Business

Shining a light on women's achievements

Last year's Women in Business winners . . . now a call has gone out for 2016 entrants
Last year's Women in Business winners . . . now a call has gone out for 2016 entrants Last year's Women in Business winners . . . now a call has gone out for 2016 entrants

FOR those recently returning from, or if lucky still to head off on a break, the summer period is often a natural time for pause and reflection, to take stock of your business achievements and plan for the future.

So it’s timely that in the last week the sixth annual Women in Business Awards opened for entries.

This year’s awards continue the tradition of being the premier forum for recognising and rewarding local talented women.

Created to celebrate trail blazing and pioneering women from enterprise and business, the awards are hugely important because they give women a unique opportunity to acknowledge their successes and become credible and inspirational role models for others.

Hosted by Pamela Ballantine and scheduled for the Ramada Plaza on November 17, the awards will be bigger and better than ever before.

Two entry levels have been introduced for several categories to recognise the contribution that both employees in large corporate organisations and entrepreneurs in smaller businesses make to the thriving business community.

No matter which category or categories you decide to enter, our independent panel of judges are looking for the same thing: women that have demonstrated the highest achievement, success, resilience and fortitude in business.

Last year we had a record number of entries but we know there are many more women who hide their light under a bushel. We would encourage you, however modest, not to be shy in coming forward with your successes. It is only by celebrating your achievements will we be able to inspire future generations.

So if you’ve launched a new product, excelled in leadership, contributed to advancing diversity in the workplace, or done something interesting within your business organisation, we urge you to enter this year's accolades.

Continuing on the theme of all things inspirational, ‘The Future of Business’ is the topic for our Conference this year at the Ramada Plaza on September 22.

Hosted by broadcaster and journalist Claire McCollum, it will explore technological and sociological change and how they are shaping the future of work.

We have a line up of hugely exciting, interesting and inspirational guest speakers on the subject, not least our keynote Regina Moran, head of business application services for Fujitsu EMEIA.

Regina is a member of the Ibec board, Dublin City University governing authority, and government-industry led Smart Futures Advisory Board.

She was awarded the Person of the Year award at the 2014 Tech Excellence Awards and recently placed 34th in the 50 most influential women in UK IT.

Also joining us is owner/chair of Ireland’s largest magazine publishing company Norah Casey, as well as leading international authority on leadership and cultural transformation Molly Harvey.

The full day conference will also feature a number of panel discussions and facilitated networking, all designed to enable and empower you with the knowledge and skills to grow your business and develop your career for the future.

You can find more information on both our events at www.womeninbusinessni.com. We look forward to seeing you there!

:: Roseann Kelly (roseann@ womeninbusinessni.com) is chief executive of Women in Business, the largest and fastest growing business network for female entrepreneurs and senior women in management in Northern Ireland. Follow Women in Business NI on Facebook at www.facebook.com/women- inbusinessni or on Twitter @wibni