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, [...]

Inspiring Women Awards & Hall Brown Family Law 2025 Stanley Chow; 2024 IYWA winner, Olivia Clarke; Hall Brown partner, Claire Reid Shining a Light on the Next Generation of Legal Talent Hall Brown Family Law [...]

Guest Award Announcers This year we have been fortunate in securing three ground-breaking women in print as our guest award announcers; Maria Breslin, Sarah Lester and Clare Mackintosh. Each of these phenomenal women will be [...]

Carol Ann Whitehead The Zebra Partnership Carol Ann Whitehead, known to many as the self-styled #QueenMaker and #AgentOfChange, is a one-woman powerhouse. Strategic planner, event producer, campaigner, and mentor, Carol Ann is a leader who [...]

  Sally Orange MBE The Fruitful Force Behind Mental Health Awareness By any measure, Sally Orange MBE is a remarkable woman. But not just for the countless records she’s broken, the gruelling physical challenges she’s [...]

Dr. Salmabanu Ismailbhai Luhar University of Bradford In a world searching for sustainable solutions, few individuals are driving transformation with the  commitment, and far-reaching impact as Dr. Luhar. A Marie Curie and UKRI fellow, Dr. [...]

Georgia Kirke Cliobooks.ai & Write Business Results From scaling corporate ladders to scaling rock faces, Georgia Kirke has never shied away from a challenge. But it’s her journey from solopreneur to tech innovator that’s making [...]

Nadia Ali Make a Difference Nadia has been described as a cornerstone of the community in Stockport. As the Network Lead for Stockport Women & Girls (SWAG), the Manager of Heaton Norris Community Centre (HNCC), [...]

  Sophia Ben-Yousef Accenture In the heart of the North West, one trailblazing leader is rewriting the playbook on inclusion, diversity, and authentic leadership. Sophia, the powerhouse behind Accenture’s regional Inclusion & Diversity Community, is [...]

Khurshid Bano   Founder of Da Hawwa Lur - Daughters of Eve In a country where traditional norms often obscure the voices of women, Khurshid rises as a beacon of hope, courage, and unyielding determination. [...]

Joanne Goodwin A Life in Journalism and a Passion for Storytelling As Editor of Cheshire Life and long time supporter of the Inspiring Women Awards, Joanne is delighted to be interviewing this year’s Finalists at [...]

Roya Rasouli Femwear The Fashion Designer Championing Women’s Health At just 27, Roya Rasouli is making waves in both the fashion and women's health advocacy worlds. Her brand, FemWear, is redefining fashion by creating stylish [...]

Karen Wallis Emmaus, Preston Karen's Journey: From Despair to Hope  In 2012, Karen’s life was at its lowest ebb. Years of domestic violence had left her broken, trapped in a toxic relationship with her abusive [...]

Kirsty Rogers DWF LLP Kirsty Rogers is global law firm DWF's first Chief Sustainability Officer, leading their global sustainability initiatives and ESG strategies, ensuring the firm meets its environmental and social responsibilities. She is also [...]

  Frohar Hamidi Sun’s Girls Organization Frohar founded the Sun’s Girls Organization(SGO) in response to the heart-breaking ban on girls’ education in Afghanistan. With a mission to provide online education for Afghan girls who were [...]

 Kate Valentine Singing Mamas Kate describes herself as an 'accidental change maker' She grew up in a tower block in London, was homeless at 15 and had her first child at 19. She’s experienced domestic [...]

Shar Sangster Manchester's Got Talent Youth (MGTY) Shar founded MGTY during the first lockdown of 2020, and continues to run it alongside her son, Zeriah Otutu. The organisation was born from the unexpected success of [...]

Aliza Ayaz TORI Global At just 25 years old, Aliza has distinguished herself as a leading ESG consultant at TORI Global, working with high-profile clients such as M&G, Aviva and H&M. Her work has significantly [...]

Pamela Evans The Digger Lady Can you remember what you were doing at 16? Was it learning to drive a digger by any chance? They say do what you love (sic) and that philosophy has [...]

Bana Gora  Chief Executive of Muslim Women’s Council (MWC) Bana founded the MWC in 2009, embodying its mission to create opportunities for all, and in particular to empower women to thrive and benefit society. Her [...]

With judging and due dilligence now completed, we are delighted to reveal the names of our 2025 Finalists. Across 6 categories, these women emerged after 3 rounds of judging. Never an easy task, but we [...]

Round 1 contemplations are done - now to Round 2 final deliberations With all nominations in, nominees notified and Round 1 judging completed, its now on to the final judging stages for the 2025 Inspiring [...]

Before the fireworks herald in 2025, there are still 12 hours left to nominate for the 2025 Inspiring Women Awards. If its been on your to do list for months, now is the time to [...]

Inspiring Women ~ lets celebrate We all know women who inspire us and how often have we said - you should be nominated for an award! Yep, all been there and said that yet very few [...]

"Being nominated and winning an Inspiring Woman Award was an incredible moment of recognition for me." 2023 Here come the Girls Award winner, Kerry Daynes reflects of what that award means to her and urges [...]

Nominating is a pain - so is it worth it? Last year I nominated two people for the inaugural I Love Manchester awards and realised first-hand how painstaking it is to gather the information and [...]

Being the recipient of the Here Come The Girls Award at the Inspiring Women Awards was truly one of the honours of my life.  2024 Here Come the Girls Award winner, Evie Canavan BEM Evie [...]

The Sustainable Award for Women Making an Impact is one of six awards now open for nominations for the 33rd Inspiring Women Awards.  Launched in 2023, this award aims to recognise those women who are [...]

Introducing Inspiring Young Women Award sponsor, Hall Brown Family Law.  Anyone who has ever organised anything that requires the support of sponsors will know that its like any relationship - if you want longevitiy, you [...]

The Inspiring Women Awards welcomes Kanika Selvan to its judging panel.         Kanika Selvan Kanika works to a ‘tech for good’ mission, collaborating with organisations to lift the veil on [...]

For over 20 years, Lancashire Life and Cheshire Life have been media sponsors for the Inspiring Women Awards, now in their 33rd year. Guests love gracing the pages of these magazines - the best of [...]

Celebrating 32 years of The Inspiring Women Awards     2024 Inspiring Women Award Winners Celebrations were the order of the day at the 5* Lowry Hotel, where the finalists across 6 categories were interviewed [...]

  The woman dedicated to ending child exploitation No Whispers Founder, Karen Livesey Karen aims to draw awareness to child sexual and criminal exploitation, and educate parents, carers and members of the public, on how [...]

From Social Worker to Sustainability Role Model Charlotte Knowles: Co-owner Elektec Charlotte, joined her husband's fledgling business, Elektec, which provides electrical services for commercial and industrial organisations, in 2019 as co-owner. As a female business owner [...]

TLC CEO & Creative Director - Liz Taylor Liz Taylor has been at the forefront of the events industry for over 30 years. As CEO of the Taylor Lynn Corporation (TLC), she is a market [...]

The 21 year old leaving us breathless Olivia Clarke 10 years ago, Olivia was introduced to an organisation called RECLAIM – they had come into her school to deliver a workshop, which she just saw [...]

The campaigner offering her voice to end violence against women and girls Gemma Aitchson: Founder of YES MATTERS UK For 10 years Gemma has fought to prevent violence against women and girls. A single mother [...]

The environmental engineer helping to remove dangerous toxins from our drinking water Dr. Parul Baranwal  Parul, an environmental engineer is on a mission to develop natural, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly degrading agents to remove dangerous [...]

A woman's drive to support families exiled by war Kate McCarthy-Booth Kate's support for dispossessed Ukrainian families coming to the UK was driven by her own experiences of dealing with the traumas affecting young children. [...]

Continuing the Pankhurst legacy Professor Helen Pankhurst founder of GM4Women GM4Women is a volunteer led organisation focused on promoting equality and diversity for the benefit of the community in Greater Manchester.  Following the first viewing [...]

The Accidental Environmentalist    Dr Medha Tadpatrikar  How does someone with a background (and PhD) in Branding, Marketing and Journalism find herself becoming an inventor, engineer and creating a business converting waste plastic into usable [...]

The disability advocate transforming workplaces & lives Deborah Lawson Understanding first hand, the challenges of having multiple severe disabilities, living with extreme daily pain and as a user of a large tilt-in-space powered wheelchair, Deborah [...]

When VSO volunteering leads to a stellar career.   Caroline Kende-Robb As a VSO volunteer, Caroline found herself living in Tanji, a small fishing village in The Gambia. She learnt to speak Mandinka and worked [...]

Meet the vet transforming end of life care for our pets Dr Anita Bhanja Whilst working as an end of life vet, running her own crematorium, Anita has developed plans to build a treatment centre [...]

Meet the women changing the face of sustainability in football.  According to University of Manchester fashion and textile business lecturers; Dr Amy Benstead, Dr Jo Conlon and Lindsay Pressdee, the UK disposes of one million [...]

Inspiring Women Awards & Hall Brown Family Law: The Next Generation of Legal Talent Hall Brown is an award-winning boutique family law firm. They launched their family law business back in 2016, choosing to set up [...]

Guest Award Announcer - Henrietta Rix Henrietta (right) is co-founder of RIXO, a brand loved by fashion editors, celebrities, and royals alike, with A-list fans including Daisy Ridley, Sandra Bullock and the Princess of Wales. [...]

Guest Award Announcer - Stanley Chow    Manchester based Stanley Chow, is a world renowned Grammy nominated Illustrator (White Stripes' limited-edition USB flash drive for the Icky Thump album ), whose artwork features in adverts [...]

 Guest Award Announcer - Caroline Roberts-Cherry  Caroline is a BAFTA winning producer and a Grierson award winning director. She is the Founder and MD of Manchester based Saffron Cherry Productions,  which makes Factual, Kids and [...]

Forensic psychologist, Kerry Daynes reveals why we should all be a little psychopathic.  TV presenter, award winner and author, Kerry was guest speaker at an Inspiring Women Awards special dinner, exploring the minds of psychopaths [...]

Inspiring Women Awards - Women making Waves Valerie Naidoo, Founder: Wireless Female Network At the 2022 Inspiring Women Awards, Valerie Naidoo shared her vision for the Wireless Female Network, South Africa. "Enabling 2 million Females [...]

Financielle founders, Laura & Holly at the Inspiring Women Awards.   We asked 2022 award winners, Laura & Holly what happens after you win an Inspiring Woman award and here's what they said... "Financielle has [...]

Mary Turner Thomson If you attended the 2021 Inspiring Women Awards, you would have had the opportunity of listening to author, Mary Turner Thomson's jaw dropping, real life story of being married to a bigamist [...]

2023 IWA Community Award Winner, Marcella Turner “Winning the Inspiring Women Awards Community category 2023 has been a real booster in confidence, not just for me, but for the organisation.  It has helped to further [...]

2023 Sustainability Award winner Gaynor Thomasson, founder of Heelz and Toez,  shares her thoughts on awards, challenges and following your dreams. "Winning the Inspiring Woman Award in 2023 was truly the highlight of my year, [...]

I recently nominated two people for the I Love Manchester awards and realised firsthand how painstaking it is to gather the information and then make a worthwhile nomination (clearly I only managed it with one [...]

Can you help Claire? In 2008, Claire was recognised at the Inspiring Women Awards for her work with the community theatre she co-founded, Certain Curtain Theatre. “I was thrilled to win the Arts category of [...]

 Everyone will instantly recognise this logo, but do you know the story behind it and what's it got to do with the Inspiring Women Awards?   "Out of chaos came creativity." "I Love MCR  was [...]

“Things are changing for women in the Armed Forces, and there is no longer a requirement to sacrifice the breastfeeding journey in order to have a successful career.” 2022 Inspiring Women Awards Natasha Day [...]

Over the past 31 years, the Inspiring Women Awards lunch has become known for giving a platform to the finalists to share their stories in their own words. Guests always comment that they don’t know [...]

The Business Desk's Women in Business June Lunch will feature 2019 Business Award winner, Dr Shikha Pitalia & Awards founder, Jacqueline Hughes-Lundy Dr Shikha Pitalia is an award-winning entrepreneurial doctor who has brought improved healthcare [...]

A former 19-year-old refugee makes her mark as a food entrepreneur Entrepreneur Award Finalist - Delight (Dee) Mapasure Life for Dee began in Uzumba, a small village in Zimbabwe where she would go to school [...]

“She is a very industrious lady who works very hard to improve other people's lives and also brings social acceptance to those being neglected.” Community Award Finalist - Sherita Mandongwe A car crash left Sherita [...]

Honoured as a past winner, and now supporting the Inspiring Women Awards, "recognising the achievements of incredible women in diverse spheres makes me very proud." Inspiring Women Awards sponsor - Dr Shikha Pitalia As a [...]

"We are known here for taking in very vulnerable women who are at a high risk of grooming if they are housed in mixed accommodation," Hannah, Ops Manager, Contact Hostel Here Come the Girls Award [...]

The children’s footwear disrupter, putting sustainability at the heart of her business. Sustainable Award for Women Making an Impact Finalist - Gaynor Thomasson Gaynor founded Heelz and Toez as a business committed to disrupting the [...]

“The simple fact is, I am interested in people, extremes of people. If I’m honest I have been drawn to the darker side of life since I can remember.” Here come the Girls Award Finalist [...]

The woman who turns camels, rickshaws, bicycles, motor-bikes, pick-up vans, and yaks into mobile libraries  Women Making Waves Award Finalist – Basarat Kazim Pakistan is one of the lowest-performing countries in the Southeast Asian region [...]

“Marcella brings out our hidden talents. She doesn’t realise the depth of the difference she makes.” 2023 Community Awards Finalist – Marcella Turner Marcella founded Can-Survive UK (Support & information for people with cancer) from [...]

A leading environmentalist who is making her mark on sustainability and inspiring students to do the same. Sustainable Award for Women Making an Impact Finalist – Professor Liz Price Liz Price is Professor of Environmental [...]

Spot gap in the market ✔ Build a successful business ✔ Sell successful business ✔ Retire ✔ Spot gap in the market ✔ Start new business ✔   Entrepreneur Award Finalist – Jennie Johnson MBE [...]

A Lockdown inspired business that is making our fashion accessories more sustainable. Sustainable Award for Women Making an Impact Finalist - Maira Azhar Maira is extremely passionate about raising awareness of the benefits of using [...]

She couldn't save her brother from suicide - but now her Tech skills are saving others. Introducing our Women Making Waves Award Finalist Alice Hendy, CEO of R;pple Suicide Prevention In November 2020, Alice lost [...]

‘This is what an Engineer looks like’. And it looks like our Here Come the Girls Award Finalist: Krystina Pearson-Rampeearee, a Chartered Aeronautical engineer with BAE Systems. Krystina is a Chartered Aerospace Engineer, Mother, STEM [...]

'You've got to have some adventure in your life.'   Our guest speaker for the 31st annual Inspiring Women Awards is 59 year old Viv Barclay, who is attempting to set a world record as the [...]

Following in the footsteps of Oscar winner, Olivia Coleman and Dame Cressida Dick is Louisa Blake, one of our three 2023 Community Award finalists. Louisa Blake has been an early year schoolteacher on the Wirral [...]

2023 Entrepreneur Category Finalists  Heather Glover & Kate Maurice Skarlette was founded by friends Heather Glover & Kate Maurice in 2021 when Heather a nurse and two-time breast cancer survivor, and Kate a retired pilot [...]

On 2nd January 2022 my daughter Olivia and I found ourselves checking and cleaning hundreds of books that had been donated to Dee Drake's (Community Winner 2017) The Toy Appeal for inclusion in the Christmas [...]

"Nominees - are your ears burning?" Photo by Serafima Lazarenko on Unsplash The first two weeks of January have been spent collating, formatting, cross referencing and notifying nominees for the 2023 Inspiring Women Awards. (If you are a [...]

A shout out to those who love an opportunity to dress up  We all know that person who needs no excuse to don fancy dress, like Karen Campbell-Williams below, who jumped at the chance to [...]

In what has become something of a tradition, more Inspiring Women Award winners have been recognised in the New Year's Honours List, the first from King Charles 111.  Dee Drake, formerly known as, well Dee [...]

Claire Moore, co-founder of Certain Curtain Theatre and DV campaigner revisits her highs of 2008 and shares lows of 2022 with the loss of Vicky the Van. "I was thrilled to win the Arts category [...]

"I was the Community winner in 2017 and it remains one of the proudest moments of my life!"  Dee Drake explains what winning the Community Award still means to her and why you should consider [...]

Do you know an inspiring woman who deserves to be honoured? I know you do...  The Inspiring Women Awards enter their 31st year in 2023 and Cheshire Life and our sister magazine Lancashire Life have [...]

In August 2012, Nicola Graham tragically lost her 23 month old son Reuben to a rare brain tumour. He showed no serious symptoms prior to his diagnosis and was a massive shock to Nicola and [...]

According to Denise O'Leary* writing in Startups Magazine - entering (and winning) appropriate awards can help your business gain invaluable free PR, validate your business and increase your credibility. "The benefits of participating in, never [...]

Life has not stopped since I won the Inspiring Young Woman Award! Our 2022 Inspiring Young Woman Award winner, Amanada Kelly, updates us on what life has been like since ... I have passed my [...]

Award winning law firm, Hall Brown Family Law, continue to support our inspiring young women.   Hall Brown launched their family law business back in 2016, choosing to set up base in the heart of [...]

Earlier this year we dipped our toes into international waters by opening a category to the rest of the UK and the world beyond. Nominations were varied, inspiring and some were, lets say interesting, possibly [...]

IWA Business Award winner, Dr Shikha Pitalia is supporting Breast Cancer Awareness Month – and here’s why October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. A worldwide, annual campaign dedicated to raising awareness of the signs and [...]

Founder and CEO of the NEO Community, Ema Wilkes,  reflects on what receiving the 2022 Inspiring Women Community Award means to her I was so overwhelmed to have been nominated for this award for my [...]

2022 Digital & Technology Innovator Award winner Beckie Taylor reaches out It was predicted that by 2022, 1 in 4 tech leadership roles would be held by women. A small team of passionate people and [...]

Inspiring Women Awards & Hall Brown Family Law Hall Brown are proud to sponsor and support the Inspiring Women Awards (IWA) 2022 once again. Hall Brown launched their family law business back in 2016, choosing [...]

 Concluding our series of pen portraits of the 2022 finalists, we introduce you to: Beckie Taylor   “She is a true believer in people, instilling the vision that anyone can reach their potential and it [...]

 Continuing our series of pen portraits of the 2022 finalists, this week we introduce you to: Sally Carr MBE Sally Carr grew up with many labels – and not the designer kind. ‘Romani gypsy’, ‘young [...]

 Continuing our series of pen portraits of the 2022 finalists, this week we introduce you to: Victoria Knight "Her passion for and absolute commitment to increasing the breadth of opportunities for women in the industry [...]

Continuing our series of pen portraits of the 2022 finalists, this week we introduce you to: Sahira Irshad The strength of a mother is second to none. In 2018, Sahira founded the organisation Mums United, [...]

Continuing our series of pen portraits of the 2022 finalists, this week we introduce you to: Laura Pomfret & Holly Holland “We are changing the narrative when it comes to females and personal finance, and [...]

Continuing our series of pen portraits of the 2022 finalists, this week we introduce you to: Valerie Naidoo “Enabling 2 million Females by 2030”  A bold statement from a bold woman. Valerie Naidoo has enjoyed [...]

 “Oh, that voice! Rowetta’s story is as full-throttle as her act, and includes an assassinated politician father, teenage parenthood and The X Factor.” ( The Gentlewoman). Add Movie Star (24 Hour Party People), her singing sampled [...]

Continuing our series of pen portraits of the 2022 finalists, this week we introduce you to: Lou Cordwell OBE   "We want to be judged by the work, not turnover. Are we a profitable business? [...]

Continuing our series of pen portraits of the 2022 finalists, this week we introduce you to: Dr Omon Imohi This award winning GP (GP of the Year, North West Faculty, Royal College of General Practitioners [...]

Starting our series of pen portraits of the 2022 finalists, this week we introduce you to: Lucy Nicholson If you have ever bought a funny card or item of stationery from Selfridges or Moonpig; T.K.Maxx [...]

  Our thanks to sponsors, BBC Radio Manchester for featuring three stories last week, promoting the Inspiring Women Awards. Speaking on the Mike Sweeney show across the week were: Miss Kick founder and 2021 Inspiring [...]

Celebrating the return of live events, the 30th Inspiring Women Awards were launched in style at the Chocolate Cafe, Cocoa Cabana. The Laughter Lunch made a welcome return to the IWA calendar with comedian Allyson [...]

New categories & going global for 2022 In 2022 we will be celebrating 30 years of recognising female talent, determination, compassion and trailblazing.  We will also be going global by opening up the Here come the [...]

Completing our series of pen portraits of our 2020/2021 finalists, this week we introduce you to: Professor Denise Barrett-Baxendale MBE DL, EdD, MBA, BA (Hons), FRSA. Denise is the Chief Executive Officer and Director of [...]

Continuing our series of pen portraits of our 2020/2021 finalists, this week we introduce you to: Jade Kilduff. Jade is an extraordinary young woman with a huge heart.  When Jade was 17, she started a [...]

Continuing our series of pen portraits of our 2020/2021 finalists, this week we introduce you to: Lucy Danger.  Lucy Danger has skilfully driven the EMERGE Group from its inception in 1996, as a voluntary pressure [...]

Continuing our series of pen portraits of our 2020/2021 finalists, this week we introduce you to: Karen Campbell-Williams. The art of balancing is the secret of Karen's success Karen was born and brought up in [...]

Continuing our series of pen portraits of our 2020/2021 finalists, this week we introduce you to: Detective Chief Inspector Allison Woods. Allison has been breaking down barriers and smashing glass ceilings since she first joined [...]

Continuing our series of pen portraits of our 2020/2021 finalists, this week we introduce you to: Emma Buckley. Albert Einstein once said, “If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have [...]

Continuing our series of pen portraits of our 2020/2021 finalists, this week we introduce you to: Claire-Marie Boggiano. One of Claire-Marie’s many mantras is ‘there’s more than one way to skin a cat!’ which gives [...]

Continuing our series of pen portraits of our 2020/2021 finalists, this week we introduce you to: Grace Vella. Some might say Grace Vella has chosen a career field ripe with sexism and homophobia. Born into [...]

Continuing our series of pen portraits of our 2020/2021 finalists, this week we introduce you to: Maggie Oliver. Maggie Oliver is perhaps best known as the “Detective turned Whistleblower” who resigned from Greater Manchester Police [...]

Continuing our series of pen portraits of our 2020/2021 finalists, this week we introduce you to: Sarwat Jaleel. It was an extended hospital stay and a small bar of soap that was the catalyst for [...]

Over March & April 2021 we will be publishing pen portraits of the Finalists attending the Inspiring Women Awards Lunch on 14th May 2021. Marie McCourt. It’s been 33 years since Marie McCourt’s life [...]