Shine Awards 2016 open for nominations
The 2016 Shine Awards, created to celebrate the achievements of women working in hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism, and the individuals and businesses that actively support gender diversity, are open for nominations.
Run by People 1st in partnership with The Caterer and now in their 11th year, the awards recognise female talent and gender diversity ambassadors in the sectors. They are a central platform the Women 1st campaign, created by People 1st, which aims to help increase the number of women working in senior leadership roles across the visitor economy.
Four new categories have been added this year - Innovator of the Year, Ambassador of the Year, Best Initiative to Retain and Develop Women, and Best Place for Women to Work. The Mentor of the Year and Ambassador of the Year categories are open to both men and women, celebrating the vital role men have to play both in supporting their female colleagues and in the development of more gender-diverse teams.
People 1st chief executive, Simon Tarr, commented: "Our research shows that there's still a major imbalance between the number of men and women at senior levels across the visitor economy. Creating visible role models for women working in our industries, and celebrating the companies and individuals that are making strides towards a better gender balance, is critical to raising women's aspirations and helping change businesses' culture to support diversity at all levels."
Mark Lewis, publisher of The Caterer, added: "The Caterer is delighted to be partnering with People 1st for this year's Shine Awards. These awards enable the industry to come together to recognise hard work and talent and to share ideas and experiences, shining a light on the organisations and individuals that are paving the way to achieving a better gender balance at the most senior levels."
The winners of eight awards will be unveiled at a black tie dinner at 8 Northumberland Avenue in Westminster on 3 October. The deadline for entries is 25 May.
The 2016 Shine Awards categories are:
• Rising Star
• Mentor of the Year
• Innovator of the Year
• Ambassador of the Year
• Best Initiative to Retain and Develop Women
• Best Place for Women to Work
• Woman of the Year
• Lifetime Achievement (nominations by expert panel)
The Women 1st campaign was established by People 1st in 2009 and aims to transform the face of boards in the tourism and visitor economy sector, and support women who aspire to senior leadership roles in fulfilling their career ambitions. It seeks to elevate female leaders, by challenging the industry to reach a greater level of gender balance across senior roles, and work with organisations to create an environment to harness female talent - sharing policy and ideas through best practice; in female focused succession planning, women returners and the development of the female talent pipeline.
The campaign has also helped more than 1,200 women achieve their career ambitions through training and mentoring programmes, including the Step Up leadership programme and Women 1st Mentoring Programme. The Shine Awards have been run under the Women 1st banner since 2011.
Nominations for the Shine Awards can be made now at www.theshineawards.co.uk. Tickets are available for purchase on the awards website.
For more information about the Women 1st campaign, visit www.women1st.co.uk
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