Hours to vie for women’s awards

Sep 19 2008 by Graeme King, The Journal

TODAY is the final day for the region’s leading female business executives to enter the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year awards.

The Journal has been featuring the inspiring stories of last year’s winners this summer. Now the deadline to enter the 2008 competition is just hours away and some impressive candidates have stepped forward.

Award organiser Women into the Network, at the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning at Durham University, has held nomination events to give potential entrants advice from judges and past winners.

The awards, sponsored by One NorthEast and Business Link North East, highlight the successes of women in business, recognise achievers and inspire others to follow suit.

This week we feature the award for Woman in Technology or Innovation, which is again sponsored by the University of Teesside.

Last year it went to Elaine Hall, of the Alternative Supply Company. The company, founded in 2001, has sales of £10m and a growing workforce.

The Prudhoe company’s customers include Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Asda and Sainsbury’s as well as manufacturers such as Del Monte and Scottish ice cream maker Mackies.

The University of Teesside’s Catherine Kearney said: “Technological innovation is the hallmark of many successful businesses – and there are few companies for whom technology isn’t essential to strong business performance. However, there remains a surprisingly low representation of women in this industry, or recognition of those working on other sectors but who are utilising technology innovatively in their working lives.

“The University of Teesside is firmly committed to boosting the number of women who work in this field.”

Dinah Bennett, project director for Women into the Network, said: “The science and technology category is really important to us – we are doing a lot of work in this area to support women in setting up businesses.”

The awards ceremony will be at Newcastle Gateshead Hilton on Friday, November 21.