Award nominations open for Wales’ Wonder Women

The people of Wales are being asked to champion the nation’s most inspirational women, as nominations open for the Chwarae Teg Womenspire 2021 awards.

The gender equality charity runs the celebration to recognise and highlight the achievements and contributions of remarkable women from all walks of life.

Now in their sixth year, the awards will take place online for the second year running, because of Covid-19,

The event will stream over over ITV’s Facebook Live and Twitter and will take place on Thursday 30 September.

Women will be awarded in the following categories:

• Community Champion
• Woman in Sport
• Rising Star
• Learner
• Entrepreneur
• Leader
• Woman in STEM
• Board Member
• Woman in Health and Care
• Womenspire Champion 2021

There will also be two categories for organisations and businesses who are committed to gender equality and provide the support required for women to achieve and prosper:

• Gender Equality Champion (for an individual)
• FairPlay Employer©

‘Talents’ 

Cerys Furlong, Chief Executive, Chwarae Teg said: “Womenspire is an awards ceremony like no other that celebrates and showcases the talents, passions and achievements of women in Wales, and aims to inspire future generations.

“It worked so well as a virtual event last year that we had no hesitation in deciding to run the awards again online – and to make them bigger and better than ever.

“We want to hear about as many special women from across the nation as possible, who have made a real difference to their own lives and the lives of others.

“I’m urging people from every corner of Wales, who know an inspirational woman, or a business which goes above and beyond, to get nominating.

“All the details are on our website including the nomination form which is very easy to complete.”

Hazel Lim, Autism awareness campaigner and founder of the Chinese Autism Support Group, won the Community Champion Award and overall title of Womenspire Champion 2020.

She said: “I was thrilled to have my work recognised at Womenspire 2020 and share a platform with so many deserving women.

“It was a lot of fun, but also gave me the chance to highlight my work around supporting families dealing with Autism to new audiences.

“I hope the public get nominating the special women they know as the recognition will make a real difference to their lives.”

‘Entrepreneur’ 

Sian Cartledge, won the Entrepreneur Award in 2020 as founder of Max Rocks, a business designing and producing Welsh themed learning resources, cards and decorations.

She said: “I was totally surprised but overjoyed to be named as a Womenspire finalist, never mind a winner!

“The whole Womenspire experience was one I’ll never forget and brought along new opportunities for myself and the business, which was fantastic. I’d encourage everyone to find out more, nominate and get involved.”

Zoe Thomas, Editor, English Language Programmes, ITV Cymru Wales said: “We are delighted to once again be the official media partners of the Chwarae Teg Womenspire 2021.

“What we really find really humbling is that a lot of the women have no idea how fantastic they are so it’s an amazing opportunity for us to be able to share their stories.

“At ITV Cymru Wales we strive to achieve gender equality and diversity among contributors to our programmes and also to reflect this in our workforce.

“By doing so we can create content which is relevant to our audiences and a workplace which thrives on creativity and inclusivity.”

To make a nomination for the Chwarae Teg Womenspire Awards 2021, or for more information, go to the website here. Nominations close at noon on Monday 21 June.