West Country Women Awards 2023

Who we are We are Alexis Bowater OBE, journalist, broadcaster and womens' campaigner, and award-winning businesswoman Tess Stuber who together launched the massively successful West Country Women Awards last year. And now we are on a NEW mission to make them bigger and better than ever before - and we want you on board!  What we want to do:Last year we had more than 1,000 nominations. Fifteen categories. Ninety semi finalists. Fifty finalists. And sixteen winners at our sold-out Grand Final filled with glitz, glamour, gloss, tears and inspirational stories on December 1st.That's a phenomenal reach across all walks of life celebrating women.This year we are back with another fifteen categories and you can get involved right now as a sponsor. And this year, again, we will be making it not just about business - but about everybody's business.We are awards with purpose.You can get involved in lots of easy and rewarding ways: 1./ Sponsoring a category.2./ Buying a table and being an Awards Night Sponsor.3./ Getting involved as an Event Series Sponsor.4./ Nominating your colleagues, friends and family.5./ Buying your tickets to the finals right now and making sure you don't miss out on a night to remember! Don't forget we have all the categories from last year - and more. The Women in Sport AwardThe Combatting Violence Against Women and Girls AwardThe Campaigner of the Year Award The Women in Health Award The Diversity and Equality AwardThe Leader of the Year AwardsThe Women in STEM AwardThe Women in Charity AwardThe post-pandemic Phoenix Award for the woman who has risen from the ashes.And a couple of extra surprise categories that we haven't had before. Why this mattersThese awards matter because we still, in 2023, need to talk about diversity and inclusion, to break the chains that bind us. The West Country is an absolute hotbed of talent but it is so often unrecognised - and we are changing that. We know that one of the main reasons women are held back is because they don't put themselves forward and our experiences of running networking groups here in the South West have shown us that peer-to-peer support, informal mentoring and inspirational speakers and events rocket-fuel their confidence. We believe most strongly in the 'if you can see it, you can be it' philosophy. And our findings are backed up by one of the biggest banks on the planet. NatWest's Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship 2020 revealed that 'barriers to women's progress include a lack of confidence, peer mentoring and networking'. It identified 'The Imposter Syndrome' as a key factor in inhibiting women's self development (I know all about that!). So, LET'S CHANGE THAT!We want to build a community of people determined to raise up women, to celebrate them and to recognise what they do in the West Country. We are a social enterprise, a CIC, so all help and support is welcome.Sponsor a category, sponsor a table, sponsor the event, nominate and pay for a social media shout out - but join the party now because it's going to be a wonderful few months. What impact do we want to have?It's not just about joining a community, it's about raising and reflecting what's happening in our community, joining forces to share values, passion and purpose. It's also about getting YOUR voice heard, making a difference and supporting other women like you. Our charity this year is Georgia's Voice, the winner of our Phoenix Award last year. Sophie Alway set up her charity to support young women in Cornwall with mental health challenges after the death of her daughter Georgia during the first lockdown of the 2020 pandemic. Every year we will have a charity of the year. Every year we will choose that charity from nominations or winners of our categories.What will we spend the money on?Funds raised will help us to prepare and launch the event, run our semi-finalists and finalists networking events, and of course the glittering awards finals on December 1st, 2023 at the Crowne Plaza in Plymouth. We will also organise and host an International Womens' Day conference every year on March 8th. We will also be running SUBSIDISED public speaking and confidence training sessions to help more women have a powerful voice and to get their messages about their businesses, charities, professions or campaigns into the public domain.Get involved:So get involved to enjoy six months of networking, celebration, reflection, recognition, confidence building and support - plus meet ups for the training sessions, the nominations launch, for the semi-finalist announcement and the finalist announcement too ... fabulous networking opportunities all round!Pledge what you can:We know that things are tricky right now, so support us with what you can: for as little as a £15 pledge we will give you a social media shoutout. Or if you are a business why not sponsor one of our categories, maybe a new one! Or sponsor a table, sponsor the event - but whatever you do, join the party now because it's going to be a wonderful few months.  We can't wait to have you on board! Be part of it. Be active. Be passionate. Be involved. We can't wait for you to join the West Country Women Awards family here in 2023. Who's in?See you soon!