The 33rd annual Inspiring Women awards brought together women from around the world to celebrate the achievements of our 15 Finalists across 7 categories.
Celebration and Emotion at Prestigious Awards Event Honouring Remarkable Women
Manchester, 16th May 2025 was a day marked by celebration, emotion, and unforgettable moments as stories of courage, achievement, and resilience took centre stage at the highly anticipated awards ceremony.
The 33rd annual awards brought together a diverse and inspiring group of finalists whose experiences moved the audience to tears and laughter. The atmosphere turned especially heart-warming during an impromptu singalong, when Singing Mamas founder, Kate Valentine turned the room into one enormous choir channelling their best Annie Lennox.
Joanne Goodwin, editor of Cheshire Life, hosted the event, conducting live interviews with finalists present in the room and introducing pre-recorded segments from others tuning in remotely—including participants joining via Zoom from as far afield as Kabul and the Himalayas.
The awards were presented by category sponsors, Hall Brown LLP, Deloitte LLP, Premier Wealth Solutions, Lancashire Life and Cheshire Life and a trio of distinguished women in publishing: Liverpool Echo editor, Maria Breslin, Manchester Evening News editor, Sarah Lester, and bestselling author Clare Mackintosh. Each guest announcer shared personal anecdotes, before revealing the winners of each category.
“It was a wonderful afternoon – brilliantly compèred and with so many moving and incredible stories. Congratulations on putting together such a remarkable event. It was an honour to be involved.” Guest award announcer, Clare Mackintosh
Festivities began with a humorous short film offering a tongue-in-cheek look at the judging process, before the first honour of the day, the prestigious Constance Award, was presented to Carol Ann Whitehead.
The full winners list
The Constance Award – Carol Ann Whitehead
The Women making Waves Award – Joint winners: Khurshid Bano & Frohar Hamidi
The Inspiring Young Woman Award – Roya Rasouli
The Sustainable Award for women making an impact – Kirsty Rogers
The Here come the Girls Award – Bana Gora
The Entrepreneur Award – joint winners: Georgia Kirke & Pamela Edwards
The Community Award – Karen Wallis
The ceremony celebrated not only all the finalists, but also the spirit of resilience, empowerment, and the extraordinary achievements of women across the globe.
“The whole event was so special and an honour to be part of. I didn’t under estimate the potential personal feedback to empower and embolden me from such recognition, yet I could never have imagined feeling the way I felt, being surrounded by such powerful, loving women support and the judges of their awesome feedback. Wow!” 2025 Finalist, Kate Valentine.
Full coverage of the awards will appear in the July editions of Cheshire Life and Lancashire Life. Before then, films and photos from the day will be available to view on the IWA website in the next couple of weeks.