CRN's Women in Channel campaign is back
New Executive Mentor of the Year category added to Women in Channel Awards as campaign returns for second year
When we launched our inaugural CRN Women in Channel, we were unsure to what extent our industry would welcome the campaign.
Last year's mandatory reporting of gender pay gap figures was a high-profile, and sobering, reminder that the tech industry is not reflective of the society in which we live.
Yet the response from channel figures across the spectrum was resoundingly positive.
From graduate newcomers to some of our top leaders and entrepreneurs, entries to the CRN Women in Channel Awards reflected a strong desire to shine a light on best practice, wherever it is occuring in the UK channel.
A repeated theme from many entrants was one of respect.
There was a recognition that they had not climbed the ranks alone, and that they wanted to pay tribute to those role models who had given them the encouraging pushes they had needed, or to the managers who had been flexible when life required it.
CRN is proud to be re-launching CRN Women in Channel 2019.
Our ambition is for the reach of this campaign to build on last year's, culminating in an awards ceremony on Thursday 17 October.
Thanks to the feedback we received last year, CRN is launching two brand new categories.
The Executive Mentor of the Year Award will be open to both genders.
CRN wants to recognise that the drive towards better representation in our industry is not something that happens in isolation; that both men and women are working towards this goal. The Executive Mentor of the Year Award will celebrate those who are proactively helping women to rise through to senior leadership positions.
The Gender Pay Parity Award is for companies who want to showcase the work they have done to make their company a best-case example of gender pay equality in the channel.
The full list of categories is below.
We will be recruiting this year's judges shortly, and over the coming months, CRN will explore how best to tackle gender imbalance in the channel. We will be seeking opinions from all walks of the industry, and from both women and men, and the content we generate from this will be published on our dedicated CRN Women in Channel hub that will launch towards the end of the month.
Wherever the fault lies, there is no shortage of talented female staff at vendors, distributors and resellers - from company founders down to high-performing new starters - capable of inspiring the next generation.
Make sure you shine a light on your own achievements, and that of your companies, by getting involved and sending in your entries.
If this is you - or you know a woman who fits this description - take a look at the below categories and get entering.
Take note, the nomination deadline is 5pm, Friday 17th May.
On behalf of CRN, I wish you all luck, and look forward to hearing from you.
Nima Green
Individual categories
1. Woman of the Year
2. Executive Mentor of the Year (NEW)
3. Unsung Hero of the Year
4. Manager of the Year
5. Sales Employee of the Year
6. Role Model of the Year
7. Technical Employee of the Year
8. Marketing Employee of the Year
9. Entrepreneur of the Year
10. Graduate/Apprentice of the Year
11. Outstanding Returner
12. Rising Star
Company-wide categories
13. Best Company Community Outreach
14. Diversity Employer of the Year
15. Gender Pay Parity (NEW)