Judges and finalists gathered in Manchester on Friday for the final round of judging before the 42nd Women of the Year Luncheon and Awards 2024 (WOTY) set to take place at The Etihad Stadium on Friday October 11th.
Over 300 extremely high calibre nominations were received from women across the UK from various industries and backgrounds. Following the initial judging processes, the organisers took the decision to increase the number of finalists to 20 from 10 in previous years. The awards are set to take place in Manchester for the first time in their 42nd year history.
The awards boast award-winning bank, Aldermore as headline sponsor for the second consecutive year.
The awards have a long-standing reputation for recognising and highlighting women’s achievements from across the UK. Past business winners include Baroness Karren Brady, Dame Julie Kenny CBE, Dr Sharon Redrobe OBE, Fiona Allen and Jenny Campbell.
The 2024 finalists include women from several areas of business and industries, including media, education, healthcare, hospitality, engineering, construction and manufacturing.
The full list of finalists can be found here.
Judges from several of the event’s core sponsors including headline sponsor Aldermore Bank, Freeths LLP, LSH Auto, Pertemps PLC, Roland Dransfield PR and Strategi Solutions, as well as previous alumni are meeting with the finalists for the final judging sessions. Following face to face interviews, the judges will deliberate on their final decisions on who will take the prestigious accolades home next month.
On the evening the winners of two categories will be announced – Businesswoman of the Year and Freeths’ Woman with Edge. This year the winner of a brand-new award, which recognises the events move to Manchester, the city where the suffragette movement began – The Emmeline Pankhurst Award: Woman of Achievement is also set to be revealed.
Members of the WOTY board, including President, Writer and Actress Sally Lindsay, WOTY Ambassador and Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords, Baroness Newlove, WOTY Directors Emma Elston MBE, Zalena Vandrewala, and Wendy Dean along with over 400 guests, will be in attendance at the prestigious luncheon and awards, taking place at the Etihad Stadium.
Zalena Vandrewala, managing associate at national law firm, Freeths LLP, who is chair of the board of Women of the Year Awards said: “We were thrilled by the sheer number of nominations we received this year. We are looking forward to the final judging before the big day in October. The awards recognize the outstanding women that are pivotal to our society.
“We cannot wait to meet and interview the finalists at our final judging day and look forward to hosting them and many more at our much-anticipated ceremony in October, which we are delighted to be hosting in Manchester for the very first time.”
WOTY is a proud supporter of The Prince’s Trust, last year donating £13,000 to the charity with hopes to match, if not top, this figure for 2024. Throughout its 42-year history it has donated just under £600,000 to various charitable organisations.
To find out more about the WOTY Awards or to book one of the last remaining tables please visit www.womenoftheyear.org.uk.
