The winners of this year’s British Diversity Awards were revealed at a ceremony held at London’s JW Marriott Grosvenor House, recognising the individuals and organisations leading the charge for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) across the UK.
The annual event, headline sponsored by LSEG, brought together influential figures from business, media, sport and grassroots organisations to celebrate progress and impact in advancing inclusive workplaces and communities. The ceremony was hosted by Dr Ranj Singh and Charlene White, with entertainment provided by chart-topping British boy band Blue, adding to the celebratory atmosphere of the evening.
LIFE-TIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Among the evening’s top honours, Sir Lenny Henry received the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his decades-long contribution to improving representation across the UK’s creative industries. With a career spanning more than 40 years, Sir Lenny has been a driving force behind national conversations on diversity.
His landmark 2014 BAFTA Television Lecture and the establishment of the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity have played a pivotal role in shaping industry standards. Beyond his on-screen work, his production company Esmerelda has championed underrepresented voices, while his co-founding of Comic Relief has helped raise over £1 billion to combat poverty and social injustice.
In the Media Champion of the Year category, Ria Hebden and Chris McCausland were named joint winners for their ongoing efforts to promote inclusive storytelling and representation.
CELEBRATING WORKPLACE INCLUSION
Several organisations were recognised for their outstanding internal networks and initiatives supporting diversity. They included Barratt Redrow’s Menopause Network scooping Outstanding Employee Network of the Year, National Grid’s WiNTR (Women in Non-Traditional Roles) winning Outstanding Women’s Network of the Year and Sky UK Ltd’s LGBTQ+ Network honoured as the Outstanding LGBTQIA Network of the Year. These awards highlight the growing importance of employee-led initiatives in fostering inclusive workplace cultures across industries.
The British Diversity Awards continue to serve as a key platform for recognising excellence in DEI across the UK. This year’s winners reflect a broad spectrum of efforts – from grassroots advocacy to corporate leadership – all contributing to meaningful and lasting change.
BRITISH DIVERSITY AWARDS WINNERs
This year’s winners and highly commended by category include:
Community Project of the Year, sponsored by Bank of London
- Winner: Trans Is Human
- Highly Commended: Ability Today, Academy for Disabled Journalists
Head of Belonging, Culture or Diversity of the Year, Sponsored by Amazon
- Winner: Reema Samuel-Lewis, Sky UK Ltd
- Highly Commended: Rebecca Ormond, SMBC Group
Changemaker of the Year, Sponsored by CBRE
- Winner: Natalie Ojevah MBE, Barclays
- Highly Commended: Dr Kamran Iqbal, Chiesi UK
Diversity Team of the Year, Sponsored by Haleon
- Winner: Community and Culture Team, CBRE
- Highly Commended: Global Diversity and Inclusion Team, Standard Chartered
Charity or Not-for-Profit of the Year, Sponsored by Legal & General
- Winner: HAWA Multicultural Services CIC
Inspirational Role Model of the Year, Sponsored by DHL Express
- Winner: Tokeer Ahmed, Capgemini
- Highly Commended: Jo Powell, Deutsche Bank
Athlete Powering Positive Change, Sponsored by Lockton & UK Sport
- Winner: Tess Howard MBE
- Highly Commended: Ellie Simmonds MBE
Outstanding Employee Network of the Year, Sponsored by Clifford Chance
- Winner: Menopause Network, Barratt Redrow
- Highly Commended: Journey ERG, HSBC UK
Outstanding Women’s Network of the Year, Sponsored by Centrica
- Winner: WiNTR (Women in Non-Traditional Roles), National Grid
- Highly Commended: Connected Women, ScottishPower
Outstanding Ability Network of the Year, Sponsored by Allianz Commercial
- Winner: RespectAbility, Manchester Airports Group
- Highly Commended: DHL Supply Chain Abilities Alliance
Outstanding LGBTQIA Network of the Year, Sponsored by HSBC Innovation Banking
- Winner: LGBTQ+ at Sky
- Highly Commended: Wipro Europe Pride ERG
Outstanding Ethnicity Network of the Year, Sponsored by Paramount
- Winner: REACH, Kingsley Napley
- Highly Commended: Race Equality Network, University of Birmingham
Social Mobility Initiative of the Year, Sponsored by AMS
- Winner: Digilearning x Accenture Social Mobility Month
- Highly Commended: Mental Health Research For All, NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North Thames
Diversity Champion of the Year, Sponsored by Leathwaite
- Winner: Brendan Hegarty, NatWest Social & Community Capital
- Highly Commended: Charlotte Helliwell, Lockton
Global Diversity Initiative of the Year, Sponsored by LSEG
- Winner: The ‘Equity Engine’ Initiative, King
- Highly Commended: Building Forever, De Beers Group
Company of the Year, Sponsored by National Grid
- Winner: BDO LLP
- Highly Commended: ScottishPower
Media Champion of the Year, Sponsored by Deutsche Bank
- Winners: Chris McCausland & Ria Hebden
Lifetime Achievement, Sponsored by Flutter
- Winner: Sir Lenny Henry
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