Revealed: 2023 LSEG DIVA Awards Finalists

DIVA has revealed this year’s awards shortlist of LGBTQ+ women and non-binary people that are bringing positive change to the queer community, as well as honouring the allies that are helping to make the world a more welcoming place for all.

The annual event has become one of the most anticipated celebrations in the queer community — especially as it is held in celebration of Lesbian Visibility Week (24-30 April). This year’s awards ceremony is sponsored by London Stock Exchange Group, as well as various corporate sponsors supporting various categories from role models to allies in both the entertainment and corporate world. The awards ceremony, taking place on April 28, 2023 at London’s Northumberland Avenue, will be hosted by Sophie Ward, and feature a special performance from Emeli Sandé.

myGwork has sponsored the Young Entrepreneur of the Year category, and delighted that many of its corporate clients have been shortlisted this year including Unilever, EY, Clifford Chance, State Street, Booking.com, AMS, GSK, London Stock Exchange Group, HSBC, American Express, St James’s Place, Santander, Reed Smith, and many more. See the full shortlist of finalists below.

2023’s LSEG DIVA Awards finalists include (by category):

YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR

• Alexandra D'Sa - Co-founder of House of Pride
• Amy Cavan - Creative Director of Bold Strokes
• Charlie Moss - Founder of @refusetoconformclothing
• Florence Schechter - Vagina Museum
• Joelle Drummond and Sarah McNena - Founders of Drop Bear Beer
• Lexie Shaibu-Lenoir - Founder of Queer Weddings UK
• Poppy Scarlett Owner - Self & More Boutique
• Tabs Benjamin - Founder of Butch Please

LGBTQIA NETWORK OF THE YEAR

• 4Pride - Channel 4
• Amex Pride+ Network - American Express
• Arcus - Clifford Chance
• Breathe Network - KPMG
• LGBTQ+ Affinity Network - Kingfisher
• LGBTQ+ and Allies ERG - AMS
• Pride ERG - Lockton
• Proud@Sainsbury's Network - Sainsburys
• RAF LGBTQ+ Network - Royal Airforce
• Spectrum - GSK
• Unilever proUd Network - Unilever
• Unity - EY
• Village Greene - Greene King

DIVERSITY CHAMPION OF THE YEAR

• Arlene McDermott - Head of Business Management Group Legal and Compliance at London Stock Exchange Group
• Catherine Dixon - Director General at ClArb
• Claire Sherwin - Group Director, HR Technology and Operations at Belron® International
• Claire Skinner - Co-chair of Mercer Pride and Head of UK Fiduciary Content and Deliver at Mercer
• Dr Pip Gardner - Chief Executive at The Kite Trust
• Emma Palethorpe - Programme Manager at St James's Place
• Jacqui Rhule-Dagher – Solicitor at Hogan Lovells International LLP
• Jessica Parry - Associate at Reed Smith
• Kirsty Lacey - Director of Transformation & Support at Santander
• Marieon Bentata - Chief Administrative Officer at State Street
• Nicola Butler - Owner and Managing Director at NoteWorthy
• Robyn Ellis - Global Manager of Leadership and Delivery at Booking.com

CORPORATE ALLY OF THE YEAR

• Alison Lomax - Managing Director at YouTube UK and Ireland
• Carla Berry - Company Communications Director at Procter & Gamble
• Caroline Frankum - Global Chief Executive Officer at Kantar
• Christina Brooks - Founder & CEO at Ruebik
• Commodore Mel Robinson CBE ADC RNR - Commander of the Maritime Reserves at Royal Naval Reserves
• Kate Seljeflot - Chief People Officer at Kingfisher Plc
• Louise Bailey - I&D Accelerator at OVO Energy
• Namrata Dutta - Director, Data Operations at S&P Global Market Intelligence
• Raveena Dhadwal - DEI Business Partner EMEA & APAC at SThree media
• Sonia Cargan - Chief Talent Officer at American Express

BRAND/ORGANISATION OF THE YEAR

• Channel 4
• Converse
• Deliveroo
• Google
• National Grid
• P&G
• Virgin Atlantic
• Wickes

HEAD OF DIVERSITY OF THE YEAR

• Ama Ocancey - UK Head of Diversity and Inclusion at BNP Paribas
• Chami Dhillon - Group Head of Inclusion & Diversity at Kingfisher
• Coral Taylor - Head of Diversity and Inclusion UK at HSBC
• Devi Virdi - Group Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Centrica
• Kat Parsons - Head of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging UK & I at ISS
• Katherine Gansallo - Director, Diversity and Inclusion - UK and EMEA at London Stock Exchange Group
• Lisa Waterhouse - Diversity and Inclusion Manager at National Grid
• Megan Cross - Global Head of Inclusion & Diversity at Kantar
• Michelle Elliott - Vice President Careers & Community at Virgin Atlantic
• Raj Jones - Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Sodexo
• Shereen Barros - Global Head of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Kin and Carta

INSPIRATIONAL ROLE MODEL OF THE YEAR

• Charlotte Phillips-Lynn - Senior Operations Analyst & D&I Partner at Seccl
• Emma Springham - Chief Marketing Officer at TSB
• Georgina Court - Global Inclusion Specialist at Clifford Chance
• Margot Slattery - Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at ISS
• Marie-Helene Tyack - Chair of the Global Allianz Pride Board at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty
• Michele Oliver - Global VP Brand & Purpose at Mars
• Moud Goba - National Manager at Micro Rainbow
• Nour Shaker Fayad - Customer Success Cloud Architecture at Microsoft
• Rebecca Dandridge - Director of Public Affairs UK&I for HIV and LGBTQ+ ERG Lead at Gilead Sciences
• Susan Dunn – Founder at Harbour Litigation Funding
• Susan Mann - Assistant General Counsel & Director - DCM Legal at Bank of America
• Tamara Littleton – CEO at The Social Element

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CHARITY OR COMMUNITY PROJECT OF THE YEAR

• Biscuit - A bi advocacy group that works to support the bi+ community with a focus on women and other marginalized genders
• Diversity Role Models - Embedding inclusion and empathy to tackle bullying in schools
• Galop - An anti-LGBTQ+ abuse charity
• Gendered Intelligence - Working to increase the understanding of gender diversity and improve the lives of trans people in the UK
• GIN UK - Connecting and supporting the LGBTQ+ community of Indian heritage
• Stonewall UK - Largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights charity in Europe
• Switchboard - The second oldest LGBTQ+ telephone helpline in the UK
• UK Black Pride - The world's largest Pride event for QTIPOC

CELEBRITY ALLY OF THE YEAR

• Claire Sweeney - Actor, singer and television personality
• Dawn French - English actor, comedian, writer and presenter
• Michelle Visage - American TV host, singer and actress
• Rachel Shelley - English actor and model
• Sarah Lancashire OBE - Actor
• Simone Ashley - Actor
• Sinitta - British singer, actor and television personality
• Suranne Jones - English actor and producer

UNSUNG HERO OF THE YEAR

• Charlie Josephine - I, Joan writer
• Jude Guaitamacchi - Trans & Non-binary Advocate
• Katie Neeves - Cool2bTrans
• Liz Ward - Stonewall
• Nadia Whittome - Labour MP for Nottingham East
• Sally Wainwright - Gentleman Jack
• Sigrid Nielsen - Lavender Menace
• Yasmin Benoit - Asexual Campaigner

MEDIA MOMENT OF THE YEAR

• Alex Scott wearing the rainbow armband during coverage of the World Cup in Qatar
• Balvinder Sopal/Heather Peace – Eastenders Storyline
• Closing scene in episode 6 of Gentleman Jack
• Gateways Grind - BBC 4 - A film about the longest surviving lesbian club
• Dame Kelly Holmes: Being Me
• Mae Martin and Elliot Page - Red Carpet Moment
• Queen of the Jungle - Jill Scott MBE
• Yasmin Finney cast in Doctor Who

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR

• Anne-Marie
• Becky Hill
• Cat Burns
• Emeli Sandé
• Grace Petrie
• Lucy Spraggan
• O'Hooley & Tidow
• Self Esteem

MEDIA PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

• Adele Roberts
• Anna Richardson
• Dame Kelly Holmes
• Deborah Frances-White
• Jane Hill
• Rosie Jones
• Steph McGovern
• Suzi Ruffell

ACTOR OF THE YEAR

• Bella Ramsey - The Last Of Us / Game Of Thrones
• Cherelle Skeete - The Midwitch Cuckoos / Rushed
• Eliot Salt - Fate: The Winx Saga
• Emma Corrin - The Crown
• Heather Peace - Eastenders
• Isobel Thom - I, Joan
• Lola Petticrew - Bloodlands / Dating Amber
• Yasmin Finney - Heartstopper / Doctor Who

SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

• Anita Asante - Professional Footballer
• Charlie Martin - Racing Driver
• Demi Stokes - Professional Footballer
• Emily Bridges - Cyclist
• Jill Scott MBE - Professional Footballer
• Jo Currie - BBC Women’s Sport Reporter
• Leah Williamson - Professional Footballer
• Lianne Sanderson - Football Pundit

AUTHOR OF THE YEAR

• Alice Oseman
• Juno Dawson
• Laura Kay
• Lex Croucher
• Munroe Bergdorf
• Sophie Ward
• Travis Alabanza
• Val McDermid

INFLUENCER OF THE YEAR

• Charlie Craggs
• Jack Monroe
• Jessica Kellgren-Fozard
• Ki Griffin
• Kizzy Edgell
• Lady Phyll
• Megan Jayne Crabbe
• Rowan Ellis

LGBTQIA SCENE EVENT OF THE YEAR

• Brown Suga at Glasshouse London - Popular party event for queer women, non-binary and trans folx -
• Butch Please - A celebration of all degrees of butch and all kinds of women
• Gal Pals - A queer dance party centring queer women, trans and non-binary people
• Lick - Parties for women, by women and only for women
• Mint Events - Most popular lesbian and bisexual party organisers in London
• Pxssy Palace - Celebrates Black, indegenious, and people of colour who are women, queer, intersex and non-binary
• Queer House Party - An award-winning queer party that plays bangers
• Southbank Surfing - Largest gathering for lesbian, bisexual, queer and trans women in the UK

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