2020’s Rising Stars announced

WeAreTheCity is a centralised hub website that houses a multitude of career development resources, assisting women to up-skill, grow their networks and ultimately progress in their careers. It includes gender-related news, a networks directory, calendar of events and conferences, returnships, business schools, inspirational women profiles, HeForShe interviews, giving back and jobs.

The website aims to encourage women to progress in their careers through proactive activities such as networking, events, further education and training. It seeks to help corporate organisations to attract, retain and develop their female employees, to raise awareness of the various organisations, including not-for-profit enterprises, who support the progression of women and to connect and encourage women to give back and share their time/skills with charities, social enterprises and schools.

It also encourages successful women to become role models for the next generation of working women.

WeAreTheCity also organises the Rising Star Awards. Now in its sixth year, these awards, sponsored by the Royal Bank of Canada, are the first to focus on the UK’s female talent pipeline below management level. There are 24 categories in total, ranging from the Rising Star in Law and the Rising Star in Education & Academia to the Rising Star in Defence.

While most of them could include the rail industry in some way (law, digital, HR & recruitment, diversity), the most obvious are probably Transport & Logistics and Property, Construction & Facilities Management

Consulting engineers Mott MacDonald sponsored Transport & Logistics. Denise Bower, group external engagement director, explained why: “We believe that this is a great opportunity to showcase our commitment to support and value women in the transport and logistics sector. As well as acknowledging our own staff, we believe that it is important to recognise all rising stars across the sector.

“We also want to encourage young women to consider studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics at school and at university by building the profile of outstanding role models.”

The awards choose five winners in each category from a shortlist of 10. In 2020, the winners in these two categories were:

Transport and Logistics

Winners:
Evlynne Smith – IBM
Patrice Gordon-Mantey – Virgin Atlantic
Saskia Demevere – Transport for London
Susan Keir – British Army
Vivien Yip – Transport for London

Shortlisted:
Christina Chinnian – Highways England
Harriet Burrows – Arup
Ingrid Norman – Network Rail
Shona Clive – Babcock
Vicky Ager – Amey

Property, Construction and Facilities Management

Winners:
Amie McCabe – AHR Architects
Elisabeth Pywell – CBRE
Harriet Glen – Crossrail
Lucy Maddin-Uden – Keltbray Group
Simona Stanynaite –Transport for London

Shortlist
Frankie Byron – Lambert Smith Hampton
Katie Nelson – Cushman and Wakefield
Sarah Hayford – The Land Collective/Wasabi Sushi and Bento
Sarah Beth Riley – Lewisham Homes
Winne Okonkwo – MediaCom

There was rail success in another category too.  Chrisma Jain (winner – Science & Engineering) works for Transport for London and is jointly responsible for renewing the track and drainage infrastructure across all of London Underground’s tube network.

Vanessa Vallely OBE, managing director of WeAreTheCity, said: “I am so proud that, for the sixth year running, WeAreTheCity has been able to shine a light on the achievements of so many remarkable women across the UK.

Our 2020 winners join a phenomenal alumni of 550 previous winners who continue to soar, both professionally and personally. I am ecstatic to welcome our 2020 winners to the WeAreTheCity family and to watch them progress into the senior positions they so rightly deserve.”