The Asian Women of Achievement Awards (AWA), hosted at London’s prestigious Hilton Park Lane on 20 May, were a glorious affair! The top tier of female Asian talent, representing a diverse range of industries from across the UK, turned out in all their splendour for this annual celebration of the contributions that individual Asian women have made in Britain, both professionally and in their communities.
Attending the event, which was hosted in association with RBS, were HRH The Duchess of Gloucester, Patron HRH Princess Badiya bint El Hassan, The Rt Hon Theresa May MP, The Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh MP, Miriam Gonazlez Durantez, Elif Shafak and Jazmine Walia.
This year’s winners are saving lives through The UK Sepsis Trust, supporting ethnic minority disabled children with Include Me TOO and spreading joy at Comedy At The Cottage. Whether they are just starting out in their careers or have already climbed through the ranks, they are proactively driving positive change, in many cases on top of their day jobs.
This year AWA honoured the author, columnist, speaker and academic Elif Shafak with the Global Empowerment Award. Each year the award recognises the work of a remarkable individual exemplifying outstanding leadership, responsibility and courage, who has inspired others to champion progress and success. Past recipients include HRH Prince of Wales, Susan Davis, chair of Vital Voices, and Indra Nooyi, global chief executive of PepsiCo.
10 women and one organisation were selected as category winners by a judging panel chaired by Sir Nicholas Young. The full list of winners is:
- Sajeela Kershi, comedian, actor and writer [Arts & Culture]
- Sevasti Wong, managing director, Accenture [Business]
- Farzana Baduel, founder, Curzon PR [Entrepreneur]
- Shivvy Jervis, presenter, Digital Futures; head of digital media, Telefonica [Media]
- Nicky Jayesinghe, head of professional policy division, British Medical Association [Professions]
- Daman Mullhi, founding trustee and director of PR, The UK Sepsis Trust [Public Service]
- Parmi Dheensa, executive director, Include Me TOO [Social & Humanitarian]
- Annie Zaidi, youth engagement coach, Leicester City Football Club Community Trust [Sport]
- Tanya Datta, store manager, Marks & Spencer [Young Achiever]
- Jyoti Shah, consultant urological surgeon, Burton Hospital NHS Foundation Trust [RBS AWA Chairman’s Award]
- University of East London [Community Award]
Also highly commended by the judging panel this year were: Piali Ray OBE, Sampad; Nupur Singh Mallick, Tata Consultancy Services; Renu Kapur, X-Forces; Shelina Permalloo, author, cook and TV personality; Professor Mala Rao OBE, Imperial College and Public Health England; Camilla Bowry, Sals Shoes; Balvinder Sandhu, NHS; Rimla Akhtar, Rimjhim Consulting; Dr Jennifer Gupta, Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth; and Joanne Sui, London Bridge Associates.
Pinky Lilani OBE DL, Founder, Asian Women of Achievement Awards, and featured Inspirational Woman on WeAreTheCity India, said, ”The common factor linking the women was their inexhaustible positive energy, whether throwing themselves behind their careers, a passion or a cause, they have all shown themselves to be dedicated and determined. I am proud to stand with this group of inspiring women.”
About Asian Women of Achievement
The Asian Women of Achievement Awards, co-founded by Pinky Lilani OBE DL in 1999, were conceived to celebrate the often unsung Asian heroines of British life. Such women make a huge contribution in fields as diverse as business, entrepreneurship and social and humanitarian work. These awards are their moment in the spotlight. The Asian Women of Achievement Awards are hosted in association with The Royal Bank of Scotland.
For information on the awards visit here
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