British Diversity Awards announce shortlisted finalists for 2026

The much-anticipated shortlist for the 2026 British Diversity Awards has been unveiled, placing a spotlight on the exceptional organisations and individuals championing diversity, equity, and inclusion across the UK. The awards celebrate those driving positive change, encouraging inclusive environments, and inspiring a more equitable society.

The prestigious ceremony, which recognises trailblazers in various sectors, received an overwhelming number of nominations, reflecting the growing commitment to DEI initiatives nationwide. From outstanding employee networks to inspirational role models and ground-breaking community projects, the 2026 shortlist represents the very best in British diversity efforts.

The full list of nominees for the 2026 British Diversity Awards is as follows:

Outstanding Employee Network of the Year
Sponsored by Clifford Chance

• Culture Circles, Fiserv
• Forces Network, Centrica
• Military Community, Adler & Allan
• NextGen, JPMorgan Chase
• SN Muslims (Springer Nature Muslims Employee Network), Springer Nature
• Carers Network, Centrica
• Balance, SMBC Group
• Menopause Network, Barratt Redrow
• DEI Council, Munich Re
• DE&I Working Group, Survitec Group
• Journey ERG, HSBC UK
• DEI Group, The Society of Pension Professionals (SPP)

Outstanding LGBTQIA Network of the Year
Sponsored by HSBC Innovation Banking

• In-FUSE, ScottishPower
• equaliTW, Taylor Wessing
• Fly With Pride, MAG (Manchester Airports Group)
• Pride at RICS, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
• OC Pride, Osborne Clarke
• QueerWise, Wise
• Pride Network, Worldpay
• Wipro Europe Pride ERG, Wipro
• Pride Europe ERG, Scotiabank
• LGBTQ+ at Sky, Sky UK Ltd
• HYPride, Hyatt UK & Ireland
• Embrace, Baringa
• Pride @ E.ON, E.ON Next
• LGBTQ+ Network, Monzon Bank

Outstanding Ability Network of the Year
Sponsored by Allianz Commercial

• SPARC Employee Network, ScottishPower
• Enable Group, Travers Smith
• Global Neurodivergent Network Group, auticon
• RespectAbility, MAG (Manchester Airports Group)
• DHL Supply Chain Abilities Alliance, DHL
• Diversability Network, LV=
• Neurodiversity BRG, JLL
• Neurodiversity at Work, HarperCollins
• SN D&N (Springer Nature Disability & Neurodiversity Employee Network), Springer Nature
• Enabling UK ERG, National Grid
• Enabled, BDO LLP
• Able2, BT Group

Outstanding Women’s Network of the Year
Sponsored by Centrica

• Connected Women, ScottishPower
• Gender Network, NatWest Group
• Women in Financial Services (WIFS), Accenture
• Women in Engineering Network, Vodafone Three
• Women Making Waves, Adler & Allan
• Women@CHS, Anglo American & De Beers Group
• Women Connect, Scotiabank
• Women's Business Network (WBN), NTT DATA UK&I
• WiNTR (Women in Non-Traditional Roles), National Grid
• Inspiring Women Network (IWN), BAE Systems
• Gender ERG, DXC Technology
• WISE (Women in Software Empowered), The Access Group
• Gender Balance Network (GBN), Close Brothers
• Balance@Mercer, Mercer Ltd
• Women@Sky, Sky UK Ltd

Outstanding Ethnicity Network of the Year
Sponsored by Paramount

• Black Professionals Resource Group, Barclays
• Multicultural BRG, Moodys
• BOLD (Black Outstanding Leaders Delivering), Warner Bros. Discovery
• EmbRace, MAG (Manchester Airports Group)
• REACH, Kingsley Napley
• Multicultural Network (MCN), NatWest Group
• Race Equality Network, University of Birmingham
• Race for Change BRG, JLL
• EmbRACE Network, Siemens
• SN BEN (Springer Nature Black Employee Network), Springer Nature
• Race and Equality Network (REN), Capgemini
• Embrace Network, Virgin Money
• Race & Ethnicity ERG, DXC Technology
• Multi-Ethnics ERG, Scotiabank
• Culture & Ethnicity Network (CEN), NTT DATA UK&I

Diversity Team of the Year
Sponsored by Haleon

• MAG EDI Team, MAG (Manchester Airports Group)
• CP Inclusion & Belonging, Colgate-Palmolive
• Executive MBA (EMBA) Team, Cambridge Judge Business School
• RBC Pride Europe, Royal Bank of Canada
• Global Diversity and Inclusion Team, Standard Chartered
• Colleague Inclusion Network, The Co-operative Bank
• Inclusion & Diversity Team, England Rugby
• UK Inclusion Council, Swiss Re
• Wellbeing & Inclusion, TUI
• DEI Team, Barratt Redrow
• DE&I Team, Virgin Media O2
• Community and Culture Team, CBRE
• Wellbeing & Inclusion Team, IRIS Software Group
• DEI Team, Munich Re

Inspirational Role Model of the Year
Sponsored by DHL Express

• Andrew Hulbert, Pareto Facilities Management Ltd
• Emily Lofting-Kisakye, Cognita Schools
• Motie Bring, PPRO
• Georgina Snape, Accenture
• Roisin Mackenzie, Saga Plc
• Roianne Nedd, Oliver Wyman
• Lucinda Batchelor, Warner Bros. Discover
• Jo Powell, Deutsche Bank
• Tokeer Ahmed, Capgemini
• Cordi O'Hara OBE, National Grid
• Nick Mackenzie, Greene King
• Jeff Wilkinson, HSBC UK
• Nina Goswami, Clifford Chance
• Jonathan Hackett, Lockton

Diversity Champion of the Year
Sponsored by Leathwaite

• Colin Kimber, Pareto Facilities Management Ltd
• Brendan Hegarty, NatWest Social & Community Capital
• Robin Panrucker, Taylor Wessing
• Paul Stanley, Anglo American & De Beers Group
• Jen Patterson, Adler & Allan
• Justin Hargate, National Grid
• Alvaro Garrido, Standard Chartered
• Matt Mundy, Royal Bank of Canada
• Lilly Chen, Virgin Money
• Kirsten Whitworth, Sky UK Ltd
• David Ziyambi, Latham & Watkins
• Charlotte Helliwell, Lockton
• Dr Jennifer Waller Martin, Cambridge Judge Business School

Changemaker of the Year
Sponsored by CBRE

• Maria Elisa Lloyd, Anglo American & De Beers Group
• Julien Brain, Wipro
• Craig Downing, The Co-operative Bank
• Marie-Helene Tyack, Allianz Commercial
• Mark Chadwick, Fiserv
• Sam Fresa, Entain
• Natasha White, Cisco
• Adelle Barker, Sky UK Ltd
• Lauren Thompson, Virgin Media O2
• Anna Deignan, The Premier League
• Andrew Kyte, TUI
• Natalie Ojevah MBE, Barclays
• Kike Agoro, BYP Network
• Dr Kamran Iqbal, Chiesi Ltd

Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging of the Year
Sponsored by Amazon

• Gemma Webb, Barratt Redrow
• Donna Herdsman, Korn Ferry
• Fiona Pargeter, Chanel
• Rebecca Ormond, SMBC Group
• Chris Lawrence, Deutsche Bank
• Reema Samuel-Lewis, Sky UK Ltd
• Dr Asif Sadiq MBE, Warner Bros. Discovery
• Ally Tyger-Doyle, MiQ
• Gemma Jackson, Intact Insurance UK
• Sarah Kenuel, Bolt
• Priyanka Patel, Colgate-Palmolive
• Katy Hall, NES Fircroft
• Miranda Simms, TUI

Company of the Year
Sponsored by National Grid

• PPRO
• BDO LLP
• Chanel
• Oliver Wyman
• CBRE
• ScottishPower
• Sky UK Ltd
• Clifford Chance
• Greene King
• Latham & Watkins
• Bolt
• Barratt Redrow

Social Mobility Initiative of the Year
Sponsored by AMS

• Pathways to Law Work Experience Scheme, Mishcon de Reya x Sutton Trust
• Mentoring Scheme, Lewis Silkin
• Accenture Social Mobility Month, Accenture
• Spring Forward Programme, Slaughter and May
• OC Talent Programme, Osborne Clarke
• The Building Your Future (BYF) Virtual Work Experience, JLL, Meta and Springpod
• Social Mobility Team UK, Oliver Wyman
• Building Tomorrow, Today, Barratt Redrow
• Leeds Access to Medicine (A2M), Leeds Access to Medicine Society
• Mental Health Research For All, NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North Thames
• Digital Boost Mentoring, Digital Boost

Global Diversity Initiative of the Year
Sponsored by LSEG

• The ‘Equity Engine’ Initiative, King
• Flora Qi, Wise
• Empowering Inclusion: A joined-up approach to Workplace Adjustments, Sky UK Ltd
• Big Respect, National Grid
• The Reason Why Workshop, JLL
• Inclusion and Culture Festival, Oliver Wyman
• Building Forever, De Beers Group
• Global Policy For Prevention Of LGBTQIA+ Discrimination, Wipro
• GBM Propel Programme, Scotiabank
• AI & Data Sheroes, IBM (Black Women at IBM)
• Global Colleague Communities, Standard Chartered

Charity or Not-For-Profit of the Year
Sponsored by Legal and General

• Touchstone
• Migrateful
• Workstyle Revolution CIC
• Women in Tri UK
• Strength With In Me (S.W.I.M.)
• Codebar
• Sanskruti Centre for Cultural Excellence
• Reclaim The Frame
• The AVOCADO Foundation
• The CRUMBS Project
• Digital Boost
• HAWA Multicultural Services CIC

Community Project of the Year
Sponsored by Bank of London

• WCHG Youth Opportunities, Wythenshawe Community Housing Group Youth Team
• Snowball, Snowball Community Ltd
• True Faces of Rare: Shaping Visual Representation Together, Chiesi UK
• Hedleys Police Cadets, Hedleys College – Percy Hedley Foundation
• CitiSEN4u
• Musicians in Exile, The Glasgow Barons
• Academy for Disabled Journalists (ADJ), Ability Today
• Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF), Sheffield Health Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
• Trans is Human
• Scotiabank Europe & 2econd Chance
• Creu 30 Mwy (Create 30 More), WISP Dance Club
• Community Initiatives, Bridgend College

Media Personality of the Year

• Adam Pearson
• Ria Hebden
• Vicky McClure MBE
• Emma Watson
• Sir Lenny Henry
• Sir Elton John and David Furnish
• Chris McCausland
• Nicola Coughlan
• Saskhia Menendez
• Dr Alex George
• Cat Burns
• Sam Thompson

Athlete Empowering Positive Change
Sponsored by Lockton & UK Sport

• Ellie Simmonds OBE
• Jodie Ounsley
• Kare Adenegan
• Chloe Kelly
• Dame Kelly Holmes
• Richard Kilty
• Tess Howard MBE
• Seamus Derbyshire
• Ruth Mwandumba
• Adrian Derbyshire
• Tully Kearney MBE
• Emily Campbell
• Marcus Rashford MBE
• Dina Asher-Smith MBE

The winners will be announced at a gala ceremony later in 2026, celebrating the remarkable achievements of these individuals and organisations who are making a profound impact on diversity and inclusion across the United Kingdom.