establish innovative methods for the design and distribution of glasses in East Africa. She has also recently co-founded the FoodIE app, winning the Gamifying Decarbonisation Challenge. The app is designed to allow users to document their day-to-day behavioural changes in a journey towards living a low-carbon lifestyle. She is determined to become a leader in sustainability.

Kat has one of the most challenging roles in the Premier League as Head of Policy and Supporter Relations. She works with football clubs, fan groups, politicians, senior figures across the sport and policing to help deliver the beautiful game and give every fan (regardless or gender, ethnicity, religion or age) the opportunity to enjoy the sport in a safe and secure environment.

Nekoda has been an athlete for 21 years, with eight years as an elite athlete. In 2014, she became  Commonwealth Champion, marking the start of her senior career. Nekoda is one of the best judo players of all time and one of only 15 athletes to have ever won two world medals. Nekoda hopes to be the first Olympic gold medallist for Great Britain. Nekoda also works for the Mintridge Foundation, mentoring young people. 

Megan’s passion for dodgeball developed at Warwick University, where she played competitively and took on the role of acting Publicity Secretary and later Vice President, championing equality and growing female LGBTQ+ participation. Megan then moved to the sport’s national team, London Storm. In 2019, she joined the England Lions Dodgeball Women’s Senior Squad. Megan seeks to grow the ‘grass-roots’ of the sport, championing kindness and inclusivity. She is also a Senior Analyst at Hall & Partners.

Alongside her role as a quantitative engineer at Facebook London, where Ghida builds data-driven tools and performs in-depth analysis to drive expansion and operation, Ghida has built rafiqi.net, an AI-powered platform that leverages artificial intelligence to connect refugees to opportunities. Her aim is to provide a single platform for democratising refugees' access to opportunities and to leverage machine learning to connect them with lifelong employment.

Aged 11, Anne-Marie passed computing A-Level. By 20, she was one of the youngest to receive a Masters in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Oxford. A thought-leader in tech, she has an MBE for her work as a champion for women in STEM. She is the Co-founder of Stemettes, a social initiative dedicated to inspiring and promoting young women in the STEM sectors.

Namrata is the Chief Product Officer at iPlato Healthcare. where she partners with NHS Digital to roll out the myGP app across all GP clinics and trusts. Namrata has been a product and technology champion for more than a decade, launching numerous digital products across a variety of sectors like IT, FMCG, telecom, healthcare, wellness, media and broadcast.

Sophie makes an outstanding contribution to the male-dominated tech and gaming industry. She is Global Brand Director at King, where she has revolutionised brand marketing and developed strategies that blend art and science to deliver a ROI-positive approach. She has launched many successful campaigns at King including eight new games and leads strategic partnerships with the likes of Google, Apple, and Instagram.

Emma is a Royal Society Research Fellow in astrophysics at Imperial College London, investigating the Epoch of Reionisation (EoR), the birth of the first stars. The successful detection of the EoR will be a field-changing achievement and Emma’s work is making this possible. Emma’s scientific achievements have occurred besides her achievements promoting gender equality within academia.

Emily is a conservation biologist with six years of experience researching plastic pollution in aquatic environments. She is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Exeter, investigating the impact of current levels of plastic pollution and the effect they are having on marine ecosystems and threatened species including marine turtles.

Hannah is a planetary scientist working in lunar resources and space exploration at the Open University. She is focused on producing water from lunar rocks so as to one day support crewed missions to the moon’s surface. Hannah has a passion for science communication and inspiring the next generation of space scientists, often speaking at schools and conferences.

Bridget is Head of KPMG’s Climate Risk and Decarbonisation Strategy team, and a passionate advocate for action on decarbonisation. She has dedicated her career to driving forward the low carbon agenda and is inspired by the opportunity and challenge to change the commercial face of business.

Parisa is a Senior Associate at Reed Smith in the Banking and Finance team. She has developed a key specialism in funds finance law. Parisa is the Co-chair of the Multi-Cultural Network (MCN) – the London diversity committee for Reed Smith – with a strong desire to overcome racial inequality in the legal industry. She leads mentoring schemes where junior BAME individuals are paired with senior non-BAME staff.

Amelia is a Systems Engineer at Atkins, where she supports business development activity in relation to the Ministry of Defence Engineering Delivery Partnership contract. She is passionate about helping others achieve their ambitions, particularly developing careers in STEM and actively seeking opportunities where she can apply her systems engineering knowledge to broader challenges.

Emily heads-up the Colleague Development team for the Chief Controls Office at Barclays, leading the training strategy for 800 people globally. She is leading tailored career pathways for colleagues, building libraries around the neuroscience of learning, focusing on holistic colleague development and driving the future of work-life integration.

Sarah is the Founder of the Land Collective, a commercial awareness and career development platform centering on the built environment. Her aim is to engage and educate more young people and open doors of opportunity for those who want to pursue a profession in this sector. She is currently developing a virtual internship programme which has had over 300 pre-registrations.

From pioneering change at university as President of the Property Society to creating an enabling environment for others at Cushman & Wakefield, with the CREation Property Network, Rosanna is determined to support and inspire the youngest generation of property professionals. She is currently Global Brand and Strategic Partnerships Director at Project Etopia.

Sophie is an award-winning Chartered Civil Engineer, who has delivered major infrastructure projects and has progressed rapidly to lead a successful team as a regional manager. She is currently Practice Manager for Bridges, Civils and Geomatics at Atkins. Sophie is a strong advocate for staff development and an outstanding role model for young people.

Priya founded BAME in Property in 2017 with the aim of creating an organisation for underrepresented ethnic minority professionals in the built environment sector so as to drive a more inclusive industry. She is a Communications Consultant at Grayling and an Ambassador for Binti Period, a charity aiming to end period poverty. She also serves as a diversity advisor for the Royal Town Planning Institute and others.

Kate has an extensive history of mentorship; she was an ambassador whilst at the University of Bath, led her department’s buddy scheme at Deloitte and established a mentoring scheme at Whitbread PLC. She is a mentor for scholarship students at the University of Bath and currently serves as Strategy & Insights Manager at the England & Wales Cricket Board.

Antonis is the Director of England and Wales at the Mental Health Foundation. He is an experienced public health professional, academic and thought-leader on mental health, with a focus on developing co-produced innovation, real world research and fair policies towards influencing better health and better lives for all. He is a dedicated mentor to young professionals in public health.

A Senior Director within KPMG, Rachel leads large scale transformation programmes, heads up a 140-strong team and is known for her investment in coaching and mentoring female colleagues. She is sought after as a manager and mentor, taking personal pride in coaching others to progress their careers.

Emilie believes that everyone has the right to experience, learn and play music. She has over 13 years of marketing experience with UK, international and global companies. A recognised expert in her field, she is now Head of Marketing Channel Strategy for Yamaha Music Europe. Emilie is the first European woman on Yamaha’s Global Brand Team and represents Europe in the Global Diversity and Inclusion Group.

Lara leads 50:50 The Equality Project, the BBC’s largest collective action campaign to increase representation of underserved audiences, inspiring organisations around the globe to create media content that fairly represents our world. Lara joined the BBC in 2009 and was recently Output Editor of BBC Africa's first-ever youth programme.

Charlotte has built strong foundations as a communications expert, beginning her career at two leading PR agencies before obtaining her current in-house role where she leads the global communications for Pernod Ricard’s international gin brands for corporate, consumer and trade audiences.

Aliya recently graduated from Oxford's Saïd Business School. Alongside her MBA, she has competed for the British National Fencing Team and has her sights set on the Olympics. Aliya previously worked on Wall Street and graduated from Harvard University. Passionate about female empowerment, Aliya is a champion for fellow women, whether on the fencing piste, on the trading floor, or in the halls of universities. 

Natalia’s greatest accomplishment to date is leading the creation of the first and only public policy for youth in Paraguay, working with the Minister of Youth and leading workshops with 1441 young people across the country. Natalia is currently a consultant at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, working on the creation of a baseline of circular economy activity and policy in Latin American countries.

A gender diversity champion, Srishti has led the agenda at both her ex-workplace, Barclays, and the University of Cambridge. She led the United Nations' HeForShe gender parity agenda for Barclays Pune, steering initiatives to formulate gender-centric policies to attract, retain and develop women in the workforce. She has also served as Co-chair of the Wo+Men’s Leadership Centre. Her goal is to further her career in the FinTech sector.

Caroline co-founded Ammonite Wealth with the aim of making high quality and personal pension and investment advice affordable for the.'advice gap' in the UK – a gap where people with under £100,000 to invest cannot affordably access financial advice. Caroline wants to modernise financial planning by promoting inclusiveness and equality.

Chloé is the Founder and Director of Chloé Nelkin Consulting (CNC), a firm specialising in PR, marketing, events and consultancy with a dedicated focus on visual arts, theatre, circus and opera. Prior to establishing CNC, Chloé worked for a diverse range of organisations across public and private sector, including esteemed commercial art galleries in London and a top fashion PR firm.

Zeena is the CEO and Co-founder of Sonantic, a company that is recognised as one of Europe’s hottest AI start-ups, making hyper-realistic artificial voices. Zeena has spent the last seven years working with deep technology, with two other tech start-ups under her belt. She also has nine years of experience teaching speech and language therapy to children with autism spectrum disorder.

Since joining Liverpool Football Club, Sarah has worked tirelessly with local residents and councillors to put the community first and to build a positive relationship with the club. Sarah has pushed for a £60,000 community fund in order to drive change in Anfield. She is now leading a sustainability project, streamlining the club’s principles relating to regional and global communities, and the club's green footprint.

Esther is an author changing the game in the children’s book market – her books empower children to fulfil their dreams regardless of gender, race or religion. She is the Founder of sTandTall, an organisation that provides support to individuals suffering from abuse and bullying. She also serves as the Global Gender Diversity and Inclusion Lead at Unilever.

Toni is the Founder of dressCode, a multi-award winning charity created to help close the gender gap in computing science in Scotland by engaging, inspiring and raising awareness of opportunities in the world of tech. Toni is also the Founder of Turing's Testers, a platform for girls to empower girls by supporting them to create their own national cyber competitions.

The BBC is a public broadcasting service with a mission to create content for everyone. It is committed to representing the UK’s diversity on-and-off-screen. The BBC’s diversity agenda is simple – to ensure it reflects the UK in content and in its workforce. In pursuit of this, over the last year, the BBC has: launched a £100m Creative Diversity Fund; held the world’s first virtual Creative Diversity Experience; expanded the multi-award winning 50:50 Project beyond gender; revamped recruitment so over 75% of jobs are advertised flexibly and implemented 91% of staff recommendations to ensure an inclusive BBC culture.

The philosophy of Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) is ‘Everyone’s Welcome to Be Yourself, Be Valued, Belong’. The CCEP GB business unit has been on a culture change journey to create this inclusive culture. A place where everyone, wherever they work within the business, feels welcome to fully be themselves at work. Alongside this, CCEP has five critical diverse focus areas, these are: culture and heritage, gender, multi-generations, abilities and LGBTI+.

Google’s mission is to organise the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. When Google says it wants to build for everyone, it means everyone. To do that well, Google believes it needs a workforce that’s more representative of the users it serves. Google aims to create a workplace that celebrates the diversity of its workforce, customers, and users. It builds products that work for everyone by including perspectives from backgrounds that vary by race, ethnicity, social background, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, and national origin.

Imperial College London is a university with an international reputation for excellence in teaching and research. It helps realise the talents of younger women through its commitment to developing the next generation of researchers, scientists and academics through collaboration across disciplines. Imperial has an Assistant Provost for EDI, with the EDI strategy that includes integrating equality, diversity and inclusion into all management processes and student experiences.

Rija is an accomplished Fintech leader who has led teams across London, Silicon Valley and Toronto with extensive experience across several domains. Most recently she spent time advising start-ups based in Europe, Toronto and Africa, and in her role at Facebook she leads a team focused on commerce, ensuring data quality for the likes of the recently launched Shops product.

Jillian is an award-winning entrepreneur and the Founder of Safe & the City, a technology and data intelligence platform creating safer and more inclusive spaces. Jillian is a board member, business coach and TEDx speaker. Her passion and unstoppable work ethic inspires others to believe in her vision of change.

Hannah is a medical doctor and DPhil candidate in women’s health at the University of Oxford. She is also Chair of the Board of Trustees at the Kalsom Movement, a student-led charity based in Malaysia. Hannah hopes to combine her love of medicine and women’s health with youth education and women’s rights advocacy.

Sarah loves a challenge and embraces the fear of taking risks. She gained her chartered accountancy qualification, joined Aviva and moved from graduate to Head of Department with a global remit – all by the age of 30. She is currently Head of Risk & Governance. A committed mentor, Sarah has been instrumental in shaping the future of Aviva and its many diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Catherine is an award-winning sales and marketing leader with proven success in developing future-focused strategies. In her current role as Senior Marketing Strategy Manager and Chief of Staff in B2B Marketing, Catherine has led the rebuild of the marketing function and headed-up initiatives that support growth. She’s also integrally involved in initiatives to drive gender and racial equality in the workplace.

Swati is a marketing leader and strategic business partner with over ten years of global experience across technology services. She has pioneered new initiatives including SEO optimisation, marketing automation and more. She also founded a public speaking non-profit organisation that has helped over 50 members improve confidence and led many voluntary initiatives to drive education and computer training among underprivileged kids.

Sukki has campaigned tirelessly for women's rights in the UK, Singapore and across the globe. Her work has seen burlesque legalised in Singapore. Beyond political activism, Sukki has refined her skills as a performer, and was inducted into the burlesque hall of fame in 2015. Suki is an ambassador for the Sharan Project, a charity safeguarding young South Asian women.

Hannah uses art as a tool for advocacy and to bring the stories of displaced and marginalised people into places of influence in the West. She is currently completing her PhD at the University of Glasgow as a UNESCO ‘Art Lab for Human Rights and Dialogue’ scholar. She has organised art projects in Syrian and Rohingya refugee camps; with Yazidi women who escaped ISIS, and survivors of Boko Haram.

Laura is a playwright, screenwriter and poet, exploring the female experience with a multidisciplinary approach. She has written over 40 plays, produced across China, the UK and Europe. Her first feature film, Lapwing, is in post-production. Laura lectures at the University of Lincoln and recently established Fury Theatre, telling female stories with fire.

Gloria is an award-winning actress and playwright who has produced her own work for over ten years, engaging audiences with social political subject matters. Her recent play, Bullet Hole, earned her a Black British Theatre Award for Best Female Actor. Gloria also works as a Business Analyst on a probation tool to help offenders receive the right