Can you believe it's already been a month since the Northern Power Women Awards took place in Manchester?

 It feels like just yesterday that we were celebrating the incredible achievements of women from across the North of England. It was my first Northern Power Women Awards that I had the privilege to work at and I met so many inspiring people and felt honoured to be there to celebrate the incredible winners and commended. But even though the glitz and glamour of the awards ceremony might be over, the impact of the event is still being felt. Let's take a look back at the night that was.

With inclusivity at the heart of everything Northern Power Women dp, the night kicked off with a moving performance of the M People hit ‘Proud’ and The Greatest Showman’s ‘This Is Me’, delivered by The Liverpool Signing Choir. In true Northern Power Women style, a bit of audience participation couldn't go amiss and everyone started the evening with a masterclass from the on-stage choir master, Catherine, on how to sign ‘This Is Me’. The audience engagement and energy was electric during the performance, which didn’t leave a dry eye in the house. 

Simone Roche MBE and EY’s Stephen Church had the privilege of presenting Okszana Nepijvoda and Marianna Vaszilyiv with a ‘Special Honour’ award. Two women who are part of the pan-Northern United For Ukraine initiative, facilitated by The Growth Company, and have directly supported over 1,000 Ukranian refugees with direct employment and advice in the North. 

We love to empower our community but it’s not all about individuals on the night. It’s important that forward-thinking organisations are part of the mission to accelerate gender equality. For the small organisation award, Freedom4girls were commended for their fight against period poverty while Safer Date won for having what CEO and founder Elaine Parker proudly announces is the safest dating app in the world. Nuclear Transport Solutions took home the winner's award for Medium Organisation for a significant commitment to gender equality and inclusive culture in the workplace and Deloitte were the large organisation winner for their focus on gender balance for leaders in its Northern offices via initiatives like inclusive sponsorship, mentoring, and targeted development programmes, tools and initiatives. 

The Inclusive Innovation category, sponsored by Connected Places Catapult, saw Former England and Team GB para-athlete, Claire Buckle take home the winner's trophy with her company Ability Consultancy, which uses virtual and augmented reality to put non-disabled people into the world of disability to increase disability awareness.  

Then there were the disruptors. Heather Jackson, Co-founder of Gen M who recently shared her insight around menopause support, was honoured with a commendation for her mission at Gen M to unite forward-thinking brands to better understand the needs of those going through menopause. The judges of the Disruptor For Good category were blown away by the impact Syima Aslam MBE has made by founding Bradford Literature Festival as she reached out to those less privileged and engaged them in the arts, providing free learning for 150,000 people. 

The most competitive category was Levelling Up Leader, for which not one, not two, but three people took home awards. The Judges Special award winner, Isobelle Panton, was honoured for her passion and work towards levelling up her Greater Manchester community and unlocking young people’s potential. Nicky Chance-Thompson received a commendation for helping women to build their self-esteem, courage, and ambition by undertaking the learning or qualifications they need. The Levelling Up Leader winner was Nickala Torkington as her company Flourish Together CIC's programmes have helped women move from unemployment and low confidence to gaining employment, launching their own social enterprise and increasing their income.  

Mentoring is a big part of Northern Power Women and Power Collective CIC as seen by the monthly Power-Up Networking sessions, which a vast amount of the community gets involved with. Presenting Lyndsay Geraghty with the Mentor Of The Year award had an incredible reaction, which got all of the shortlisted even more excited about the 12-week mentoring programme that kickstarted the week after the Awards took place. 

Nimrah Munir took home the One To Watch winners award for developing a new medical device that will offer people with brain tumours a better quality of life and Lauren Rosegreen was commended for becoming the youngest ever trustee of the Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity (GMMC), playing a significant role in amplifying their A Bed Every Night Christmas Campaign. 

The man of the moment, Lee Chambers, took home the Agent Of Change winners award, for his mission to engage male allies in conversations about menopause and launching the first all-female cohort of Black STEM Futures. The Person With Purpose Award highlighted two incredible role models. Our queen of the night, Diana Anderson MBE was a highlight for everyone who attended as she received her commended award for her outstanding research towards finding a cure for cancer. The Person With Purpose winner went to Shabana Khushi, who volunteering efforts single-handedly supported the Halo Project’s huge project in providing a sanctuary for women and children fleeing domestic abuse in the global majority community. 

The ceremony was finished by celebrating the entrepreneurs. Zandra Moore was commended for her intelligence software company, Paintelligence, and her mission to ensure women have the same access to start-up funding as men, and to make Leeds the best place to build a diverse team and business. Natalie Kenny had an incredible night after being commended in the Inclusive Innovation category for BioGrad for their effort to solve global problems and their inclusive workplace culture. She was then awarded the Outstanding Entrepreneur trophy for her business BioGrad, which had an annual turnover increase from six hundred thousand pounds to sixteen million in 2022. 

It was an incredible night celebrating role models, trailblazers, and changemakers. The opportunity and responsibility to hold the biggest celebration of gender equality in Europe is a challenge we gladly take on, but remember, we are more than just one night. We want to continue highlighting role models and accelerating future talent, through our webinars, podcasts, and monthly PoWEr Up mentoring sessions.  

Check out the Northern Power Women podcast for the winners and commended reaction on our NPW Awards debrief episode: here. 

You can take a peek at the Power Vision here and we hope that you join us on this journey!  

Are you ready to learn more? Contact us here and we’d love to start the conversation.