The highly acclaimed and prestigious Women in Leadership (WIL) has honored the most inspiring female professionals of the country at the 6^th edition of Inspiring Women Award. The grand award ceremony took place on 7^th October, 2021 at Ikebana Hall, Lakeshore Hotel, Gulshan, Dhaka.

After a long break due to the global pandemic, the in-person ceremony truly rejuvenated everyone’s spirits. A total of 24 winners and 18 honorable mentions were awarded this year on the esteemed accolade’s 6th iteration.

The Inspiring Women Award is the flagship accolade of WIL, recognizing outstanding women leaders in various frontiers. 2021 marks the 6th iteration of the Inspiring Women Award. The 6th Inspiring Women Award recognized – the leaders of tomorrow, inspiring female professionals, and changemakers of Bangladesh. In doing so, the accolade seeks to inspire women of Bangladesh to take charge and unlock their potential.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms. Nazia Andaleeb Preema, President, Women In Leadership – WIL said, “Inspiring Women Award helps women in the fight of leadership- both inside and outside the professional world. It is not easy to be a woman, but it is easy to be an inspiring one.”

During the welcoming speech Mr. Shariful Islam, Founder and Managing Director, Bangladesh Brand Forum mentioned,” As men no matter how much, we try to understand a woman’s journey it is really difficult to comprehend, especially in Bangladesh as one of the most underutilized resources in Bangladesh is indeed women’s participation”.

This year, the esteemed accolade received an overwhelming number of nominations from across the country. A total of 350+ entries were received from 125+ organizations under 21 categories. Three jury panels, consisting of experts and renowned professionals selected the winners and awarded them in two levels – Honorable Mentions and Winners.

While explaining the rigorous jury process of Inspiring Women Awards, one of the prominent jurors from the jury panel, M. Zulfiquar Hussain, Chief Executive Officer & Lead Consultant, Grow n Excel, Mentioned, “As jurors, we scrutinized each and every application through the comprehensive review system. It’s disappointing that in the entry levels we still see women are still underrepresented in almost all job sectors although we all have a talent to build a sustainable Bangladesh.”

For the last 5 years, WIL has been encouraging professional women to pursue leadership in their careers. The Inspiring Women Award was first given in the year 2014 and since then the underlying message of Inspiring Women’s Award is to officially recognize women’s efforts in the growth of the country; to empower women professionals and create role models in society (at both individual and the organizational levels).

6^th Inspiring Women Award is an initiative of Women in Leadership (WIL) in partnership with Joya Sanitary Napkin. The Strategic partners were Bangladesh Creative Forum (BCF) and Colours FM 101.6, Technology partner – Aamra, PR partner – Backpage PR, & Web solution partner – Exsentra, Concept by Preema Arte Foundation. The event was organized by Bangladesh Brand Forum.

LIST OF WINNERS: INSPIRING WOMEN AWARD 2021