On 2nd February 2019, we launched the UK’s first list of Inspirational Women in Public Affairs. Within three weeks, we had received over 300 nominations for around 200 women. A shortlist of the top thirty women was announced on March 7th with the final Top Ten announced at an event in Portcullis House on International Women’s Day, Friday 9 March.
The list showcases women who are pushing boundaries and paving the way for the next generation of women in public affairs. Many are working on game-changing campaigns or have shown themselves to be instrumental in affecting change or inspiring others. You can read about the process and criteria here.
The event
The well-attended event brought together nominees, those who made the nominations and senior industry figures. With mimosas flowing, it felt like a special celebration for the achievements of all women in public affairs.
Once all the guests had arrived and secured a glass of bubbly, the programme was opened by Elliot Robinson, Founder and CEO of PolicyMogul. Seena Shah, Director of Marketing at PolicyMogul spoke about why PolicyMogul cares about women in public affairs. She explained:
“PolicyMogul is not just a software company looking to help public affairs professionals to do their job…. it’s going to help make better policy; and the best policy is made together.
Until we ensure that there is true diversity in the voices influencing policy, we will not make the best policy. That is why we must see women at the policy-making table, and it starts with celebrating and recognising the many inspirational women in this industry.”
Then it was time for the main act – the announcement of the Top Ten which was made by one of our three judges, Laura Gilmore, founder of the Women in Public Affairs Network and Director of Government Relations at Cummins made the announcement. It was an impressive list of some truly inspirational women and the applause and cheers in the room further confirmed how well respected these women are. You can find the list of Top Ten here.
The programme concluded with our guest speaker, Baroness Ann Jenkin, who dedicates her life to getting more women in politics with Women2Win. She spoke about the underrepresentation of women in politics and the importance of women’s involvement in influencing policy and bringing light to issues that affect women.
Next steps…
This is not the last of our efforts to encourage more women to make it to the top in public affairs. From April, we will be featuring one of the Top Ten women every month in our blog, exploring their career, achievements, advice for other women in public affairs and the campaigns and causes they are working on.
We are committed to levelling the playing field for all people and organisations to get involved in the policy-making process and will be launching more initiatives soon.
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