2022 is nearly over and to celebrate the year gone by, WeAreTheCity is taking a look back at our top moments.
Celebrating our fourteenth year, we have published over 2,000 articles on WeAreTheCity and WeAreTechWomen; promoted over 500 learning events; and profiled over 500 women and men who shared their stories and experiences.
Our WeAreVirtual webinar series delivered 25 webinars from leading speakers, experts and coaches to a global audience of 25,000.
We wouldn’t have been able to achieve this without our supporters. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who has supported us this year. A huge thank you to our clients, sponsors, speakers, judges, partners, champions, advocates and above all, our community. We look forward to supporting you and your progression in 2023.
Check out what happened during our 2022 below:
January
WeAreTheCity shook off the January blues by kicking off the year with a bang – announcing our 2022 Rising Star Awards.
Now in its eighth year, the Rising Star Awards are the first to focus on the UK’s female talent pipeline below management level. Our strategic goal, set in 2015, aims to showcase 1,000 outstanding women by 2025. By highlighting the accolades of these women, WeAreTheCity are not only promoting the amazing female talent that exists across the UK, but actively encouraging organisations and business leaders to invest in and recognise these women as leaders of tomorrow and individual contributors to their respective industries.
These awards will recognise and celebrate a further 100 female individual contributors from over 20 different industries that represent the leaders and role models of tomorrow. These winners will join our award’s alumni of 750 previous winners, across the UK and India.
Don’t forget – nominations for our 2023 Rising Star Awards open on 16 January.
March
In March, we celebrated Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day.
Each year International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8, with the first day being held in 1911. Thousands of events occur to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women. Organisations, governments, charities, educational institutions, women’s groups, corporations and the media celebrate the day.
This year’s theme was #BreakTheBias – which looks actively call out gender bias, discrimination and stereotyping each time you see it.
We marked the occasion by creating our #BreakTheBias campaign, where we shared the thoughts of over 100 leaders who are calling for societal change for women. Our campaign shared thoughts from Helen Pankhurst CBE, Women’s Rights Campaigner and , CARE International;
We also relaunched our in person networking events in March at Publicis Sapient where Mairi McHaffie, Personal Impact Expert & CEO of Scene Change Creative Consultants spoke about Unconscious Bias to over 35 incredible women.
April
In April, WeAreTechWomen hosted their second One Tech World virtual conference. The conference featured six stages of technology keynotes, career advice, fireside chats & much more.
Across the day, we heard from incredible high-profile speakers, including Ortis Deley, TV Presenter, DJ & Actor; Briony Chappell, Head of Digital, KISS FM; Vicki Lau, Visual Effects (VFX) Artist/Generalist, Virtual Reality (VR) Developer, TEDx speaker, Entrepreneur & Educator; Russ Shaw CBE, Founder of Tech London Advocates & Global Tech Advocates; Debbie Forster MBE, CEO, Tech Talent Charter; Vanessa Sanyauke, Founder & CEO, Girls Talk London; Tabitha Goldstaub MBE, Co-Founder, CogX; Jacky Wright, Chief Digital Officer & Corporate Vice President, Microsoft US; Ann Hiatt, Leadership Strategist & Author of Bet On Yourself, to name a few.
May
In May, we showcased our amazing Rising Star Awards shortlist for 2022!
Over an eight week period, we received over 1,000 nominations from across the UK and Northern Ireland. The calibre of entries for this year’s awards was exceptional.
Also in May, WeAreTheCity celebrated over 200 remarkable women, male allies & companies at the Rising Star Awards Shortlist Celebration.
Kindly hosted by Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) on their beautiful rooftop terrace, our shortlisters were given the opportunity to network with each other, sponsors and judges and to celebrate their achievements.
Later in the month, we announced our 2022 Rising Star Award winners!
The list of winners showcases remarkable women within the UK from across 20 categories representing different industries and professions. Those highlighted include Ebinehita Iyere, founder of Milk Honey Bees, working with young people who encounter the youth justice system and those who are impacted by violence in the community; Chanelle Smith, a medical student who is an ambassador for the Captain Tom Foundation and features in the children’s book honouring Captain Sir Tom Moore; and law student Sheekeba Nasimi, who leads the legal clinic at the Afghanistan and Central Asian Association, a charity dedicated to improving the lives of Afghans and all refugees in London.
DISCOVER OUR WINNERS
May also saw us launch our dedicated menopause support page. Here at WeAreTheCity, we want to help raise awareness of menopause and offer our support to try and help women navigate through these new challenges. We’ve got a whole host of themed features, opinion pieces, resources, advice articles and much more.
June
In June, we celebrated Pride Month – a month dedicated to celebrating the LGBTQ+ communities around the world. Over the month, we interviewed amazing men and women within the community; shared events and networking groups across a variety of industries; and promoted resources designed to educate and understand.
At WeAreTheCity, we believe in equality for all and will continue to help increase representation of the LGBTQ+ community and share a variety of voices and opinions – and never has it been more important.
June also saw us talk menopause support at our Senior Leaders Breakfast, kindly hosted by Pan Pacific. The event was attended by representatives of over 30 companies and gathered the leading lights in Menopause to discuss what more the government and organisations need to do to support women.
July
In July, we celebrated over 100 remarkable women, male allies & companies at the Rising Star Awards Ceremony!
Kindly hosted by Pan Pacific London in their beautiful Pacific Ballroom, where over 400 winners, sponsors, judges and guests enjoyed a sparkling reception, a three-course meal and fine wine. Attendees were also given the opportunity to network with each other, sponsors and judges and to celebrate their achievements.
Facilitated by Julia Streets, CEO of Streets Consulting, we were also joined by a number of inspirational speakers and entertainers, including Chloe Kennedy, actress, singer & songwriter; the Southend Vox Choir; poet and Rising Star alumni, Jaspreet Kaur; Ayesha Patel, Chief Operating Officer, RBC; Janet Lindsay, CEO, Wellbeing of Women; and Andrea Thompson, Editor-in-Chief, Marie Claire.
September
On 29 September, WeAreTheCity’s 2022 Rising Stars attended their first engagement at Warwick Business School. This knowledge day provided our winners with the opportunity to connect and build relationships with their fellow winners and to learn from the amazing professors at WBS.
Our knowledge day took place at Warwick’s London campus, which is based at the iconic Shard right in the heart of the City of London. The Rising Stars were treated to incredible hospitality, stunning views and a morning of keynote sessions which included building innovative capabilities in a fast-changing world, and why hybrid working is about more than flexibility.
October
October was a busy time as we shined a spotlight on Black History Month, Menopause Awareness Month and Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Over the month, we shared events, resources, inspiring interviews and much more to promote and raise awareness of these important campaigns.
November
We joined the fight against Gender-Based Violence in the 16 Days of Activism campaign. The campaign kicked off on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and ended on Human Rights Day on 10 December.
We stand strongly against violence, abuse and harassment of any kind and will continue to raise awareness and call for the elimination of violence against women and girls.
We also marked International Men’s Day on 19 November. This year, the theme of International Men’s Day was “Helping Men and Boys”. The aim is to help address some of the issues that affect men and boys today, such as high male suicide rate, men’s health, male victims of violence and the negative portrayal of men.
We showcased events, covered news and continued to shine a spotlight on the issues of wellbeing, equality and diversity.
December
On 06 December, WeAreTechWomen hosted their first-ever Level Up Summit for female technologists at the QEII Centre in Westminster.
The summit, proudly sponsored and supported by EY, saw over 600 in-person attendees and over 1,000 people online from across the technology sector and a range of companies including Sky, Visa, Barclays, Merkle, Bank of America, BT Group, Funding Circle, Natwest, Fidelity and many more.
The summit brought together incredible women and allies in the tech industry who were looking to broaden their technology horizons, learn new skills and build their technology networks.
In the evening, the Churchill Suite of the QEII underwent an incredible transformation, ready for us to celebrate over 100 remarkable women, male allies & companies at the TechWomen100 Awards Ceremony!
Kindly hosted by QEII Centre, over 400 winners, sponsors, judges and guests celebrated and enjoyed a three-course meal and champagne reception to toast the TechWomen100 finalists’ achievements. The evening was facilitated by Julia Streets, CEO, Streets Consulting and attendees were welcomed by Vanessa Vallely OBE, Managing Director, WeAreTheCity; headline sponsors, Amy Williams, Barclays; our charity partners, Tech She Can; and our education partners, Durham University. Attendees were also given the opportunity to network with each other, sponsors and judges and to celebrate their achievements.
