Women in the City Awards 2009

Nominations for the third annual Women in the City Awards have now opened and Women in the City is calling on employers to acknowledge the often hidden pool of talent within their offices.

Gwen Rhys, founder of Women in the City, stressed: “Women are leaving the city in droves. To retain this vital workforce resource it is critical that talent be recognised, and our awards do this. By nominating an exceptional woman you publicly acknowledge the contribution she makes to your business.”

The Awards recognise excellence and celebrate the achievements of senior and partner-level professionals working in the London’s business hubs. In 2008 Amanda Blanc, Chief Executive of Towergate Partnership’s UK Broking Division, won the overall Women in the City Jaguar Woman of Achievement Award. Amanda Blanc beat seven other finalists to scoop the overall prize which was presented by Kirstie Allsopp on behalf of the Award’s sponsor, Jaguar.

This year’s awards include the new Coutts-sponsored Lifetime Achievement Award, designed to acknowledge the dedication and service that many women give to the city and other women within it, throughout the whole of their careers.

Coutts has become involved with the Women in the City Awards as it stands apart from other programmes in focusing on senior-level women, recognising and rewarding not only their professional competence but also leadership skills, their ability to develop and leverage their network of relationships, and the extent to which they actively promote women’s progress within their organisation.

Nominations can now be made online at www.citywomen.co.uk, for the following eight categories:

• Accountancy 
• Facilities Management 
• Financial Services 
• Insurance 
• Legal 
• Management Consultancy 
• Property 
• Lifetime Achievement
  

The Awards judging panel is chaired by Prof Susan Vinnicombe, OBE, Director of the International Centre for Women Leaders at Cranfield School of Management, and producer of the Female FTSE Report. Category finalists will be put forward for the overall Jaguar Woman of Achievement Award 2009.

The 2009 Women in the City Awards are endorsed by major UK professional bodies including; ICAEW, FSSC, CII, The Association of Women Solicitors, and the FMA.