Employee networks and inclusion leaders from some of the UK’s biggest employers have been named as finalists for the Employee Network Awards 2026. These awards recognise and celebrate the unsung heroes of inclusion – people and groups driving meaningful change in workplace culture and inclusion.
Headline sponsored by Haleon, the awards celebrate the employee networks, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and individuals working to strengthen inclusion, influence workplace policy and improve the employee experience. This year’s finalists represent organisations including Adobe, Barclays, Barratt Redrow, BDO UK, Deutsche Bank, EDF, Eurostar, ScottishPower, Sky, Virgin Media O2 and Warner Bros. Discovery.
The winners will be announced on Friday 25 September 2026 at the InterContinental London Park Lane, with Dawn Butler MP returning to host the ceremony. The evening will also feature a special live performance from Leee John, lead singer of British soul and funk group Imagination, whose hits include Just an Illusion, Body Talk and Music and Lights.
The awards shine a spotlight on the often behind-the-scenes work of employee networks and ERGs, many of which are led by employees alongside their day jobs. Across 14 award categories, finalists are being recognised for their work supporting LGBTQIA+ colleagues, ethnic minority employees, women, disabled people, families and carers, and workplace wellbeing.
INSPIRING EMPLOYEES DRIVING INCLUSION
The awards also recognise inspirational role models, network leads, executive sponsors and inclusion leaders who are helping to embed inclusion across their organisations. The evening culminates in the Network of Networks award, which brings together the winning employee networks to compete for the event’s overall accolade.
“The standard of this year’s nominations has been incredible. Employee networks are doing some of the most important work taking place inside organisations, often led by people doing it alongside their day jobs because they genuinely want to make their workplaces better,” said Kat Parsons, CEO of Diversity Umbrella, organiser of the Employee Network Awards. “These awards give that work the recognition it deserves. Our finalists aren’t just talking about inclusion; they’re creating practical change that has a real impact on people’s working lives. We can’t wait to celebrate their achievements in September.”
The Employee Network Awards 2026 are headline sponsored by Haleon, with category sponsorship from giffgaff, Laing O’Rourke, Centrica, Paramount and HSBC Innovation Banking. The awards aim to recognise the contribution employee-led networks make to creating more inclusive workplaces, while giving greater visibility to the people whose work can often take place quietly behind the scenes.
EMPLOYEE NETWORK AWARDS FINALISTS 2026
The full list of finalists of this year’s Employee Network Awards (by category) include:
Best Network Initiative 2026
- Critically Ill Child Leave, Allwyn UK
- Right To Respect, Balfour Beatty
- Emerge Now Programme, Barclays
- Unlimited Paid Fertility Leave, E.ON UK
- Cancer Support Network: Raising Awareness and Empowering Action, EDF
- Inclusive Uniform Campaign, Eurostar
- Women’s Safety Committee, NatWest Group
- Reverse Mentoring Programme, Pfizer
- Peer2Peer, Siemens
- Menopause, Winston Taylor LLP
Network Inspirational Role Model 2026
- Alastair Livesey, A&O Shearman
- Phil Whaite, A&O Shearman
- Sunna Daswani, Fiserv
- Abi Harrison-Nye, giffgaff
- Shirley Knowles, IHG Hotels & Resorts
- Liz Dean, ISS
- Bex Maxwell-Warrior, Labcorp
- Michael Briggs, Shoosmiths LLP
- Adelle Barker, Sky
- Dharshni Dharma, Virgin Media O2
- Andreya Ezekiel-Meade, Virgin Media O2
- Robin Panrucker, Winston Taylor LLP
Outstanding Ability Network 2026
- AccessAbility, A&O Shearman
- Ability Affinity Network, Balfour Beatty
- Scaffold, Barratt Redrow
- HAND, giffgaff
- RespectABILITY, Manchester Airports Group (MAG)
- Enable, Mitie
- capABILITY, MSD
- Ability@SGN, SGN
- Springer Nature Disability & Neurodiversity Network (SN D&N), Springer Nature
- Enable_All, Xerox
Outstanding Employee Network 2026
- Emerge, Barclays
- Menopause Network, Barratt Redrow
- Bridge, BDO UK
- Forces Network, Centrica
- Gender Balance Network, Close Brothers
- Domestic Abuse Support Community, HSBC UK
- Aspire, NatWest Group
- Black Women’s Network (BWN), University of West London
Outstanding Family Network 2026
- Carers Network, Centrica
- Working Parents and Carers, Close Brothers
- Parents & Carers, dentsu UK
- Working Parents Network (WPN), EDF Energy
- sPaCe Network (Supporting Parents & Carers Everywhere), Heathrow
- P.A.C.T (Parents and Carers Together), Manchester Airports Group (MAG)
- Parent Network, Sanctuary
- Working Parents & Carers Network, Skipton Building Society
- Parents & Carers at Sky, Sky
- Family Matters, Winston Taylor LLP
Outstanding LGBTQIA Network 2026
- The LGBTQ+ Network, A&O Shearman
- Spectrum, Barclays
- Unity, Close Brothers
- dbPride, Deutsche Bank
- Haleon Pride, Haleon
- Imperial Pride Network, Imperial College London
- PRIDE, Labcorp
- Scotiabank PRIDE Europe ERG, Scotiabank
- IN-FUSE, ScottishPower
- PROUD, Shoosmiths LLP
- Pride at Mobility UK&I, Siemens Mobility
- LGBTQ+ at Sky, Sky
- QOLORS, Tata Consultancy Services
- BeeProud, University of Manchester
- Proudly, Virgin Media O2
- equaliTW – Winston Taylor LLP
Outstanding Ethnicity Network 2026
- unity, The Aberdeen Group
- Black Employee Network (BEN) – London, Adobe
- Black Professionals Resource Group (BPRG), Barclays
- Asian Leadership Council (ALC), Fiserv
- EmbRace, Haleon
- Ethnicity ERG, HSBC Private Bank
- Race Equality Network, Grosvenor
- Black Employee Network, Moneybox
- Multicultural Network, NatWest Group
- Scotiabank Multi-Cultural ERG, Scotiabank
- Serco Embrace, Serco
- Springer Nature Black Employee Network (SN BEN), Springer Nature
- TUI CAN (Caribbean and African Network), TUI
- Enrich, Virgin Media O2
- BOLD (Black Outstanding Leaders Delivering), Warner Bros. Discovery
- Black Heritage Network, Winston Taylor LLP
Outstanding New Network 2026
- South Asian Affinity Group – SAAG, A&O Shearman
- Mosaic, Barratt Redrow
- MENtain, Entain
- Better Together Network, Holland and Barrett
- CHORD, Mitie
- Adapt, Paramount
- Women’s Network, Surrey County Council
- Women in Engineering Network, VodafoneThree
Outstanding Wellness Network 2026
- Reproductive Health and Fertility Support Group, BAE Systems
- Wellbeing Network, Close Brothers
- Health and Wellbeing, Diligenta subsidiary of Tata Consultancy Services
- Fertility Forum, E.ON UK
- Wellbeing@Entain, Entain
- HSBC Employee Resource Groups, HSBC Innovation Banking
- DAWN, IHG Hotels & Resorts
- Wellbeing at SLR, SLR Consulting
Outstanding Women’s Network 2026
- Women at Adobe, Adobe
- Women at A&M EMEA, Alvarez & Marsal
- Under One Roof – SheBuilds, Barratt Redrow
- Inspire, BDO UK
- empowerHER, Calisen
- Eurostar Women’s Network, Eurostar
- Women@Haleon, Haleon
- Balance@Mercer, Mercer: a Marsh business
- Gender Network, NatWest Group
- Pfizer Women’s Resource Group (PWR), Pfizer
- Scotiabank Women Connect ERG, Scotiabank
- Connected Women, ScottishPower
- Women@Sky, Sky
- SN Women UK, Springer Nature
- Women’s Network, Virgin Media O2
Outstanding Network Lead 2026
- Brin Rajathurai, A&O Shearman
- Charlotte Hanson, BAE Systems
- Rachael D’Silva, Entain
- Philip van Jaarsveldt, Haleon
- Mitch Collett, Harper Collins
- Stacie Rimington, Holland and Barrett
- Joanne Wheeler, HSBC Innovation Banking
- Illy Nagpal, HSBC Private Bank
- Josie Galeana, Bex Maxwell-Warrior, Wayne Ferguson, Chris Trevors, Janna McNeil, Lauren Kucharczyk, T’Yanna
- Singleton, Labcorp
- Saurabh Bajpai, NatWest Group
- Jonathan Bryson, SGN
- Kirsten Whitworth, Sky
- Pauric Havlin, Tata Consultancy Services
- Eureka Cheema & Henna Tank, Virgin Media O2
- Tony Fagelman, Xerox
Outstanding Executive Sponsor 2026
- Samantha Sheriff, Allwyn UK
- Julien Kasparian, BNP Paribas – Securities Services
- Gareth Openshaw, Centrica
- Rebecca Short, Deutsche Bank
- Emmanuelle Scemama, Eurostar
- Namrata Patel, Haleon
- Ruth Nic Aoidh, JLR
- Kit Morey, Paramount
- Pierre Coppin, Sky
Head of Diversity, Belonging or Inclusion 2026
- Gill Thomas, Balfour Beatty
- Gemma Webb, Formerly Barratt Redrow
- Georgie Willis, Eurostar
- Rukasana Bhaijee, Financial Times
- Ian Tomney-Bell, giffgaff
- Leigh Kelly Andrews, Kantar
- Sim Sian, Mitie
- Jodie Williams, Pan Macmillan
- Jamie Taylor-Louro, Serco
- Reema Samuel-Lewis, Sky
- Frances Corrigan, Virgin Media O2
Click here for more information about the Employee Network Awards.
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