Winners announced for 17th Annual PRECIOUS Awards
It was celebrations all around as guests gathered to applaud the remarkable triumphs of trailblazing women of colour in business and leadership at The 17th Annual PRECIOUS Awards.
Conceived by the visionary Foluke Akinlose MBE, these awards stand as a resounding tribute, honouring the outstanding accomplishments of women of colour across diverse industries.
Over the last 16 years, the Awards have applauded the exceptional determination, innovation, entrepreneurial skills, and talent of Black women and women of colour across multiple categories – and this year was no exception.
This year’s winners included:
Mya Gooding Springer who won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for her circular fashion app and community Swapped.
Marianne Cwynarski CBE, Director General (Operations) of the House of Commons, the most senior, and first, woman of colour in such a senior leadership role.
Shakaila Forbes-Bell founder of Fashion is Psychology, who won the Creative Business of the Year for her company,.Fashion Is Psychology (FiP), helps companies identify how to create better consumer experiences for their customers through the psychology of fashion.
The final honour of the night went to Jebi Rahman co-founder of the Bangladeshi Diaspora Climate Action (BDCA) winner of The Sustainability Champion. This new award was conceived to acknowledge women of colour working to implement a sustainability project/initiative or who have made a transformational impact championing sustainable practices across their industry
Sponsors for the evening included Santander UK, Brand By Me, London Metropolitan University, Your New Avenue, and The Open University.
Susan Davies, Head Of Business Banking, Santander UK,said “We are delighted to sponsor the Precious Awards again. At Santander, we aim to be a place where all our people feel they belong and are supported to succeed. We’re committed to supporting inclusion for our customers, colleagues and the communities that we are part of. The Precious Awards symbolise the passion for inclusion and celebration that we align ourselves to as an organisation.”
The event, which was held at One Great George Street, Westminster, London, was hosted by author and PR maven Jessica Huie MBE and speaker, life and business coach, Rasheed Ogunlaru.
Audiences were also treated to inspiring words from the event’s keynote speaker, Justine Lutterodt, Director of the Centre for Synchronous Leadership and an uplifting performance from renowned singer-songwriter Terri Walker.
The full list of winners for this year are:
Nicolina Andall | Inspiring Diverse Leaders
Outstanding Woman in Public Sector
Marianne Cwynarski | House of Commons
Outstanding Woman in STEM
Dr. Penny Trayner | Goal Manager
Young Entrepreneur
Mya Springer | Swapped
The Leadership Award
Monwara Ali | Waltham Forest Community Hub
Sustainability Champion of the Year
Jebi Rahman | Climate Group
Bangladeshi Diaspora Climate Action
Creative Business of the Year
Shakaila Forbes-Bell | Fashion is Psychology
The Social Entrepreneur of the Year
Suni Sekhon | Defy Brands
Social Impact Award
Joyclen Buffong | RISE 365
